Cambridge Volunteer — Leader / Sidewalker (The Mane Support)

Cambridge

Organisation Riding for the Disabled – Cambridge Inc
Category Youth & Children
Hours Working Hours

Join our Cambridge RDA Volunteer Community
If you live in Cambridge and have a few hours to spare, here’s a wonderful chance to feel useful by giving your time to a cause that truly changes lives.

Our gentle, patient horses have a unique way of bringing calm and joy to everyone they meet. As you work safely alongside our amazing team of horses, you’ll witness the happiness and growing confidence of our special needs and disadvantaged riders, both adults and children supported by the Riding for the Disabled programme.

But it’s not just the horses that make this place unique. Our volunteers are warm, friendly, welcoming and always ready to greet new faces with kindness and openness. From your very first hour, you’ll feel valued, respected, and part of a community where everyone’s voice matters, whether you’re young or old, new or experienced. This is truly a place where Cambridge comes together through kindness and respect.

As a volunteer, you’ll be helping with things like:

  • Arriving early to bring in and groom our lovely horses (some grooming experience is a bonus!)
  • Leading a horse during a session or side walking alongside a rider
  • Helping prepare horses for the next class
  • Keeping the arena clean and tidy
  • Fitting helmets to riders
  • Assisting the coach at the mounting ramp

Our sessions run Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 am to 1 pm, with flexible start times to fit your life here in Cambridge.

If you want to be part of a welcoming, compassionate community surrounded by gentle horses and kind-hearted locals, we would love to welcome you to the team.

Requirements:

  • Volunteers need to be 14 or older to join our crew.
  • We really appreciate regular commitment, as references for university or employment are based on your reliability.
  • Some grooming experience is helpful, but if you don’t have any, a willingness to learn and get hands-on is just as important. We’ll train you with our special ‘RDA way’ to help you feel confident.
  • You’ll need to be reasonably comfortable around horses—they’re gentle but big friends!
  • We love friendly, caring, and encouraging people who enjoy working as part of a team.
  • Good communication helps keep everyone happy and safe.
  • You’ll need a fair bit of fitness since leading horses means plenty of walking and some trotting.
  • While waiting for your police check, you’ll complete a fun and easy 1.5-hour online induction with 10 interesting modules.

A Police background check is required for this role.

Time commitment:

  • We ask volunteers to commit to at least 6 months.
  • Ideally, you can volunteer one day a week.
  • If you love being part of our RDA family, more days are always welcome — but if time is tight, less is okay too!

Getting started:

The first step is to express your interest by filling out the form below. We will then put you in touch directly with the organisation for more information on the role and how to proceed.

Ref: 2326

Apply for this role