RDA Seymour Centre

08/10/2026

WOW WOW WOW!
What an incredible week we have had at RDA Seymour!

On Tuesday we welcomed National
assessor and Level 2 coach Sally Watson to the centre and Sally spent the afternoon providing some individual coaching and completed
Lunge and Riding assessments.

On Wednesday Sally ran a fabulous workshop for our coaches, trainees and several volunteers. Thanks to Jemma and Zoe for riding in the workshop and allowing us to practice what we were learning.

Today we had our first Term 4 lesson - and
Coach assessments and can congratulate the following volunteers on their achievements:
Janine Stephens - Assistant Coach
Janine Anton - L1 Coach,
Sue Cross - unmounted lessons

Centre accreditation was also completed.

Our riders did so well today, building on what they learned in Term 3 - strong independent riding, good transitions, well-planned stops, turns and navigation of trails, games and lots of fun!

We also had the pleasure of meeting and hosting Lisa Blackmore from State Office (RDAV). Lisa offered lots of ideas and support for our centre.

Amongst all these activities we managed to squeeze in a pink ribbon fundraiser morning tea, with quizzes, raffles and a delicious range
of goodies catered by The Brewers Table. Thank to our generous donors for donating our prizes and congratulations to our winners! Huge thanks to everyone who made a donation raising $140 today and bringing our total effort to over $400 for such an incredible cause.

Thanks to everyone who made this week happen. We couldn’t do this without you!!

30/09/2026

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I'm hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast event on Thursday 8 October for my colleague and to support the 56 people diagnosed with breast cancer every day in Australia.
I'm doing this to raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation to fund vital breast cancer research and help them achieve their vision of Zero Deaths from breast cancer.
So please support me now by making a donation on my fundraising page to help save lives.

I'm hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast event to raise money for life-saving breast cancer research. Please donate to help make a difference to Australians affected by breast cancer.

12/09/2026

Big shout out and thanks to Seymour Rotary for the generous donation provided to RDA Seymour at their changeover luncheon earlier this year. The donation, along with a grant awarded from the State Government under the 2025-26 Sporting Club Grants program has enabled us to replace the bulk of our riding helmets that had reached their 5 year expiry date. We provide each of our riders with a compliant riding helmet to use in their lessons, to help reduce the cost of participation and to make our program as accessible and affordable as possible. Having a dedicated helmet means no lesson time is wasted on re-fitting shared helmets every lesson day and it means our riders are quickly and safely kitted out and on their horse, enjoying whatever the day’s lesson has in store.

31/08/2026

This is why we do what we do.

When Luca first came to RDA Bundoora Park, just getting onto a horse was an enormous challenge.

His mum remembers that first visit vividly. His legs and hips couldn’t wrap around the inflatable peanut they were using. He screamed and cried. They lasted five minutes. She cried too.

When Luca eventually got onto a pony, it took six people to support him — two volunteers supporting his back, two holding his legs, one leading the pony and his coach.

Fast forward around seven years.

Today, Luca holds himself upright. His feet are in the stirrups. He no longer needs a compression suit to help maintain his posture. And instead of six people physically supporting him, three volunteers now walk alongside for safety.

Most importantly, he loves it. He loves RDA Bundoora Park. He loves Pippa. And just look at that proud smile.

Progress doesn’t always happen quickly, and it doesn’t always happen in a straight line. Sometimes it happens quietly, week after week, year after year.

Luca’s journey is a wonderful reminder of what can be achieved through the connection between a participant, a horse, a coach, dedicated volunteers and a family who keeps showing up.

We are so proud of you, Luca. ❤️

And to the volunteers and coaches who have walked beside him over the years — quite literally — thank you.

27/08/2026

Congratulations Tanya

06/08/2026

Great recognition! Well done Tanya and RDAV

01/08/2026

Our riders all had a ride using pony pads today - it took a little bit of getting used to, but riders soon relaxed and enjoyed the sensation of really feeling the movement of their horse.

01/08/2026

Happy “equine birthday” to our trusty RDA horses. We love you all to bits 🎂❤️

16/07/2026

Today was our first lesson for term 3. Sadly we didn’t have enough volunteers to be able to safely provide our afternoon lessons, so we improvised with our school group and had a horse-free lesson and practiced using and feeling the reins for control, with volunteers and students alternating being the horse. Some of the exercises required our “horses” to close their eyes and really listen to their “rider’s” reins to get around the obstacles and avoid crashing into something or getting too close to another “horse” . We had lots of fun, even though some of our “horses” were a bit frisky at times. 🤣🤣

18/06/2026

Wow - today was already the end of term 2 lessons for our regular group of riders from a local school. Where did that 6 months go?? Can’t wait to see our riders back for term 3. We have seen so much progress this year from all of our participants. We’ve worked on letters, colours, numbers, balance, slow and fast races, slalom, various ball games, grooming, leading and anatomy, as well as core riding skills. So much fun, learning and laughter. Our afternoon group has been working on independent riding, learning control, balance, transitions and learning about tack and general horse welfare and horsemanship