RideABILITY

New Volunteer Training Dates

2010-08-13T11:44:00.000-05:00

Saturday, September 18, 2010, 1-4 pm -or- Saturday, October 23, 2010, 1-4 pm
No horse experience necessary! We will train you!
Pre-registration required. Call Christy @ 601-750-6735.

NARHA Region V Conference

2010-08-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

8/9/2010

Christy Henderson, RideABILITY Director, just returned from attending the NARHA Region V conference at Special Equestrians Therapeutic Riding Center near Birmingham. Having these conference opportunities is just one of the many good reasons that RideABILITY has chosen to be a NARHA Member Center. Session topics included how to develop and use a sensory trail, behavior management techniques for the autistic population, hoof anatomy & care, teaching the low-functioning rider, teaching hearing or vision impaired riders, managing the aging horse and many others. There was a great reining demonstration, dizzying spins and sliding stops included! Networking with people from other centers is always inspiring as well!

Lots of Great News to Share!

2010-07-17T13:28:00.001-05:00

7/17/10

RideABILITY has THE BEST volunteers in the world!! Had a couple of late riders' cancellations, so we had a few extra volunteers this morning. Well, they all got busy cleaning tack and organizing the little barn and repairing things that were damaged yesterday in the storm. The lessons went well too! Thanks Mary,Tim, Alan, Harriet, Kellie, Christine, Beth, Lana, Tina and Kerri! YOU ROCK!

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, October 9, 2010! RideABILITY will have our first trail ride fund-raiser! You can bring your horse and ride the trails of the beautiful Natchez Trace to raise funds to help RideABILITY expand our program to more riders with special needs. More details coming soon!

We just received our July Kroger Card report and the results are fantastic! Our supporters loaded $7743 on their cards, which means we will get a check for $387! That's enough to pay monthly board for two horses! Thanks to all of you who are participating! We know it takes an extra few minutes when you load up the card before shopping, but please know that your time is well-spent by making it possible for RideABILITY to continue offering therapeutic riding to our special riders! Many of you have distributed cards to friends and family members. Please share this report with them so that everyone will continue using their cards. What a great, simple source of revenue.If you do not have a card and would like one, please contact Christy by email: chend@comcast.net. Thanks!

6/25/10: Linda Harper Achieves Instructor Certification

2010-06-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

We are so pleased to announce that RideABILITY now has our second NARHA-Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor! Linda Harper completed and passed the final testing elements today! The instructor certification process is a minimum 6 months process that includes written testing on safety standards, horsemanship, horse care and therapeutic riding techniques, 25 hours of teaching supervised by a NARHA-certified instructor and, lastly, a 3 day workshop requiring demonstrations of the instructor candidate's actual riding and teaching skills. Linda did a great job at the workshop this week and was awarded her certification today!

Linda is an elementary school teacher and a horse owner. She has been volunteering for RideABILITY for over a year. She has developed special bonds with several of the RideABILITY students she taught during her internship.

Please join us in congratulating Linda on her achievement!

New Fundraising Program

2010-05-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

May 18, 2010

We are excited to announce that RideABILITY has been approved to participate in the Kroger Gift Card Fundraising Program! For every $5000 our supporters spend using special Kroger Gift Cards, Kroger will send RideABILITY a 5% rebate! That could really add up to some real money!

How it works:

*RideABILITY will purchase special-issued cards preloaded with a $5.00 value each.
*You can contact Christy at 601-750-6735 or via chend@comcast.net to be issued a card.
*Go to your Kroger and BEFORE you start shopping, stop at the Guest Service desk and add $5.00 to $500.00 to your card. It takes about 5 minutes before the transaction is computed and the additional money will register on your card.
*Do your shopping and then pay at a regular checkout, using your gift card.
*You can still have your Kroger Discount Card scanned for price discounts and to accumulate points to get gas discounts, etc.
*You can purchase all merchandise from Kroger, including fuel and prescriptions. Exeptions are "services," defined as money orders, Western Union, postage stamps, lottery tickets or another Kroger Gift Card.
*You can reload your card over and over.

Please note:

*Only the cards purchased by RideABILITY and issued to you by us will work. The cards are coded to link with our account.
*Again, the card in no way interferes with your ability to use your Kroger Discount Card.

