Lanark County Therapeutic Riding Program

2020 was a challenging year for our program, but our wonderful horses Syrus, Prince, Madonna and Myra would like to thank all of our wonderful supporters for helping us through. We hope to see everyone in 2021. Happy New Year.

TR Heroes January, 2021 Kim Lackey Featuring the People and Horses Who Make a Difference... January’s TR Hero is no stranger to the horse world. Kim Lackey was a horse owner and avid competitor in the past, but hadn’t ridden for about 20 years. I was really missing horses, so two years ago I became a volunteer with Lanark County Therapeutic Riding, she says. I wanted to be around horses again and I thought TR would give me that. But it gave me so much more. Kim is a regular volunteer with the program. During lesson season, she grooms, tacks up and leads horses once a week in lessons. As a horse handler she gets her horse fix, but she says: It’s the riders who really give me so much. Even if some are unable to communicate verbally, their faces and their body language make it clear that they are so happy. And when they are happy, I am happy. Kim is also a member of LCTRP’s new Winter Team. Together with two others, she cares for the two TR horses that have remained at Fox Hollow for the winter. We decided that Myra and Madonna deserved a good winter off for all they do in the program. she says. We chipped in to provide them stalls and we are working hard to keep them fit over the winter. We keep them groomed, monitor their health and weight, and we ride three times a week. According to Program Administrator Amy Booth, Kim and her friends do so much more and not just in the winter. According to Amy: They have cleaned the horses’ paddock; they have worked hard in the barn, painting, rearranging, insulating, organizing tack and making repairs. In addition, Kim was instrumental in maintaining the outside TR space all summer. She and her handy whippersnipper kept us from looking like an abandoned hobo's arena. They cut grass, re-stoned, tidied and edged several times to keep us looking very professional. Amy says all through that, Kim is always smiling. You gotta love that girl’s energy. For Kim, all of this is a labour of love. She says the love of horses brought her to therapeutic riding, but the riders keeps her going. I come to the farm excited to be there and I leave just full of love. It’s a great feeling. Would you like to see how horses change lives? Please consider volunteering for the program. Whether you want to work with horses or in some other capacity, we welcome the contribution of your time. We can be found at www.therapeuticriding.ca, on Facebook, and by calling our Program Administrator Amy at 613-257-7121 extension 3238.

Our beautiful reindeer Comet (Madonna) and Cupid (Myra) want to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Like us, they hope that they will see all their favourite people again in the spring. And they also want to say thank you to everyone for your support during this difficult year.

TR Heroes December, 2020 Highlanders Obstacle Course Racers Featuring the People and Horses Who Make a Difference... TR Heroes are found in many places: riding rings, farm fields, horse barns and also in places you would never expect - like on obstacle courses. December’s TR Heroes are the members of the Highlanders Obstacle Course Racers (OCR). This group saw a need and rose to the challenge by organizing an obstacle course race, getting sponsors, and donating the proceeds to the Lanark County Therapeutic Riding Program. The Highlanders OCR meets weekly to work out and train and some members participate in multiple obstacle course races in a normal year. According to a group member Paula Coleman: Covid 19 had a huge impact on the entire fitness community, so a group of us started getting together for distanced outdoor workouts. Our instructor, Mark Melanson had the idea to train and then hold our own obstacle course race. Mark and Paula organized the event. Volunteers worked hard to build obstacles and 38 racers participated in a 27 km race through and outside of Perth Town limits. There were 21 obstacles including a 25 foot long traverse; a crawl under 60 feet of barbed wire; and a trek up the Tay River. It was an intense race, says Paula but the racers were so enthusiastic. Some even participated in costume. While the goal of the race was primarily to have fun, Paula says the group also hoped to collect a little money to donate to a worthy cause. When our group learned that the Therapeutic Riding Program operates primarily on donations and fundraising, we were unanimous that we wanted to support the program, she says. We thought it would be great if we could raise around $500 to support the program, but we were thrilled to be able to present a cheque for $2000 to the TR Program Coordinator. Paula and Mark are quick to say that they could never have raised the funds without the generosity of local businesses including: James Livesey Sun Life Financial, Iron Chapel, Midland Electric, Perth Giant Tiger, Perth Brewery, the Perth Planing Mill, Country Flooring, Barnabe’s YIG, Hunt and Dopson Insurance, RiiNue, and Milano’s Perth. We also received generous donations from friends and family, says Paula. Our program is so fortunate to have such incredible support, says Amy Booth TR Program Coordinator. We were blown away by the generosity of the Highlanders Group and we can’t thank them all enough. It just goes to show that you don’t have to lead a horse to be a TR Hero. Would you like to see how horses change lives? Please consider volunteering for the program. Whether you want to work with horses or in some other capacity, we welcome the contribution of your time. We can be found at www.therapeuticriding.ca, on Facebook, and by calling our Program Administrator Amy at 613-257-7121 extension 3238.

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. If you are thinking of making a donation to a charity this #givingtuesday2020, please consider Lanark County Therapeutic Riding. https://givingtuesday.ca//lanark-county-therapeutic-riding

Tuesday December 1 is Giving Tuesday. LCTRP is a registered partner. Please consider supporting LCTRP. All donations help to give our special horses the care they deserve. https://givingtuesday.ca//lanark-county-therapeutic-riding

To everyone who participated in our auction to raise funds for the horses, a very heartfelt Thank You! Your continued support helps us to ensure that our very special horses continue to get the best of care.

