What a strange and peculiar year 2020 has been and it looks as if there will be no change into the New Year and all we can hope for is that the vaccine will be a success.
Berwickshire Group stopped riding on 16th March and on the recommendation of RDA National Office did not consider opening again until August.
The Group Trustees put a great deal of thought into re starting and after much hard work cleaning the Riding School, we started in September with a much reduced client list.
It was decided we would only use Sandy the Mechanical Horse as he is much easier to sanitise and to see how things would work under a much stricter regime.
Some of our riders are shielding and we did not see some of our school pupils and adults as Scottish Borders Council decreed, they had to stay in their bubbles and would not provide transport and despite the school’s best efforts they did not appear and sadly there was nothing the Group could do about this.
Those riders who did manage to join us worked hard and all have improved and got fitter after such a long time off.
A huge thank you to all our loyal volunteers, to those who are helping, those who are on our reserve list and to those shielding loved ones.
Because we have less riders, we need less helpers but that is not to say you have been forgotten and we will need every one of you once things get back to normal.
The Trustees and Treasurer have managed to keep the Group financially viable despite there being no fundraising events this year.
We are grateful to all the kind people who have supported the Group in any way and made it possible for us to continue to provide free riding.
All our horses are fit and well and ready to go once we feel it appropriate; some have been hunting to keep them interested and all are missing the contact with RDA.
As we go into 2021 the Trustees will continue to evaluate how we can provide RDA to as many people as possible but please be patient with us as it is not always easy.
The Group wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year and hope for an early return to normality for all our sakes.
Margaret Morgan
Group Chairman
