2m social distancing (piece of string is 2m long)
Useful Hat Fitting Guidance
Thank you to Frances Lochrane, South Regional Chair, for the following useful guidance on hat fitting technique:
“Ask the participant’s ‘Bubble’ person to place the hat on their head and give instructions for making any adjustments. If they cannot make the adjustments I will then put on mask and gloves and at arm’s length from the side of the person make the adjustments. If I need to change sides to adjust I walk behind them to the other side. I then step back and ask the ‘Bubble’ person to see if it wobbles on the head, and adjust again if necessary.
The hat bag is then labelled with the participant’s name and kept on-site. Only that person can use that hat and they or their ‘Bubble’ person are the only people to take the hat out of the bag and put it back after riding. The outside of the bag is sanitised before storing for their next session.”
Hat Sanitising
We’ve received confirmation that the Aqueos sanitiser, as well as being effective at cleaning and disinfecting tack, equipment and surfaces, can also be safely used on both the interior and exterior of riding hats. Don’t forget to cover hat protocols when completing your Covid-19 risk assessments. Aqueos are currently offering 30% discount to all RDA groups – quote ‘RDA’ when placing your order online, or over the phone.
Helpful videos
Thank you to Karen Thompson and her team at Kesteven RDA for sharing the following videos. These do not show you what to do, but demonstrate their practical thinking in developing solutions to getting started…. they subsequently adapted their practices to ensure they meet the changing requirements of the government and RDA. (click and then choose full screen):
Mounting
Dismounting
Leading
Thanks to Penniwells for sharing this fun film showing how they will work within current guidelines; it’s a video (made by the team before they could welcome riders to the centre) sent to their riders, so it helps them to know what to expect when they return:
Thanks also to Lambourn RDA for this video showing how they approach mounting with a family member, within the current guidelines:
RDA YouTube Channel
As new videos become available, they will be added to the full ‘Getting Started’ playlist on the RDA YouTube channel, so it’s worth taking a look from time to time, for any updates and helpful tips and guidance for you and your group:
Horse Matching!
Does your group have a horse that at the moment isn’t working because your group isn’t able to start, and the horse could benefit if temporarily working at another group? Does your group need a horse/pony to help you get your RDA sessions started?
If you have answered yes to either of these questions, let’s see if we can try to support each other and match spare horses with those who could benefit from them.
If you have a suitable RDA horse (one that is assessed and has worked in RDA pre-lockdown) please complete the Horse Loan form and send it to groupsupport@rda.org.uk. If you are wanting to loan a horse to help you get started, please register your interest by emailing what you need to groupsupoort@rda.org.uk.
We will then liaise with those who contact us to see if we can try to match suitable horses with those who are in need.
Alternative Activities and Top Tips
We know groups are keen to get their participants back but may not be able to get them back on a horse or in a carriage. The working group are looking to support with ideas on alternative sessions and tips on getting started. Please take a look at the ‘resources’ section to the right of this page, for some useful downloads and helpful films to support your plans for additional activities!