Volunteers & Volunteering

In April 2004, Lucky Harvest’s Board of Directors hired Debbie to fill the position of Project Coordinator. As Coordinator, she runs the Therapeutic Riding Center on a daily basis, and reports to the Board.

Debbie was raised in Huntingdon, Québec, on a farm with Quarter horses, and was a competitive rider, in both English and Western, for over ten years. In 1983, she graduated from Vanier College with a diploma in Early Childhood Education. Her early work experience included two years working with children at the Québec Society for Disabled Children in Montreal. She left the QSDC to get married, and return to Huntingdon where her husband operates his own business.

For fifteen years, Debbie was the director of a non-profit child care center located in Huntingdon. Under her direction, the Centre increased its capacity from twenty-five children per day, to eighty children per day, and added a home child care sector with space for fifty children per day. When she took over the Center, it was located in an old house that required constant maintenance. Under her direction, the Center expanded three times, and in 2001 they moved into a new state-of the-art facility.

At Lucky Harvest she is able to combine her love for children and horses with her successes as an administrator. Debbie became a Cantra certified instructor (CTRAI) in June 2007 and now divides her time between the administrative duties and her students.

Amanda has been working with Lucky Harvest since June 2004, as our stable manager. In the winter of 2005 she began training to acquire her instructor’s certification with the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association. She has been teaching since the winter of 2006 and will complete her exams in June 2007. Like Debbie, Amanda divides her time between the barn / horse duties and teaching. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Guelph, Kempville Campus, with a diploma in Equine Studies. She has grown up around horses and has been competitively riding Quarter Horses since the age of twelve. Following graduation, Amanda worked as the assistant-manager on a 70-horse Trackener breeding farm in Morrisburg, Ontario. In the spring 2004, Amanda and her husband returned to our community to be closer to their family and to raise their daughters, Hailey and Cassidy.

At the heart of the Lucky Harvest Therapeutic Riding Center is our
devoted, and tireless, crew of volunteers. Although Lucky Harvest has a small nucleus of paid staff who manage the operation, supervise the horses and stable, and provide the instruction, as a non-profit organization, Lucky Harvest relies on the generosity of volunteers to assist at many levels in order that we may keep our rates affordable, our lessons safe and enjoyable, and our horses healthy and happy. Here are some of the ways our volunteers contribute:

Horse Leaders: A horse leader is the person who manages the horse during the lesson, leaving the instructor free to concentrate solely on the rider. The leader's responsibility is to keep the horse under control at all times, and follow the verbal directions of the instructor.
Side Walkers: Side walkers are the people who walk alongside the rider and act as "spotters" providing extra support and assistance to the rider, when necessary.

Twelve months of the year, Lucky Harvest is home to as many as eight wonderful, hard-working horses. No matter what the weather, or level of lesson activity, the job of seeing that the needs of the horses are met is never-ending. The barn needs to be kept clean and safe. The horses have to be fed, groomed, and taken out to the paddocks. Tack and equipment used in the lessons must be cleaned and inspected regularly for safety and longevity.

Skilled riders are required to help exercise our horses. This is not an opportunity for people to ride for recreational purposes. Riders
abilities are evaluated before they are permitted to ride the horses, and the riders are always under supervision.

Building Projects: To keep costs as low as possible, volunteers with various types of construction skills are required from time to time.
Building Maintenance: There are the normal maintenance jobs to be taken care of.
Grounds Keepers: From spring until fall, grass needs to be cut, flowers planted and tended to, edges need to be trimmed.

To become a volunteer for any position that involves the horses or riders, a person must only have the desire to help someone experience the joys and benefits of therapeutic riding. These volunteers must be at least 14 years of age, and be available as little as one hour per week. Experience with horses is valued, but not necessary as we provide on site training, and conduct regular educational clinics. The training provided, gives the new volunteer the skills required to work with both our riders and our horses. New volunteers will learn how to be effective side walkers or horse leaders, depending on either their personal interests, or comfort level working with the animals.

Since the beginning of operations, Lucky Harvest has welcomed and trained countless volunteers. Some have gone on to become certified therapeutic riding instructors. For a few, their dedication has turned into a passion, and they have gone on to develop similar projects elsewhere.

Our volunteers are exceptional people, some of whom drive over 200 kilometers every week to participate in our program. They do so because the time they spend with us is so rewarding, and enjoyable, and they love the fact that their efforts brings so much joy to others. Lucky Harvest provides an environment in which everyone learns, teaches, gives, receives, and becomes connected by the common goals of growth, fun and achievement. New friends are made, and a new outlook on life is discovered.

The animals, which are selected to join our training program, must have certain innate characteristics; they must be calm, patient, and good-natured. These horses need to be mature, level headed, and with a willingness to work with a variety of riders with very different abilities.

Once we have chosen a horse or pony for the team, its health, and general well being are our first consideration. Every horse needs to be ridden on a regular basis to keep it in good condition, both physically and mentally. We work with each horse daily, to ensure that it knows what is expected of it and it can be trusted and predictable under all circumstances. All this training takes time, and is continuous and ongoing for as long as the horse is with us.

For most horses it takes years to acquire the experience and maturity to meet our standards. Consequently, most of our horses are between the ages of 10& 18.   They are the heart of our program, so they get the same tender loving care, as do our students.

Every horse and pony has scheduled veterinary checkups, and their feet are trimmed and shod every 6 to 8 weeks. On top of this routine care, there is always the possibility of illnesses and emergencies when dealing with animals

Feed is another critical component of good horse health. As horses age, like people, they often require supplements such as vitamins and minerals to supplement their regular feed. Horses are fed a balanced diet to meet their individual needs. Hay needs to be top quality. On average, it costs us $1,000 a year to feed one horse.

Our animals are extremely precious to us, and we do everything we can to insure that they have a long, and happy, life with us.

IMAGINE STAR

TJ

TJ joined the program in September 2007. He has been loaned to us for an unspecified period of time to provide as much love and therapy as possible. He is a liver chestnut color and measures 15.2 hands T.J. is the largest horse in the barn but is a real gentleman. He is patent and affectionate, always willing to be brushed and stroked. Walking is his favourite speed but he is totally capable of doing anything we ask. He has been shown in dressage and is being shown locally by one of our students.

Holly Plated Jac

Is a 14.2 hands gray gelding, 11 years old and is known around the barn as Jac. He was a competitive reining horse and continues to compete at our local shows in English and Western. Jac is a great little horse, quiet, gentle, and loves to be outside with all his friends. He is very friendly and comes to visit at the fence when you call. Most of all Jac likes to be brushed and lead around by all of our riders. He is an excellent addition to our program, and will be providing much needed therapy for many years to come.

Mia

Mia is a 9 yrs old, cream coloured Pinto pony. She is by far the cutest and most adorable in the barn. Like any pony she loves to eat and have all the attention. As she is the only pony and the only female at the barn she has been adopted by all the boys. She is kind and gentle ( & a little stubborn at times) but is perfect for many of our smallest riders. Mia only joined our program in the spring and is still undergoing training but we are confident that she will have a long life with us. She was purchased in the spring of 2008, thanks to a grant from Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities.

Mickey Blue Eyes

Mickey is the most recent addition to our program. He was donated to us in May of 08. His training is going well and he has now started working with some of riders. He is a 15 hand brown & white paint horse with blue eyes. He is as bombproof as you could get, afraid of nothing. His personality is unique and he is extremely affectionate. As our other horses, he is good natured and calm. He has a really smooth gate and is challenging to ride. He has been shown in the past and has great potential as a long term therapy horse.