QOTT Grant proving valuable for Valley RDA

By Andrew Smith

They have been giving people with a disability the opportunity to ride and enjoy all the activities connected with horse riding since 1996.

Now, the Valley Riding for the Disabled at Tallebudgera has received its own boost as part of the Queensland Off-The-Track Grants Program.

The centre recently acquitted a QOTT Therapy Horse Grant, which helps fund the costs associated with veterinary treatment, farrier and feed for retired racehorses that are used as therapy aids.

One equine participant that has greatly benefited from the grant in particular has been ex-racehorse Maltese Lovable, who has been with the Valley RDA since 2008.

Valley RDA president Cliff Hitch said the funding boost had been crucial in ensuring the former thoroughbred galloper continued to be a vital part of the program.

“He’s 24 years old now and required a considerable amount of veterinary treatment,” Hitch said.

“He’s beginning to show signs of needing a lot of care and attention, which thankfully we had the funds from QOTT to be able to do that.

“He's used for challenged riders both physically and mentally on a regular basis, however because of his ongoing health issues, he's not being used as much this last 12 months as we would normally expect.

“We've had a good run out of him really, and we are all very, very fond of him.

“He's cost us money to look after, and of course he's not earned us much money, so having the grant was absolutely essential to ensure that we could look after him.”

Valley RDA has four horses in total which assist around 20 clients in getting a feel of what it is like to ride a horse.

One of those horses, standardbred Up The Andy, is also benefiting from the grant.

“We've had Up The Andy for a good few years now, eight years I think we've had him,” Hitch said.

“He's been a good horse, in the same way as Maltese Lovable, he's not cost us much to keep and run, and he's been a good, quiet horse.

“Unfortunately, he's developed the propensity to spook with birds or any quick moving objects…so long term we'll look at rehoming him.

“It’s absolutely imperative that we got a grant like that to enable us to support him and those ex-racehorses, and from a financial point of view, we can break even.”

The Valley RDA employs four senior coaches and a volunteer coordinator to assist with the program.

Volunteers are trained to be able to handle the horses, to know how to saddle, how to lead and how to protect riders who are vulnerable.

They are continuing to go from strength to strength with plenty of success stories across the last 30 years.

“We also vet our clients as they're not all suitable for riding and sitting on horses for various different reasons, one of them being weight, and we follow the national guidelines which involves age, size, weight, etc,” Hitch said.

“Some riders are able to balance better than others, and it’s a constant calculation.

“We have two things here: one, we have dedicated volunteers who just love to see the progress that the clients make.

“It's amazing, clients come in fairly uncoordinated in many respects, and you see them over a period of time, even years, how they change and develop.

“Some of our clients we've had for 10 years and we've seen them growing up, and so the value for all concerned - the parents, the carers, and for our volunteers – is just immeasurable.”

Valley RDA runs six lessons across Fridays and Saturdays, with a maximum of 30 clients.

Hitch said there was a possibility to expand the program if they found the right horses to suit the riders.

“We're actually actively right now looking for two replacement horses and we're looking at Off-The-Track horses as well,” Hitch said.

“But we can't have them that are too big - anything over 15 hands is a bit high for side walkers to deal with.

“So we're trying to restrict that, it's not an easy ask, and they've got to be super quiet horses, of course.”

RQ Senior Animal Care Manager Kim Duffy said the QOTT Grants Program continued to play a vital role in strengthening long-term aftercare pathways for retired racehorses across Queensland.

“Supporting not-for-profit organisations such as Valley RDA is an important part of ensuring retired racehorses can continue to make a positive impact in the community,” Ms Duffy said.

“Through the delivery of therapy and rehabilitation programs, these organisations not only provide significant community benefits, but also create meaningful and sustainable second-career opportunities for retired racehorses in their care.

“Whether through therapy work, education programs or recreational riding, these grants help ensure retired racehorses can continue to lead active, purposeful lives, and the work these organisations do has lasting benefits for both people and horses alike.”

The QOTT Grants Program complements the various post-racing initiatives introduced by RQ over the past five years to support racehorse aftercare in Queensland.

These include the Subsidised Lessons Program, Acknowledged Retrainers Program, Event Sponsorship Program, Nutrition Education Hub, Safety Net Partnership with Save A Horse Australia, Premium Event Partnerships, QOTT Education Program, QOTT Clubhouse, the New OTT Owner Welcome Pack and the On-site Humane Euthanasia Program – Equine.