Total success, first time at a new location, first time with a new organization, Side by Side, and I was flying solo with only junior volunteers to help. A nice change for me was that I did not provide any transportation for clients. It makes a HUGE difference. All clients arrived on time, completed some extra paperwork (without complaint) and parents left without a backward glance. One mom, however, asked if she could stay with her daughter due to anxiety. I took one look at Mary and said sure, she had tears starting. Her mom turned out to be a nice asset to the program and supported her daughter in a quiet manner, drifting away when she was no longer needed. That was the first miracle. Mary started out in tears and finished strong, riding the horse with a proud, shy smile.
Next miracle was when Jess climbed out of the car, a young black boy and he got to pair up right away with Siem, my awesome African volunteer. They got to hang out and it was obvious Jess felt way more comfortable because Siem was there. Siem told me later, Jess kept saying, I’m not gonna walk the horse, then he walked the horse, and I’m not gonna groom the horse, then we see him helping Kamio pick out DD’s feet, then Jess tells me, I’m not gonna ride a horse, and there he is a few minutes later riding around on QT and loving it. His miracle.
And finally there was Donna who got to be my role model and brave girl to ride QT first. She gained confidence & kinda glowed with that as she went through the other 2 stations. Nice to witness her success. I liked that we were able to incorporate many horses, QT to ride, DD, Bob & Pawnee to groom, and Reilly and Hugo to hand walk in the pasture.
Both junior volunteers did great Kamio, her first time really liked it and did well helping me with horse chores. Siem has done this before with me but at a different barn and a few years ago. Hopefully he will wear long pants and boots next time.
After we finished, Kaylee came to see her horse and brought her puppy.
Sonoma Horseback Riding Lessons