We will have the cards soon, so please let us know as soon as possible if you want to support RideABILITY via the Kroger Gift Card Fundraising Program!

Spring Is In the Air

2010-04-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

4/27/10

Spring sessions are going great! Horses, riders and volunteers are all enjoying the mild temperatures and beautiful sunshine.

We have added over 15 volunteers this year already! Welcome! Our riders and their families appreciate all of our volunteers! The program would not exist without the dedication of our hard-working volunteers!

Colonel has been purchased by one of our volunteers and will remain at Harris Heights. We reluctantly had to sell him because he was uncomfortable with sidewalkers. We have added Minnie, a 14 year old Welsh-Cross pony to our herd. She is a sweet-natured little mare who has experience in hunter/jumper and carriage driving.

We are looking for a horse to replace Colonel. Please let us know if you know of any good prospects.

We have some exciting fund-raising projects in the works. Please stay tuned....

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!

2009-10-14T08:04:00.028-05:00

10/14/2009: The wet stuff has caused us to cancel lessons over the past week. RideABILITY will be closed this Saturday, October 17. We will resume lessons Monday, October 19 - if the rain finally gives us a break. Enjoy some pictures of recent lessons on a foggy Saturday

Farewell to Sandra Wade

2009-09-24T12:07:00.005-05:00

September 24, 2009

We are so sad to report that RideABILITY volunteer, Sandra Wade, passed away September 22 after a long and courageous battle with lung cancer.

Sandy began volunteering in March of this year. It was evident from the start that she was a kind and caring person, more concerned about the needs of others than her own. She loved being with the riders and the horses. We are so thankful to have known and worked with Sandy and our only regret is that were were not given the gift of more time with her.

There will be a Prayer Service in Sandy's honor on Saturday, September 26, 2009, at St. Jude Catholic Church at 10 am. It is requested that in lieu of flowers that any expression of grief be made to the Christian Motorcyclist Association, PO Box 9, Hatfield, AK 71945 (in the memory of Sandra L. Wade, "run for the Son") or to RideABILITY, in her memory.

Please keep Sandy's family, including her husband of 38 years, Donald, in your thoughts and prayers.

New Volunteers Welcomed!

2009-08-30T15:15:00.036-05:00

August 29, 2009

Fourteen new volunteers were trained today! Welcome Jason, Robyn, Valerie, Amanda, Melissa, Lana, Christy, Andrea, Victor, Annie, Mary, Julie, Katelyn and Gwen! We look forward to getting to know all of you better and to working with you!

Eleven other volunteers came to assist with the training and to do all sorts of "fun" chores, like cleaning, reorganizing and labeling tack and other equipment and getting the barn and arena ready for our riders' return Saturday, September 5. Board member Karen Walling did an extraordinary job getting everyone registered and then shot the photos included in this post. Thanks to Karen, Courtney, Kellie, Griffin, Barbara, Tiffany, Josh, Steve, Kerri, Shelley and Linda for working so hard! The place looks GREAT!!

Volunteer Training 8/29/2009

2009-08-19T10:16:00.001-05:00

Our next volunteer training session will be Saturday, August 29, 8:30 am- 11:30 am. Please call Christy at 601-750-6735 to register.

August Break

2009-07-29T10:11:00.012-05:00

7/29/09: RideABILITY will not do riding lessons in August, but we will be available to accept new riders' applications and to do new riders' evaluations. We will also accept and train new volunteers in August. Contact Christy at 601-750-6735 for more information.

Please enjoy a few photos from some of our recent lessons:

RideABILITY in the News

2009-06-23T14:00:00.004-05:00

Mr. Wade and the Tuesday morning volunteers greet readers on the front page of the Lifestyles section of the Clarion Ledger today, June 23. Visit http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906230329 to view the article online.

Meet Colonel

2009-06-13T15:53:00.004-05:00

RideABILITY purchased Colonel the weekend of June 6, 2009. Christy discovered Colonel while cheering on friends at a team penning event in Forrest, MS. Colonel carried children around for five hours without any irritation and this temperment caught Christy's eye.

Colonel's quarter horse pedigree contains impressive sires such as Doc Bar and Colonel Freckles. Colonel's registered name is CF Circle Up. CF Circle Up (Colonel) is a flea bitten gray, but his flea bites are brown/tan instead of gray or black. This twelve year old team penning gelding possesses a unique coloring to go with his equally exceptional disposition.

