Since my freshman year I have volunteered at a place called MANE (Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrian). MANE is a place where therapeutic horseback lessons are given to riders who might have a disability. I discovered MANE in eighth grade when I shadowed an equine veterinarian who recommended I volunteer there. Now I volunteer once a week during the school year and at their camp during the summer. At MANE, I assist riders and make sure they are safe while they ride a horse. Depending on the class I volunteer with, there are different lesson plans. Some of them involve a scenery walk. However other lessons have the rider follow instructions given to them. On the scenery walks the rider usually goes to a station that has a game. Some of the games include horseshoes, darts, and throwing items into a certain cut out shape on a wall. All of these games are played while the rider is on the horse. Usually a rider is competing against another rider to see who can win the most games. There is no prize for winning except bragging rights. The scenery rides usually occur on sunny days, but on overcast days riders are given tasks or obstacles to complete in a covered arena. An example of an instruction given to a rider is to weave between poles and then turn right and stop. In these types of lessons I am responsible to see that the rider is holding onto their reins, their weight is equally distributed on the saddle, and their feet are in the stirrups. Although most of the time I do work a class, sometimes I am instructed to complete barn chores. This happens if a class does not show up, or if there are more than enough volunteers to help with riders. Some of the barn chores include mucking stalls, sweeping, cleaning water buckets, and cleaning tack. Although the barn chores might not seem very pleasant to some people, I love doing the chores because it is something new to do. However, my favorite part of MANE is the friendships I make there. I have made friends with volunteers and riders. I look forward each week to seeing the riders and the fun conversations we have.
