Mary Walsh chairs RDA Ireland—nearly 60 years, 40 groups, 400 riders weekly, zero paid executives, volunteer-led providing riding/therapy to adults/children with challenges.
From beginning with the organisation 30 years ago, progressed from volunteer to area rep to welfare officer (delivers Sport Ireland safeguarding) to chairperson.
Also Michael Fox whose autistic son Leo (no family horse background) seeing quick results—20-message text exchange never texted before, writing poetry school, saying feels "calm" on Henry never used that term, holding cabbage for Henry despite severe ARFID requiring covering vegetables at the supermarket.
Listen to the full episode on Horse Sport Ireland Podcast - search "Horse Sport Ireland" on your podcast app
Keywords: #equineTherapy #RDAIreland #horseHeartbeat #autismSupport #volunteerImpact
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
- Horse's heartbeat synchronises with rider's creating zen calming effect for everyone
- Six year old profoundly autistic non-verbal girl now sleeping talking after sessions
- Leo holding cabbage for Henry overcoming ARFID food phobia through horse feeding
- Forty groups, four hundred riders, nearly sixty years, zero paid executives
- Sponsor rider two hundred euros yearly enabling secondary school improved centre access
GUEST DETAILS
Mary Walsh is Chairperson of RDA Ireland, a volunteer-led organization operating nearly 60 years providing riding therapy to 400 riders weekly across 40 groups with zero paid executives.
Founding member of Cavan group 30 years ago, she progressed from volunteer to area rep to welfare officer (delivers Sport Ireland safeguarding courses) before becoming chairperson.
Her most powerful story: a six-year-old profoundly autistic non-verbal girl who never slept one night in six years now sleeps every night, talks, and wears a bobbin after RDA sessions—transforming her exhausted single mother's life completely.
CONNECT WITH MARY
- RDA Ireland: rdaireland.org
- Instagram and Facebook: Search RDA Ireland
- Interactive map on website showing 40 centres nationwide
- Volunteer, donate, or sponsor a rider (€200/year
MORE INFORMATION
Horse Sport Ireland is the national governing body for equestrian sport and the sport horse industry in Ireland, overseeing disciplines and high-performance teams, regulating athletes and horses, issuing equine passports and maintaining studbooks, and supporting breeders through national breeding services and coaching programmes.
QUOTES
Quote 1: The horse's heartbeat and theirs synchronises, so that's actually very calming for them. Even if I have a volunteer walking beside or leading a horse, the same thing happens, and you're just so zen. It's so good." - Mary Walsh
Quote 2 : "We have a little girl, six, profoundly autistic, rolled around the muck in the yard on the first day. This girl is six. She has never slept one night in six years.' After three sessions with us, she's sleeping three nights. After another few sessions, sleeping every night. Her mom grabs me crying: 'You cannot believe I've slept for the first time in six years.' - Mary Walsh
Quote 3: "So much happened in such a short space of time after he started equine therapy. My sister in law received a really long text exchange from him, maybe 20 messages. I hadn't even known him to send any text messages apart from game screenshots. - Michael Fox
Quote 4: "He's got ARFID—avoidant resistant food intake disorder. Extremely limited diet, almost a fear of foods. He won't touch vegetables. If we're in the supermarket, we have to separate them and cover them. But he will hold it when he's feeding Henry. To be able to cross that barrier that allows him to hold a piece of cabbage, a carrot, because it's for Henry, all of a sudden it's not a problem anymore. You would never think that horse riding would be a route to help him deal with a fear of certain foods." - Michael Fox
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