Melanie Riley
RIDING for the Disabled Mount Gambier have recently been the recipient of some extra funding thanks to the Petstock Foundation’s Christmas project.
The project took place over November and December 2023, and funds were raised by sponsorship of the program, and the purchase of participating products and donation baubles in-store at Petstock.
The Petstock Foundation strategic manager Jessica Curtis said the mission of the project was to “empower a better future for children through the unconditional love and magic of pets and therapy animals.”
With a goal of $800,000, the total amount raised was over $860,000 and Ms Curtis said the effort from the team and community was amazing.
“I am beyond proud of our team, our customers and our business partners who support the program,” she said.
“It would not be possible without generous community support like we have in Mount Gambier and across South Australia.”
Petstock works with different partners throughout the years and across all of their campaigns.
“We just make sure that those partners align directly to our ‘Why?’ at the Petstock Foundation and that is to empower a better future for pets and people,” Ms Curtis said.
“We have always believed that the human-animal bond is extremely special, and when you help one, you help the other.”
For the Petstock Foundation’s Christmas project, Riding for the Disabled South Australia were one of the chosen partners to receive a share of the funds raised and will receive just over $93,000.
Ms Curtis said Petstock supports multiple Riding for the Disabled arms across Australia.
“We are huge advocates for what Riding for the Disabled do,” she said.
“We believe that the therapy programs that they offer allow people to become the best versions of themselves, and they support them through a number of life altering difficulties that people deserve support through.
“If we can do that through the power of animals, we can support riding for the disabled SA to do that for local communities like Mount Gambier, then we’re going to do that because that’s what we believe in.”
Local coach at the Mount Gambier centre, Robyn Reiter said she is hoping the funds will assist in the purchase of some new saddles and the assistance of a fitter to ensure they are fitting correctly onto the horses.
“We want our horses to be happy to work and deliver a good program,” she said.
Amber Pyle, operations manager for Riding for the Disabled South Australia said she was thrilled for the organisation to be receiving the funds, and that they would be used for the care and welfare of the horses.
“Things like feed, routine vet care, dental, farrier, saddle fitting and making sure they have got their own tack is what contributes to quite a significant cost in our organisation,” she said.
“We are also on the hunt for new horses so some of those funds will go towards the purchase of new horses.”
Ms Pyle extended gratitude for the raised funds to Petstock, their staff and the community of Mount Gambier/Berrin for their contribution to the fundraising.
“To raise that kind of money takes dedication from a business like Petstock and to be able to give that back to the community is incredible,” she said.
“It takes all of their staff members promoting that project, as well as the community spending their dollars there and choosing to contribute towards that.
“I feel like that should be recognised as such an incredible effort.”
Ms Pyle said the funding will work to ensure RDA SA, including the Mount Gambier centre, can continue to deliver life-changing programs.
“RDA brings such a unique service and we manage to create this environment for our riders to be able to progress and learn.”
“What they learn here really correlates to their ability to live a better quality of life at home.
“The horse has a really unique way of helping them learn and getting those outcomes.”
Ms Pyle said the programs encourage a level of independence for clients, and has had many success stories from past programs.
“We have had riders that have come through our doors that have started out non-ambulant and two years later, they are walking up the steps of the mounting ramp independently,” she said.
With volunteers aged between 12 and 90 years of age across RDA SA, and with the Mount Gambier centre wishing to expand on their programs, Ms Pyle encouraged volunteers to get involved and embrace the opportunities volunteering may bring.
“I think the most common reason for volunteering is for people to be able to give back to the community, but there are also many more benefits,” Ms Pyle said.
“RDA helps volunteers broaden their social circle and it helps expose them to something that is so unique in the equestrian world.”
There are also opportunities for student volunteers to complete placement while studying and they are then able to use RDA as a reference to gain employment.
“Lots of our younger volunteers have gone onto work in SAPOL, veterinary sciences, vet nursing or animal husbandry,” Ms Pyle said.
“It is a really good stepping stone to build that kind of experience.”
Volunteers don’t necessarily have to have horse experience and don’t necessarily have to volunteer within the arena.
Administration, social media, general maintenance of the arena and surroundings are amongst the other tasks volunteers can offer to take on.
“That could be an hour a week, an hour a fortnight, a day or two days a week, whatever people can manage,” Ms Pyle said.
Ken Booth has been volunteering at the Mount Gambier centre for over 15 years, and had no prior experience dealing with horses.
“I thought I would like to help the community and come out and do something with the kids, which I enjoy,” Mr Booth said.
“I had never had any experience until I came out here and learnt it all.”
Sue McGlone has volunteered for just over a year, and chose to volunteer to learn more about horses, starting her horse journey later in life.
She was expecting to only learn about horses, and did not realise how rewarding volunteering could be.
“I was surprised at how much I enjoyed working with the clients and with the other volunteers and coaches,” she said.
“You learn so much, and volunteering here just opens up all of these opportunities.”
To learn more about volunteering, people are encouraged to visit the Riding for the Disabled Mount Gambier and get in contact.
