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All the latest news & happenings at Muirfield!.....
Tuesday November 17th was a very
exciting day for us. Riders, Helpers & Ponies were all preaned to perfection because the BBC sent a film crew along
to see what we're up to. We have been very well supported by BBC Children in Need so we were thrilled to be able to show
them exaclty what their money acheives!
Click the link to see for yourself Children in Need
 On Wednesday The 30th of September Muirfield RDA were happy to take part in the National
40th Birthday Big Ride. All our schools who normally come in a Tuesday changed their day to join in this special occasion.
Riders also came from Thursday morning, Friday afternoon and Saturday sessions. We
were blessed with a beautiful day, the sun shone and we rode all day in our outdoor arena. The ponies, as always behaved impeccably
and seemed glad to be included in the celebrations. The riders all sang Happy Birthday to RD. and were very excited to be
involved. The day was completed by our Wednesday evening riders who rode indoors as usual. The headmaster of our local High School gave special permission for our teenage helpers to have the day off
and we could not have done without them! The whole day was an amazing success
with 57 riders taking part.
Well Done Everyone and Happy Birthday RDA!
Words by Rosemary Eaton,
Tuesday helper
The new term
is well underway. It has been very busy so far with a few "hiccups" caused by the building work and heavy rain.
We saw a few sessions cancelled in our first week back but the sun is out now and we're making the most of it!
Recent Events
Sunday September
13 - County Training Day, A greatly attended fun and informative day. Photo's
to follow.
Saturday September
12 - Burger Stall at Dalkeith Police Station, A hugely busy day, We sold out it record time!
Saturday August 29 - Sod Digging Ceremony
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| click picture's to see more images of the day |
Musselburgh Racecourse Event Monday 6th of July
A HUGE Well Done to everyone who helped or attended the Family Fun Day at Musselburgh Race course. What
an amazing day!
Our ponies were so well behaved considering the electric race day atmosphere. Rocky even
managed to fall asleep among the balloons, loud speaker and many highly excited children!
The highlight of the day was the one furlong RDA Pony race. We still can't believe how fast our
ponies ran!
Race Results
1st Briony - Jockey, Kerry Swales
2nd
Arlo - Jockey, Natalie Ford
3rd Otis - Jockey, Nicky Robson
4th Sonic - Jockey, Claire Coll
5th Hjarrandi - Jockey,
Gill Morrison
6th Kishmul - Jockey, Heather Asshetton
7th Rocky - Jockey Alison Bell
Well Done Everyone!
Can you believe it's the end of term already? What a year we've had with lots of new faces, new ponies and
all that fundraising.
The hard work has all been worth it though as we've raised enough to begin work on our new facilities!
I hope everyone enjoyed our end of term picnic ride. We were blessed with beautiful sunny weather which
made the cool walk through the woods even better.
Congratulations to everyone who received a certificate on the day and Good Luck
to all of our 'Graduating' riders!
Hope you all have a wonderful summer!
On Thursday June 18th Muirfield played host to a wonderful group of children from Chernobyl. The
ponies were very pleased to see them and the feeling was definitely mutual. Everyone involved had a wonderful time.
Our 19th Annual General meeting recently took place in the Mallard Hotel. What a year it has been! Please
take a few minutes to read our Chairmans report.
Click image to view
On Wednesday the 14th of January we were very lucky to have 37 volunteers from The Royal Bank
of Scotland come to help us with some essential maintenance. They split into teams and where soon working very hard painting,
cleaning and taking on the huge task of trimming and clearing the woods!
As a result of there efforts the arena and tie-up shed look amazing and best of
all our riders will be able to enjoy a cool ride among the tree's this summer.
So Thank You very much to everyone involved and needless to say you are all welcome back
anytime!
This week saw the last session for Tuesday Instructor Nicky Robson. Nicky has been with the group since
2002, first as a helper then a mentor and finally an instructor. She brought many professional
skills to the Group as well as lots of fun & laughter!
Nicky has brilliant organizational skills and is involved in so many projects from being
our show secretary to organizing fundraiser's, plus she's the best at getting us going on a cold January morning!
Her enthusiasm for teaching is infectious and always made for lively fun sessions! She really cared
for the individual rider. She'll be greatly missed by both riders and helpers but will not be leaving the Group
entirely, she'll still help out whenever her working life allows. You may even see Nicky around the farm as she
will always be Otis's "Mummy" and continue to share him.
I'm sure I speak for everyone in saying Good Luck with the new job Nicky!! Your
the BESTEST!!! x
Fundraising
During the last week of May, three big grants were awarded for the new facilities:
- Robertson Trust £30,000
- Viridor, £30,000
- SportScotland, £30,000......£90,000 in one week - not bad!
1st June Garden Teas at Archerfield and Smeaton raised a total of £994! Thanks to all who baked and served!
11th. June was a good day too, for internal fundraising:
- Pony Rides for KIDS OUT at Jack Kane Centre £300!
- Sponsored Ladder Climb by Bravo Squad of Scottish Fire Training College £678!
- From Broadway to Hollywood - concert by Encore & Musical Youth £175
Thanks to everyone who took part in any of these events!
Rider Successes!!
Drum Dressage 1st June. Tracey Brown came 1st in both her classes and Paul White came 1st
in his, even though it was only the first time Paul had competed.
Regional Countryside Challenge, Tweedale RDA, Crookston, Peebles.
Danielle McNeil got a 1st in Tack & Tournout on Kishmul
The Muirfield Team won the overall Countryside Challenge! Well done to Yvonne Meek & Meryl-Anne Watson
who rode Sonic & Danielle McNeil & Adam Linton-Main who rode Kishmul.
Click on the pictures to view more photo's!
Muirfield AGM
Our 18th meeting held at the Mallard Hotel chartered what has been a very eventful year! The meeting itself
was an upbeat affair were we premiered our very own promotional video!
To read or download the chairmans report click on the book!
Radio Forth Awards!
The Radio Forth Help a Child Appeal Award is designed to honor either someone who works with children with
special needs or is a special needs child themselves in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife.
Our chair Susan Law won the award!
Susan and two other nominees were short listed from hundreds of entries from all over East
Central Scotland.
She was then invited to attend the glittering presentation ceremony which took place on Wednesday Nov
14th at Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms were she later found out she had won!
This award is judged by a panel of representatives from the Radio Forth Help a Child Appeal which has
been helping children throughout Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife for many years.
Click to hear Susan's interview!
Click to view the article on Forth 1's site!
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