For 25 years, Riding for the Disabled NSW (RDA NSW) Manning Great Lakes has been helping improve the lives of others, but right now they're looking for some help themselves.
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The organisation will be holding a Volunteer Orientation and Training Day on Thursday, February 1 at its Rainbow Flat site, and volunteers, both new and returning, are invited to come along.
The role would see volunteers provide therapeutic horse-riding lessons to people with developmental and physical disabilities as well seeking to improve the lives of those with mental health difficulties.
Volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in tasks such as greeting participants on arrival, opening gates, walking beside and leading the horse, grooming, saddling and retrieving and returning horses to and from the paddocks.
For a lot of people that's a sense of purpose really, that they're contributing to the welfare of participants, while meeting people and in a lot of cases, making lasting friendships.
- RDA (NSW) Manning Great Lakes secretary, Sue Wills
There are also some opportunities in maintenance, administration, fundraising and catering assistance as well.
According to RDA (NSW) Manning Great Lakes secretary, Sue Wills, the riders who participate in the program enjoy a fun experience while benefiting in a multitude of ways.
"They benefit in many ways; the interaction with people, interaction with the horses is great for their self confidence," Sue said.
"Also, when they're riding the horses there's balancing goals, so there's coordination with their muscles, and we also do activities with the participants sometimes, (such as) catching and throwing balls, so there's a bit of hand-eye coordination as well."
The practice of horseback riding for therapeutic purposes goes back centuries, with references in Greek literature dating back to 600BC.
A landmark moment for the practice came about after Danish woman, Lis Hartel, despite being paralysed from the knees down by polio, won the silver medal for Individual Dressage at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
However it is not only the riders who benefit from the program, with volunteers enjoying what for them is often a profound and meaningful experience.
"For a lot of people that's a sense of purpose really, that they're contributing to the welfare of participants, while meeting people and in a lot of cases, making lasting friendships," Sue said.
Anyone over the age of 12-years-old interested in volunteering can contact RDA (NSW) Manning Great Lakes via email: manning@rda.org.au or by phone on 6553 6467.
