When I started at Wilton RDA I could barely control my anger. I used to have outbursts at the slightest things and this got me into a lot of trouble. I started riding in September 2004 as part of a curriculum for Disabled students at Woodford Valley CE Primary. I was very reluctant to get on a horse at first, but the moment I sat down, I felt a change. From the start, I wanted to learn to “jump and go fast” in the words of my 6 year old self.
Wilton RDA has helped me come to terms with myself and greatly improved my ability to keep my mood in check. I still have a lot of issues, but not nearly as many as before I started Horse Riding.
I am forever in debt to Woodford Primary and to RDA for helping me to get to where I am today.
But it was not just my primary school and nearby horse riding stables that made me into the person I currently am, the biggest change to affect my life in recent years was hearing about a man named Rupert Isaacson.
One day, my mum and grandparents decided to go to a talk by this very man and came back enlightened. Intrigued, I picked up his book and was hit square in the forehead by the best true story that I have EVER read. I even started to follow the beliefs and understand the ideals of shamanism- one of the factors talked about in the book.
After a few months, mum asked me if I would like to go and see Rupert speak to an audience at Cholderton Farm Equestrian Centre. I eagerly accepted. To this day I believe that it was the best decision of my life, I hung onto every word and even plucked up the courage to speak to him at the end of the show.
He told me that if I worked hard and did well in my studies and GCSE’s I would have a place reserved for me to work with him in America at his Foundation in Texas. That has been my aspiration ever since.
The news came a year few years later that Rupert was coming back to Britain. I was overjoyed, and got my mum to speak to him. Through my mum, we were able to arrange him coming to the RDA to do a demonstration and I loved every minute of it, as I am sure lots of others did too. The last time I spoke to him, we promised to keep in touch, and it has led me to the stage I am at now, about to have a private lesson with him on his Horse Boy Method.
I will never, ever forget the first time I met him, and will forever be grateful to my family, friends, staff at Woodford and volunteers at the RDA for provoking the series of events that led me to where I am now.
