Cavalier News
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"I have been involved with horses for many years and love everything about these magnificent animals - it is an addiction, one I am proud to have. This is especially gratifying to me last month when we began another year of riding with the Cavalier Riding Club - Therapeutic Riding for the Disabled. After many months of meetings, we were up and running and the smiles on the faces of the children, the parents and our volunteers made it all worthwhile.
This is a transition year for the Club - our much loved head coach Ann Murray stepped down after approximately 20 years. Will we be able to replace her? Probably not, but we will certainly try to keep going. We have 3 coaches working with us now; Debbie Wilson, Cassie Wood and Mark Stevens. All are volunteering their time, all the while studying and preparing for their CanTRA levels in July.
We also have a great bunch of directors and everyone has worked hard to regroup and move forward. Thanks to all our volunteers who make the Club possible. Also, we can't forget the horses. Currently we are only using 2 mounts in the form of Okie and Cowboy. They certainly had big horse shoes to fill, and although both are fairly new to the program, they are proving to be up to the job of therapeutic horses.
We are in our 10th year here at Ashton Ridge and we are proud to be the home of the Cavalier Riding Club. The smiles make it all worthwhile."
2008 Rider Forms are available at the link below
The Club had a coaching preparation clinic with Evelyn Fraser Saturday April 5th. The Club was well presented to host the clinic and all participants left with a wealth of information. Thanks to all who helped, by either donating their time or donating sweets to snack on. The bonus of the day was that all the horses behaved themselves.
The Club is now getting ready to host their Volunteer Orientation that will be held on Sunday May 4 from 1 pm to 4 pm here at the farm.
The CRC are getting ready to put on a "preparing for coaching" clinic with Evelyn Frazier on Saturday April 5. The clinic will run from 9 am to 4 pm and we hope to have a few visitors from other therapeutic riding programs join us as the new riding sessions are just around the corner!
The Volunteer Orientation will take place on Sunday May 4 from 1 pm to 4 pm. More details to follow.
Happy New Year everyone! Here's the latest on what's been going on in the Cavalier world.
The Annual General Meeting and elections for the 2008 Board of Directors took place in November 2007. The new Board of Directors are as followed:
- Mark Stevens: President
- Nicole Stevens: Vice President
- Diane Larocque: Secretary
- Linda Vogels: Treasurer
- Chantalle Twohig: Director at Large
- Wilma Williams: Director at Large
- Brenda Dobson: Director at Large
- Joanne Thompson-Franklin: Director at Large
Roberta, Debbie Wilson, Cassy Wood and Chantalle to a trip to visit the Haltr Therapeutic Riding Club, who operates out of the Bengal Lancers in Halifax. Both Debbie and Cassy are working towards their CTRII and we're happy to announce that the Cavalier Riding Club will be running with 2 coaches this year. A big Thank You goes out to Sally Murphy and Lisa Burd for having us over to help out and watch their lessons.
There has been a change in coaching this past year with Ann Murray stepping down as head coach after 20 years with Cavalier. We wish her all the best. Cassy, who currently has her CTRAI, is now working on her CTRII. Debbie is in the process of getting CanTRA certification and is also working on getting her CTRI. Anyone interested in further information are more than welcome to visit CanTRA's website at www.cantra.ca.
Both the horses and the Board of Directors will begin their preparations and training in the coming months. The rider forms should be available at the end of March to be ready for that 1st riding session in May. This year we will again be using 2 horses in the form of Okie and the new pony Cowboy, with the possibility of access to a 3rd horse. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Roberta at 386-2596.
The year 2007 is a transition year for the Cavalier Riding Club as we focus on training new horses and coaching updates. For the Spring and Summer session, we currently have 5 children on 2 new horses, who are both owened by Joanne Thompson-Franklin. We would like to take this time to thank our many volunteers, some who have been with us for many years, and some new.
They are:
-Nancy Boyer, Diane LaRocque, Mark Hayward, Kara Greenwood, Deborah O'Brien, Sarah Hines, Shelby Wilson, Marguerite Reid, Mike Flemming, Pam Milton, Keith Williams, Lisa Milton, Brenda Dobson, Margie Landry and Donna Barnett.
A big Thank You goes out to Gerald melanson who preps the property every week by making sure the ring is watered and/or tilled and the lawn cut.
Thank you goes out to our Barn Managers, Shani Murray and Marlise O'Brien.
