last fall session

Yesterday was the last day of lessons for the fall session at the NWTRC. Being as it was almost Halloween we had a trick-o-treat trail ride set up for the younger participants to go and get candy while on their horses. Mika, who is a rec major in my phase came out to the farm with me yesterday to see what therapeutic riding is all about, because we have to do a presentation on adapted riding for our TR class. It was great for her to be able to come out and actually see what we do, as opposed to just reading about it online. I'll post our finalized presentation once its completed so everyone can check out some of the adaptations.  It was a really fun day, however, a little bittersweet that we won't be having any more lessons till April 2011. But, I have a lot to look forward to in the new year because Julia has asked me to come on board as a riding instructor for the center in the spring. I am more than excited about this! I can't even believe that I am going to have my dream job before I even graduate with my degree! It is such a wonderful opportunity, and I am already wishing it was spring. I'll be spending this winter riding some of the horses at the center to keep them in shape, taking some riding lessons to practice my own skills as well as being on the "other side" of the lesson than I normally am, and getting prepared to teach in the spring.
More updates and pictures to come soon! :)

a good week

Although my school work has been keeping me pretty busy, this was a really good week. Earlier this week I secured a paid internship with Holland America, and I will spend a week of winter break sailing around the Caribbean on there newest ship. While this doesn't really have anything to do with therapeutic riding or recreation, I figured I would mention it because I am really excited about having the opportunity to go.
This week I also found my dream internship! The place is called Aspen Ranch and it is located in rural Loa, Utah. My wonderful friend Rose told me about this place, and I am so glad she did because I don't think I would have ever found it on my own. Aspen Ranch is a long term residency facility for teens. The program includes school, regular therapy, recreational therapy. But the best part is that the entire program revolves around an amazing equine therapy program. Check out the website for more details:
http://www.aspenranch.com/equine.html
The program focuses on using the horses to help the teens through whatever issues they are dealing with. The goal is for the teens to create a rapport with their horses, and work through their issues with the horses as partners. Some of the parts of the program that stand out to me are that all of the teens (regardless of riding ability) have to start out riding bareback and eventually earn their saddles. Once they have earned their saddles and have become good enough riders they are given a chance to train their own wild mustang.  It is so amazing!
I also had a really good time at volunteering this week too! The time flies by at the farm, and I find myself continuously smiling. This week I got to side walk for the first time, which is where you walk next to the rider and help them stay balanced or assist them in using their reins. I really enjoy getting the opportunity to try all of the aspects in therapeutic riding. Also, when you are teaching it is really important to know what it like to do the things you are asking your students and volunteers to do. It also gives me a chance to interact more with the students and to watch and listen to what the instructors are doing.

some photos

I thought it would be fun to post some photos of me with horses over the years, here are just a few and hopefully there will be more to come as well!

way back in the day!

Chrome and I 

Dee Dee and I playing around

Most recent 'pony project' Dom. This was our first training session together

Me and Dee Dee having a great summer ride!

Dom shows me his stuff after summer pony boot camp.
What a wonderful little guy!

personal philosophy statement

In my therapeutic recreation class that I am taking this quarter our professor asked us to write our personal philosophy about TR and where we want to go with it. Because it directly relates to me becoming a certified therapeutic riding instructor I figured I would share my statement here. Enjoy!

"The reason that recreation has been such big part of my life is mainly due to the opportunities I was given at a young age. I know that I would not be the person I am today without those opportunities, specifically my experiences working with horses. In the 13 plus years I have spent riding and working with horses I have never leased or owned my own horse, my family simply could not afford it. Instead, I was given something so much more valuable than ownership of a horse; I got a community of people who supported me and gave me amazing opportunities because they believed in me. I cannot express in words how invaluable these opportunities were in the development of my horsemanship skills, as well as allowing me to grow into the person I am today.

Had I had the opportunity to own my own horse at a young age (which at the time I so desperately wanted), I would not have learned about struggle and hard work. I also might not have discovered the joy and happiness I find in teaching and training, which is what has really shaped my life. Therefore my philosophy as a recreation professional is to offer the opportunity to children and adults of all ability levels to learn horsemanship and riding skills in an integrated and positive environment. I would like to see reflected in my clients the same joy and satisfaction I get from teaching and working with horses.

The process to achieve the philosophy I have created for myself will have to be conducted in two steps. The first part I will hopefully achieve in the next year by becoming a certified therapeutic riding instructor through the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. With this certification I will be able to teach people who have various disabilities how to ride, while continuing to teach people who are able-bodied.

The second part may take me years to achieve because most therapeutic riding programs only serve “special” populations and do not mix teaching people who have disabilities with people who are able-bodied. I believe that we should not only have segregated programs, but also have integrated programs where anyone regardless of their ability can participate together. Along with providing equal opportunities for all ability levels to participate in horseback riding. I hope that this integrated riding program can bring more awareness and understanding to people who are able-bodied about people who have disabilities through first-hand positive interactions between them. Through this awareness and understanding I hope that life long friendships and communities can form and grow, and that all of the participants can feel as supported and believed in as my community has made me feel throughout the years."

struggle helps you grow

Today was my second day of volunteering, and again I learned A LOT! Today I really got to experience how totally different lessons can be. My first two lessons went really smoothly (well minus Zorro not wanting to move forward). It is really incredible the variety of people we have in the lessons and their ability levels, however they all still present challenges. The last lesson of the day was pretty rough for all of us. But I learned three very important things that will be very helpful later when I begin teaching as well as in future lessons. The first is the importance of keeping a quick pace. The faster the horse is moving the more the rider can engage in learning and riding. As soon as lessons start to slow down people get distracted and traffic jams start to happen. The second is the importance of your body position while leading the horse. The horses are specifically trained and learn to carefully follow whoever is leading them, so if your body position is back behind the horses shoulder they will become confused and not keep an even pace. The third was how to specifically deal with people who have autism. I've learned a lot about autism in school, but putting all that book knowledge to use in the field is a hard thing to do and you can become easily frustrated when things don't seem to be going your way. This happened to me today, but I'm proud of myself for not loosing my cool when it seemed that I had lost my connection with my rider. Instead I had to think really hard about how to keep his attention. I really put my critical thinking skills to work today! I understand that not everyday can got 100% smoothly and I really appreciated having a lesson that I really had to struggle with, it really gives me an opportunity to learn under pressure and stress and overcome a difficult situation.
I can't wait to get back out to the farm next week! I really wish that my schedule worked out better so I could go out there more than once a week... Hopefully I will be in the spring!