June 5, 2008 issue
Blazing Saddles Needs Volunteers
Story by Celeste von Mangan
If you love horses and helping people, Blazing Saddles has a volunteer job for you. The therapeutic riding organization urgently needs volunteers to sidewalk participants while they are riding horses, help prepare the arena for lessons, groom horses and help participants tack up their horses prior to riding. Blazing Saddles participants are children and adults who have special needs, but no experience is required with either horses or people with disabilities to become a volunteer.
The lessons for participants are one hour long, and volunteers generally help out with only one, but may help with more lessons if they wish. Lessons take place at the Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, weather permitting. Evening lessons are on Monday and Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday lessons start at 9:00 a.m. and end about 2:00 p.m.
“Clients are all ages and disabilities, from many counties,” said Hannah Parks, Blazing Saddles volunteer. “There is no one group, but a huge variety of individuals. We have two riders per lesson and oftentimes, unless they are siblings, they don’t know each other.”
Volunteer training sessions are held throughout the riding season on an as-needed basis. The application process consists of volunteers filling out a total of three forms, including one describing health history, authorization for emergency medical treatment and a volunteer release form.
Additional opportunities related to horse care such as training, exercising and maintaining horses are available on an individual basis.
Blazing Saddles is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 that relies mainly on grants and donations from individuals and businesses to keep the program going.
“We’re always in need of monetary donations, as therapeutic riding is pretty resource intensive,” said Fiona Chrystall, director and North American Riding for the Handicapped Association registered therapeutic riding instructor for Blazing Saddles, Inc. “We do not prevent anyone who has an eligible disability from riding in our program due to an inability to pay; therefore, a good chunk of our donations each year go directly towards allowing riders to participate in the program on full scholarship. We have been very fortunate in obtaining a few small grants from various organizations in the past year and we will be doing a raffle draw again over the summer months, beginning later this month. We do need about $500 to supplement a grant of $1,000 already received towards a good, comfortable saddle for our new Arabian mare who joined the program this year. We also need help with advertising and selling tickets for our raffle draw when we get everything organized.”
Four horses comprise the equine base of the organization, and besides the new mare, Blazing Saddles maintains Dude, Banjo and Shrek.
Parks has volunteered with the organization for one year, and the experience has been positive for her.
“Volunteer work is really rewarding, speaking from my own experience,” she said. “There can be rough days where nothing seems to click with the horse or the rider and between the two. And then the next week the student can come back and master that skill that was giving them so much trouble and you’re just so proud of them and excited to be privy to this small miracle. It’s also really neat to see the kids build relationships with the horses, the instructor and the staff. They can be really shy and closed off at the beginning of the lesson, but then get excited and open up once they get on the horse. They’ll become your friend!”
For more information about becoming a volunteer with Blazing Saddles, Inc. call 828-295-3335 or email info@blazingsaddles.com.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