This past week he spent time getting used to his new home and preparing for his new job. Christy introduced him to the props used during lessons. Nothing flustered him. Colonel passed his last test this weekend when he carried a volunteer through Saturday's group lesson(see photos below). Nothing phased him. In fact, after the lesson another volunteer took him through the poles at speed and he did a fantastic job! Colonel will begin his new job as a RideABILITY therapeutic riding horse this week.

CPR and First Aid Training

2009-06-08T13:21:00.006-05:00

Four of our aspiring NARHA certified instructors received their CPR/First Aid certification Monday, June 8, 2009. Lisa Valadie, a member of the Madison Fire Department and Harris Heights boarder, graciously taught the class for free. RideABILITY truly appreciates Lisa Valadie for all of the help and support she's provided.

Along with learning life-saving skills, the soon-to-be-instructors also reviewed locations for the first aid kit and posted directions to Harris Heights farm. Hopefully RideABILITY volunteers and instructors will never need to use this information, but fortunately they'll be prepared if emergencies happen.

We met at a local coffee shop for the class. Lisa
explained everything very well and opened the floor
for questions about various scenarios.

Lisa gave us our cards. We're now official!

Volunteer Appreciation Cookout

2009-05-28T13:35:00.006-05:00

Thanks to everyone who helped us host a successful cookout last weekend! Several of our board members came and visited with staff and volunteers alike. Hopefully everyone took the opportunity to learn more about the wonderful people involved with RideABILITY. Christy counted the total volunteer hours from October 13, 2007 to May 16, 2009 and found that people donated 1,190 hours of their time. Our wonderful volunteers donated thirty full-time work weeks over the last year and a half. Their generosity also saved RideABILITY at least $8627.50 in wages. RideABILITY awarded Barbara Sanders with a gift certificate and a formal certificate for the most volunteer hours, with 92.5 hours! Congratulations Barbara, we really appreciate your time!

Barbara Sanders and her certificate for working the most volunteer hours.
Congratulations Barbara!

Website Woes

2009-05-20T14:39:00.002-05:00

Our website, like several hosted by Google, no longer loads properly on Internet Explorer. Hopefully, Google will soon fix the problem. In the mean time, if you wish to view the website in all of its glory, please use a different browser such as FireFox, Chrome, or Safari. Internet Explorer, even IE 8, currently loads the header improperly.

Thank you for your patience.

UPDATE:

The website has been "fixed". IE users should be capable of viewing the website in all of its glory.

Volunteer Training Update

2009-05-20T14:24:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we trained six new volunteers! Three people trained Saturday and another three people trained Sunday afternoon despite the mud. We're very happy to welcome new volunteers and hope that this leads to new students as well.

Welcome, Donna, Alex, Kate, Kerri, Steve, and Griffin!

If you missed volunteer training, but remain interested, please contact us. RideABILITY trains people whenever possible. Just visit our website to find contact information and set up an appointment.

New Website!

2009-05-06T16:51:00.002-05:00

Hello All!

We now have a new website (soon to be accessed by www.rideability.com), however this site will continue. Now RideABILITY's blog will be a blog with news and event updates to supplement our website. Please add this blog to your Google Reader or any blog subscription feed you use if you're interested in staying up to date with RideABILITY.

Thanks for all of your support!

2008-06-17T18:03:00.037-05:00

RideABILITY Therapeutic Riding Center is a non-profit therapeutic riding program dedicated to improving the bodies, minds and spirits of people with special needs. Therapeutic riding and other equine assisted activities can help students develop strength, balance, control, self-confidence and self-esteem.

RideABILITY operates at Harris Heights Farm in Rankin County between Brandon and Florence. The center is a member of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) and RideABILITY's instructors are NARHA-certified.

Group and private classes are taught on a weekly basis. Lessons fees are charged based on a sliding fee scale. RideABILITY follows NARHA guidelines to determine who can safely ride and who will benefit from therapeutic horsemanship activities.

For additional information, to apply for enrollment or to apply to volunteer, please contact Christy Henderson, Executive Director and NARHA Certified Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor, at 601-750-6735 or Christy@Rideabilityms.com