Our Volunteer of the Month is Mary Stevenson
With the start of our spring session of Therapeutic Riding just around the corner, we have decided to feature Mary Stevenson as our volunteer of the month! The Therapeutic Riding program at Lancers runs with a group of extremely dedicated volunteers and Mary is one who volunteers as a side walker and leader.
Mary volunteered with the Therapeutic Riding Program last fall but she has been involved at Lancers over the years. Her daughter, Heather Chandler, started riding at Lancers in 2001 as a junior rider and continued until she went to university in 2009. Heather also volunteered with the Therapeutic Riding program when she was in high school and this inspired Mary to volunteer once she retired.
To her volunteering position, Mary brings her own horse experience. She grew up in Northern Ireland and began riding at aged 9. She was fortunate to own a horse and did some show jumping and cross-country eventing but when she left home to go to university in Scotland, she had to sell her horse. She very much enjoys being around the horses again and seeing the joy on the faces of the riders in the program. Mary added, “as with any type of volunteering, the benefits are two-way and I think we all feel very positive (if tired!) at the end of a session”.
While she doesn’t think she will take up riding again, Mary hopes to keep volunteering with the Therapeutic program in the future. She also volunteers once a month at Club Inclusion supper club which is for adults with special needs. When not volunteering, Mary enjoys hiking and biking and when the winter weather doesn’t facilitate those activities, she enjoys participating in a knitting group!
Mary, thank you so much for sharing your passion, skills, and enthusiasm with us and volunteering to ensure the Therapeutic Riding program is a great success and brings many smiles to many faces.
We weren’t able to catch Mary for a photo but here is a snap of Megan who is one of our long standing Therapeutic Riders!
#FeatureFriday
