The first of August marked two reasons to celebrate for Riding for the Disabled group, with their 50th anniversary of service and the official birthday of their horses.
Golden Boy and Toffee made an appearance at Prospero Pl on Wednesday to celebrate the day, which was also to increase public
awareness of their service and recruit volunteers. Central Taranaki volunteer Sarah Collier says the riders gain strength, skills and confidence through the riding programme.
``It's socially therapeutic, builds muscles and helps their co-ordination. ''
The group currently has 10 volunteers, five horses and 21 children from schools in Central Taranaki.
``You don't have to be a horsey person to be a volunteer. You can greet the children, put on their helmets. There's always something to be done. We also need more horses. We look for ones with a good, calm nature and also ones that are big and have long strides as they can be a lot better for some of the kids.