Many thanks to our coaches:
- Ann Murray CTRI
- Mark Stevens CTRAI
- Cassie Wood CTRAI and who's working towards her CTRII certification
Last, but not least, many thanks goes out to our Board of Directors, who themselves volunteer their time in keeping the Club going.
- Mark Stevens, President
- Nicole Stevens, Vice-President
- Wilma Williams, Secretary
- Linda Vogels, Tresurer
Directors at Large: Chantalle Twohig, Joanne Thompson-Franklin, Diane LaRocque and Margie Landry.
And lets not forget our Volunteer Coordinator, Roberta Landry who makes sure every volunteer is assigned to a rider and who keeps the lessons running smoothly.
March 26, 2007
Dear Parents, Caregivers, Volunteers and Members,
The Cavalier Riding Club has enjoyed a long run of success over the past several years seeing memberships rise, donations increase and new volunteers added to our coaching staff. Unfortunately, we have consistently struggled with attracting and maintaining a volunteer effort to sustain the organization. This problem has compounded with the retirement and passing of horses used by the Club.
The Board is working to recruit new stock however, the animals currently identified will not be ready for the start of the Spring 2007 session. A handful of volunteers are working to train horses to be ready for use this year.
As a result of our current situation we will be postponing the start of the 2007 season until a later date yet to be determined.
It is important to understand that efforts are being extended by a dedicated few to keep the Club active. However, at the current pace the Club is in danger of folding unless efforts from the community are increased.
Further communication will be forthcoming as new developments become available.
Sincerely,
- Mark G. Stevens
- President
- Cavalier Riding Club
Cavalier Riding Club- Therapeutic Riding for the Disabled is a program offered here at Ashton Ridge, every Tuesday night from May to October, and has been in operation for the better part of 10 years. CRC, a non-profit organization, was the brainchild of Linda Clark, the previous owner of Ashton Ridge (then known as Horizon Farms) with a friend, Ann Murray, as well with a few other people. Though the farm changed hands and Linda is no longer part of the program, Ann Murray is still teaching the riders and CRC is now doing better than ever.
What makes CRC special is that we not only offer a different type of therapy, known as Hippotherapy, but we also teach our riders how to ride, thus the term therapeutic riding. Hippotherapy means using the horse's movements, which are "variable, rhythmic and repetitive" (American Hippotherapy Association) and this mimics the pelvic movement of a walking person. This is very beneficial for someone who is confined to a wheelchair, as their trunk muscles aren't very developed, so this is but one benefit of using a horse in therapy.
Most of our riders are mobile, that is, they aren't confined to a wheelchair and are perfectly mobile but have various weaknesses and this is where the therapeutic riding is involved. Not only do they have to use their muscles to stay sitting up in the saddle (with side-walkers on each side of the horse to insure that no one falls or gets hurt) but by teaching them to ride, using the reins to steer etc, the instructor can devise various exercises to encourage the riders to use and strengthen their weaker limbs. The long term goal for some of our riders is to graduate from being led around with 2 side-walkers keeping watch, to being able to ride independently. We currently have 3 girls who are at this level, 2 of them are now cantering their horses around the ring and do various patterns. Their riding lessons are identical to any other lesson given at the farm.
Physically, Hippotherapy can improve balance, posture, mobility and function. Hippotherapy may also affect psychological, cognitive, behavioral and communication functions for clients of all ages. Clients who may benefit from Hippotherapy can have a variety of diagnoses: examples include Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Developmental Delay, Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Autism and Learning or Language Disabilities.(AHA)
One more benefit of participating in a therapeutic riding program is the pride these kids feel. Though they may not be able to participate in many activities at school, they can come out to the farm on Tuesday night and they can get up on their horses and ride. Their smiles tell it all. To be able to mount an animal that could weigh up to and over 1000lbs and make that animal do what they ask really boosts their confidence. They may not be able to play soccer, or football or even hockey but they can look at you with a big smile on their face and tell you that they ride.
Because Cavalier Riding Club is a non-profit organization, we have managed to continue offering our services only with the generous donations of various companies and individuals, as well as the hard work of all our volunteers. Without either, CRC would be no more. Now that we have our charitable status, we applied and received United Way's Response Funding and it helped breathed new life into the Club. We are now seriously looking towards expansion, either at Ashton Ridge or at another facility, to accommodate as many people as we can because the benefits of this program are boundless.
For more information on this program, feel free to contact Roberta at 386-2596.