Tauranga RDA Indoor Arena Project

Tauranga RDA was extremely grateful to be one of the recipients of the CIB Charity Auction funds raised in 2009 and these funds were the seed capital to progress with fundraising for an all weather facility for RDA riders.

Tauranga RDA Arena Charitable Trust was established and has continued to raise funds for this project. Although there are still funds to raise, the 2011 funds that will be raised at the CIB Auction will help us get closer to the goal of raising the full $750,000 needed to complete the project.

The indoor arena for Riding for the Disabled in Tauranga (RDA) will be an important factor in the capacity of the organisation to meet the growing needs of the fast expanding community within Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty. Demographics for the region predict significant growth which will translate into greater demands for the equestrian therapy programs offered by RDA. With the present set-up RDA scheduled 3,320 equestrian therapy sessions in 2010. With only outdoor facilities available and the delicate physical condition of many of the riders anything up to 30% of those sessions were cancelled because of weather. This is detrimental not only to the mental health of the clients but also detracts from the efficacy of the physical therapy. The indoor arena will remove that weather-dependent factor and will enable RDA coaches to be better able to work with therapists and other health professionals to maximise the value of equestrian therapy for their clients by delivering uninterrupted therapy programs.

Tauranga RDA was established more than 35 years ago. Its facility is located on 15 acres of land on the edge of Welcome Bay made available to the organisation on a perpetual basis by the Department of Conservation. At present the organization has 12 specially trained therapy horses. Critical to the success of the RDA are the more than 80 volunteers who assist with the therapy programs.
The new indoor arena will be an important asset enabling RDA to increase the number of sessions it offers to clients by more than 24% so that within three years of operation after the completion of the arena more than 4,300 equestrian therapy sessions will be able to be offered in a year thus responding not only to the existing waiting list but also to the projected growth and subsequent increased need of the community.