THE Daylesford Riding for the Disabled Centre hosted lunch for 60 riders, families and volunteers from Melton, Ballarat and Maryborough Centres at Boomerang Ranch during the school holidays.
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Almost 30 riders rode along the trail ride through the Wombat Forest led by Brendan Cook from Boomerang Ranch.
Senior coach at Daylesford Steve Claire said it was important to provide opportunities for riders to practise their skills in challenging circumstances and that the trail ride provided a relaxed opportunity for the riders to develop their relationships with each other.
Wendy Hogben added that Daylesford RDA was grateful to volunteers and community members who made the ride possible.
“It’s been a busy fortnight for Daylesford RDA,” president Wendy Hogben said.
Last weekend seven Daylesford riders attended the 2013 Tan Hock Chong RDAV State Games at Wonga Park.
The Daylesford Angels (Matthew Burns, Liam Richardson and Amber Jepsen) combined with three riders from Peninsula Centre and were fifth overall.
The Daylesford Devils (David Rak, Marian McKenzie, Annette Weightman, Joe Tucker and Tishara Brusnahan) were second overall.
Burns, Tucker and Brusnahan were riding in their first ever competition and acquitted themselves well.
Weightman kept the novice games horse Tipperary Springs Shadow calm and controlled, while Rak and McKenzie sharing Tipperary Springs Leroy added considerable speed to the team.
Jepsen, riding Cassie, is a regular competitor and put in her usual calm and controlled performance.
Richardson, also a regular competitor, rode his horse Tim, with his usual class and ability.
Tim and Shadow are developing their form as games horses and Richardson and Weightman’s calm approach assisted with both horses’ performance, particularly around the drums.
The two Daylesford teams combined for the fancy dress and took out first prize for the third consecutive year with their circus theme.
McKenzie on Shadow, Richardson on Tim and Rak on Leroy took out the trifecta in the senior Handymount class against a strong field while Burns, Tucker and Jepsen, in the junior Handymount section completed the challenging course without mishap.
McKenzie, on her horse Ernie and Rak on his horse Leroy had also competed the previous week at Balmoral Equestrian Centre, Harkaway in the Special Olympics Winter Games.
Both riders are aiming to qualify for the Victorian State Team to attend the National Games in 2014 and were first and second respectively in the Prix Caprilli and English equitation classes – canter division.
The Daylesford teams were supported by Boomerang Ranch, the Thomas family, the BLOC theatre and the Daylesford Community Op Shop as well as volunteers Steve and Chris Clare, Mark Rak, Lesley Hewitt, Wendy Hogben, Shelley Jepsen, Marian McKenzie and Kim Middleton.
The Daylesford Chocolate Mill gave generous support to RDAV by donating chocolate boxes for all the RDAV volunteers who assisted with the state games.