This letter was sent to newspapers in Lanark County this week. A Letter to the Community A HUGE thank-you from the Therapeutic Riding Program!... As we wrap up a very challenging 2020 season, the Lanark County Therapeutic Riding Program wants to shout out a heartfelt thank you to the wonderfully generous people and communities in Lanark County. The year 2020 started out in a positive light for LCTRP. We were upgrading our facilities at Fox Hollow Farm; training a new therapeutic horse; organizing volunteer training as well as planning our yearly fundraisers (as we do not have ongoing government funding). Then Covid 19 hit and everything changed. We had to focus on finding ways to keep our horses fed and healthy without the income from lessons or our fund raisers. We asked for help from the community, and you came through in a big way. People donated very generously to our sponsor a horse campaign; donated & participated in our on line auction; and bought raffle tickets and face masks to support the Program. In addition, Cavanagh construction along with Fox Hollow Farm, donated products and services that have allowed us to continue to upgrade our facility. The last few months have seen the Therapeutic Riding Program rise to new challenges in order to offer a much smaller program, but we are proud to say that we have managed to keep our riders, instructors and volunteers safe and free from Covid 19. Our volunteers, riders and supporters are truly the heart and soul of this wonderful Program and we are so very fortunate and grateful for your continued support. Lanark County is truly an incredible place. On behalf of our staff, volunteers, riders and our lovely horses. Thank you. With Deep Appreciation: Amy Booth Therapeutic Riding Coordinator

TR Heroes November, 2020 Katrina Ayling Featuring the People and Horses Who Make a Difference... It’s all about the riders for November TR Hero Katrina Ayling. I started volunteering with the Lanark County Therapeutic Riding Program because as a physiotherapist I wanted to study the physical impacts of therapeutic riding. I wanted to understand and measure whether and how horseback riding could improve posture, balance and body tone. she says. What I learned is it isn’t really about that. It’s about joy. Katrina is one of LCTRP’s long time volunteers. I can’t remember when I started, but I do know why I stay, she says. I am totally amazed by the absolute joy on the faces of our riders, and by their relationships with the horses. Katrina says she has seen real physical benefits of therapeutic riding. Riders do get stronger. Their balance, both on and off the horse, does improve but I am most impressed by the smiles, laughter and improved confidence in our riders. Improved confidence is a big benefit for Katrina. I have seen young riders who started out shy and afraid and clinging to a parent, ride without a side walker after a few lessons under the patient guidance of an instructor. And there is so much joy. Katrina has been a horse handler and sidewalker with the program through three program moves, and now volunteers once a week at Fox Hollow Farm. She loves to side walk with riders so she can interact with them and understand how they are feeling, but she is also comfortable handling the horses. She says: These horses are so patient. Riders may be off balance. They may wiggle around on the horse’s back and they may not have still legs - all things that other horses would not tolerate - but these therapeutic horses just take it all in their strides. It’s amazing. Katrina is very humble about her role at TR. She feels that she doesn’t deserve recognition. She says: The horses, the instructors, the other volunteers all make this program so valuable. They are the heroes. But the instructors, volunteers and especially the riders know differently. They watch for Katrina to come riding in on her bicycle when the weather is good, and they watch for her van with the red reindeer nose on the front. That was a gift from one of the riders a few years ago, she says. It has faded and been re-covered, but it will always be on my car, because it came from a rider and that makes it so special. Would you like to see how horses change lives? Please consider volunteering for the program. Whether you want to work with horses or in some other capacity, we welcome the contribution of your time. We can be found at www.therapeuticriding.ca, on Facebook, and by calling our Program Administrator Amy at 613-257-7121 extension 3238.

And that's a wrap. The end of October was the end of our very limited 2020 program. We were proud of our ability to protect our riders, instructors and volunteers. Here are a few photos from one of Thursday's lessons.

TR Heroes October, 2020 Featuring the People and Horses Who Make a Difference... It was a convergence of loves, hopes and a desire to pay it forward that brought October’s TR Hero to the Lanark County Therapeutic Riding Program. As a relative newcomer to Lanark County, I was looking for a volunteer opportunity that would help me to meet people in the area, Says Kathleen Unrau. But when I saw an ad in the local paper asking for volunteers with the therapeutic riding program I got so much more. Kathleen says she loves to be outside. She loves horses, loves to learn and to make new friends. It ticked all my boxes, but it has done so much more, she says. I have been able to pay it forward for my nephew whose life was changed by a therapeutic riding program in British Columbia. My sister was always so grateful for how the program helped her son. She is gone now, but I feel like she would be happy to see me contributing to this program. The LCTRP has started back on a very limited basis for the fall with Covid safety protocols in place. Kathleen volunteers as a horse handler or a side walker. I do what is needed when it’s needed, she says. And it is so worth it. Everyone here is happy. I drive down the driveway at Fox Hollow Farm and come around the corner to see a bunch of very happy people. It adds some normality to my life in these not so normal times. But even when the program wasn’t operating, Kathleen was giving. With her husband and another couple, she worked hard to make the program’s corner of Fox Hollow Farm a safer and more attractive place for the volunteers and the riders. We cleaned up around the riding ring and common areas, she says. We installed patio stones around the buildings to make sure they were level and sturdy, and we have so many more plans for when the program takes a break at the end of October. So what would Kathleen tell you if you asked her about volunteering with the LCTRP? I would say do it. You don’t need to have horse experience, she says. If you want to be involved with the horses, the knowledgeable and patient people here will help you. But there are so many other opportunities to help too. You won’t be disappointed. Would you like to see how horses change lives? Please consider volunteering for the program. Whether you want to work with horses or in some other capacity, we welcome the contribution of your time. We can be found at www.therapeuticriding.ca, on Facebook, and by calling our Program Administrator Amy at 613-257-7121 extension 3238.

Thanks to a lovely volunteer, Kathleen Unrau, for giving our little corner of Fox Hollow Farm an autumn look.