Riding for the Disabled is looking for Car Boot Sale sellers for their annual fundraising event. Photo: Supplied.
Riding for the Disabled (RDA) is a much-loved local charity in Wagga and the committee is putting out the call for sellers to join this year’s Car Boot Sale in the ongoing quest to keep funds coming in.
RDA is a voluntary, nonprofit organisation that delivers therapeutic, horse-related activities for children with any form of disability and also offers after-school riding lessons to local kids.
RDA’s Lizzie Macquarie said the Car Boot Sale had become a popular annual event.
“It started out because we just wanted to have a bit of a shed clean out, and it’s snowballed into a regular car boot sale,” she said.
“It goes really well because we do it undercover in the indoor arena and we saw last year that, even though there was a fair bit of drizzle, we still had a good turnout of people coming through.”
Money raised helps the self-funded organisation to keep up with much-needed maintenance and feed for the hungry herd of horses.
“Anything is a bonus now that we’re upping feeds for the horses out in the paddock as we come into the warmer months and hay is getting harder and harder to come by,” Lizzie said.
“We’ve got a couple of horses that are on specialised feeds, and then we’ve got around 12 in the paddock at the moment that are requiring hay feeds every day, so it’s just an ongoing expense.”
RDA Wagga recently received some funding through the ClubGRANTS program to update safety equipment like the collection of riding helmets that need to be replaced regularly.
“There’s always something we need to fix or replace and we’ve just purchased a lot of new helmets thanks to the ClubGRANTS program and that really helped to take the stress off our financials a bit,” she said.
RDA was recently awarded funding through ClubGRANTS. Photo: Supplied.
Lizzie has been involved with RDA on and off for almost three decades after starting out as a “youth grouper” volunteering on weekends.
“It was really for the love of horses that I got involved and it gives you that horsey fix without the bill,” she laughed.
“Then I reconnected as an adult and, when my daughter became a client 11 years ago, I got talked into volunteering again and then becoming a coach and then joining the committee.
“I started for the horses, but you end up staying because you start to just enjoy everybody that’s out there – the clients, the other volunteers, the coaches – it’s great!”
The Car Boot Sale is booked in for 12 October at the centre on Plumpton Road and volunteers will be manning the barbecue throughout the day.
Sites are just $20 each and Lizzie said they were open to everyone, from those clearing out the shed to hobbyists and market regulars.
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