Guidance for school sessions with Yare Valley RDA

The appropriate paperwork must be completed for Pupils to ride.

Clothing

• All riders must wear comfortable, long, loose fitting or stretchy trousers. Footwear should be a full boot, shoe or trainer. No open toe sandals or Crocs please.
• Coats, Jackets or any open fronted clothing should be done up, and any long necklace or lanyard should be taken off or tucked into clothing.
• A riding hat will be fitted for size to the rider by one of our volunteers trained in hat fitting. They must fit snugly and with chin strap done up.
• Maximum weight of rider we can accommodate is 80kg

If a pupil attends who is unable to ride, we will help them with some ‘groundwork’ such as grooming, learning about the tack and parts of the pony. A saddle is available for children to sit on in preparation for their session. The coach on the morning is responsible for the safety and welfare of the riders, ponies and volunteers, occasionally a rider may need to dismount early for reasons of safety and enjoyment of the rider.

The maximum number of riders per school in an hour session is 6, we are limited due to the number of horses available. Plus, we are reliant on there being enough volunteers to assist pupils, we sometimes can only offer a reduced time for riding if we are short of volunteers, this can also apply if the session starts late. Any potential changes will be in consultation with our schools.

Please find below a downloadable Widgit social story and cards to support the pupils experience.

Autumn Term

14^th / 15^th September – Riding starts again

26^th/27^th October 2026 – Half term (no riding)

30^th November/1^th December 2026 – Last sessions before Christmas

11^th/12^th January 2027 – Riding starts again

15^th/16^th February 2027 – Half term (no riding)

22^nd /23^rd March 2027 – Last sessions before Easter

19^th/20^th April 2027 – Riding starts again

23^rd May 2027 – Bank Holiday (no riding)

31^thMay/1^st June 2027 – Half term (no riding)

5^th/6^thJuly 2027 – Last sessions before Summer holiday