So tonight I have a meeting that I am very excited about. I know I don’t talk about it a whole ton, but I am certified therapeutic riding instructor through NARHA. In order to get this certification I actually moved to one of the places where a training course was held for one year. I took a 3 hour class once a week and then there was the practical component which was Friday afternoons and Saturday’s. I am so glad I did it though because not only was it incredibly rewarding, it was also really FUN! And I made some great friends, including Hollywood who also got her certification the same time that I did. So I put all this work into therapeutic riding and then once my apartment lease was up I moved for grad school became so busy that I just stopped doing it at all.
I absolutely regret that because it is something that was so special to me. The problem is that I won’t work for a center that is not NARHA accredited. I know what it takes to get that accreditation, and it is not easy so if a center is willing to put up the time and effort in order to get it I feel a lot more comfortable giving them my time. It also helps that NARHA has many standards in place for the sake of SAFETY. I want to make sure I am keeping away from bad situations as much as possible. The problem is that the closest NARHA accredited center is almost an hour away from where I live. I know I drive an hour and 15 minutes each way to work every day, I don’t want be doing that on the weekends as well. And I cannot do it after school because then I wouldn’t have time to see my own horse, which of course is not an option.
So besides the occasional substitute instructor call, or the “we have no volunteers can you please come help” calls from a few centers I am closest too I have not been actively involved with therapeutic riding for several years now. I did go to the NARHA Region 2 conference this year, but that was because it was at the center where I got my certification and I knew they needed help. I had just sort of given up on the fact that I would ever use my certification.
The nice local trainer, who owns Ridge Farm where Texas lives and who is “Texas’s Grandma” so to speak has spoken to me several times about how she has friends who want to use her facility to run a therapeutic center, but she didn’t know how to even get started with that. So she and I got to talking on several occasions about some steps she might want to take and people she should contact to get the ball rolling. The Nice Local trainer already had people in mind she wants to work with, 2 mental health therapists and 2 occupational therapists. I hadn’t given her situation a lot of thought because over the past several years I have talked to a lot of people who want to start a center…and I have learned that talk is cheap.
Last week at cocktail hour on Friday, after I had finished riding, the Nice Local Trainer had started to talk to me about it again. It was still on her brain that Sunday and as luck would have it just as I was getting ready to hop in the car to go see Gen after a nice ride on Texas a strange car pulled into the driveway. The Nice Local Trainer was weeding her garden and called me over because one of the therapists she had been talking about on Friday had just brought her kids over to visit with the horses. So the therapist, her husband, and their two kids got out of the car and over I went. I was in a rush because I had still had to see Gen and the BBQ start times were looming.
We all talked for a few minutes and it was clear to me in that time that these people were serious. They wanted to start a therapeutic riding center and they knew the Nice Local Trainer was just the woman to do it with. I was still in the shock of talking to someone who was really going to do what they said when the Nice Local trainer sprung the idea of group meeting on me. The therapist was so happy to be making some progress she suggested right away a date and time for us to meet. It is tonight at 8pm.
At first I was a little reluctant to get pulled into something, but the more I think about it the more excited I get. I would love to help these people start a center, and if I could get a few hours of therapeutic riding lessons in a week for myself, well that would just be amazing. So while I am still not holding my breath about it, I am really looking forward to the meeting! Fingers crossed on this one!
I’m excited for you – go for it! My son has been on the receiving side of therapeutic riding and it was awesome. I’ve never seen his face so at peace – tranquil – as I have when he’s been on a horse. Unfortunately he’s developed a severe allergy to hay so we’ve had to cut way back on his riding. He can’t even just go hang out at the barn with us any more when we go to ride and taking the kid to shows with us is torturous. He ends up sitting in the trailer with a box of tissues.
So – go for it!! It could turn into a great opportunity and didn’t you mention you’ll be unemployed soon?
That’s AWESOME! I’m so excited for you. Although, I think you guys should plan a trip to Ohio and come check out the center where I volunteer. We just got re-accredited by NARHA last fall and passed with 100%. They said we are one of the best centers in the country and are using us as models for others. I’m not a little proud of Pegasus or anything. But I do know someone who could put you up for a few days and get you in to Pegasus if you wanted to come check it out!
I’m a huge proponent of therapeutic riding and I’m thrilled you’ve got a chance to get back into it.
I’m glad that it looks like this program might actually get off the ground and you will be a part of it. The work therapists and volunteers do with therapeutic riding is wonderful. It must be so rewarding for everyone who is involved. Good luck on getting this started.
If you’re excited – follow the excitement! My daughter used to volunteer at a center near us, and the work they do is just amazing, and so useful for the clients. I hope it all works out.
I’m a little behind in posts, but here’s hoping things went well tonight!