Spring Session Volunteer Needs

Here are the updated needs for the spring session.  Times in bold are when we have at least 3 lessons running at once and need more help.  Times in red are when we are in dire, DIRE need of more people in order to run safely and effectively.

Monday: 3:00-7:00
Tuesday: 3:00-7:30
Wednesday: 9:30-12:00 and 3:00-7:00
Thursday: 8:30-1:30 and 3:30-7:00
Friday: 3:00-7:00
Saturday: 8:00-12:00 and 12:00-3:00

Call Anne at (215) 918-1001, x.103 to adjust or confirm your schedule!

Upcoming Events!

Spring is slowly creeping in, and things are picking up at the barn!  If you are interested in participating in any of the following events, let Anne know via email or phone, or sign up on the sheets at the barn.

• April 5: Advanced Volunteer Training Clinic, 4-7.  Come perfect your horse-handling skills with one-on-one training from staff and seasoned volunteers.  Open to everyone, regardless of experience.
• April 22 (raindate April 29): CAPMARK Cares Volunteer Day, 12-4.  Over 50 volunteers are coming for a one-shot day to work on Sensory Trail and arena maintenance projects.  We’ll need our own volunteers and staff as team leaders.  Work kicks off at noon with a nice lunch!
• May 2: Warrington’s 275th Anniversary, 12-3.  Fun and games at Villiage Square, the shopping mall in front of Wegman’s on Street Road.  We’ll have a face-painting booth.
• May 17: Spring Festival, 8-4.  It’s our second-annual combined student horse show and fair.  We’ll need all hands on deck for the horse show, and all kinds of non-horsey jobs are available for friends and family at the fair.  We also have TONS of room for vendors!  Anne has vendor registration flyers and forms if you know someone who might be interested.
• May 23: Thorncroft Horse Show.   We will be traveling to Thorncroft in Media with two horses and several students to compete at their horse show.  Winners will compete at Devon May 24.
• August 10-14 and August 17-21, 9-1.  Summer camp at Special Equestrians!  We’ll need loads of volunteers to make our pilot summer camp program a success.

Upcoming Events

Here are some important dates to remember for spring:

• May 17 – Spring Festival at the barn, with student horse show and craft fair (just like last year, only bigger and better!)
• May 23 - Thorncroft Horse Show at Thorncroft in Media (and possibly Devon on May 24) – our first away show since 2002!

Both of these events will require massive planning and participation to make them fantastic.  Information and sign-up sheets will be at the barn!

Casino Night is coming!

Casino Night is Friday, November 7th, and everyone’s invited to participate!  There are several ways that you can help us make this a successful event:

• Come to the event!  Tickets are $100 per person, and include $25 worth of gambling chips and an open bar.
• Sponsor the event!  There are plenty of sponsorship opportunities still available for individuals and businesses.
• Buy a race horse!  For $25, you can purchase and name your own “horse” that will race on the night of the event, and might win you a $50 gift card.
• Fill raffle baskets!  We desperately need items and gift certificates to fill our themed raffle baskets.  Every item helps us towards our goal!

We need everyone’s help to make Casino Night a powerful fundraiser, especially in these shaky economic times.  Anything you can do or bring would be wonderful!  Information and sign-up sheets are at the barn.

THANK YOU!

Fall Session Volunteer Needs

The new session is upon us!  Classes start Tuesday, August 26, with a record-breaking 86 clients scheduled.  Please note that times in bold are when we have at least 3 lessons running at once and need LOTS OF HELP!

Monday: 3:00-7:00
Tuesday: 3:00-7:30
Wednesday: 9:30-12:00 and 3:00-7:00
Thursday: 8:30-1:30 and 2:30-7:00
Friday: 3:00-6:00
Saturday: 8:00-12:00 and 12:00-3:00

Call Anne at (215) 918-1001, x.103 to adjust or confirm your schedule!

Newsletter

The 2008 newsletter is available at the barn.  Pick up a copy in the observation room next time you visit.  If you’d like one mailed to you, please let Anne know.

Sensory Trail Update

Have you seen the Sensory Trail lately?  Thanks to generous contributions, we’ve been able to purchase two huge picnic tables, an awesome bench in Mallick’s garden, a very entertaining Adirondack swing in memory of Cody, and comfy Adirondack chairs overlooking the outdoor arena.  The plants are taking root and doing well, and we have the entry bridge ready to be installed.

So, what’s next?

• Planting, weeding, and mulching in existing gardens
• Ripping sod and laying footing for the rest of the trail (we’re less than half-way done)
• Building and installing sponsored items, including the entry bridge, games, and activity stations

We can get this done!

With one more busy work day, we can finish this project and have a terrific Sensory Trail ready for the fall session!

 Sunday, July 20, 9-2

We’ll need some pretty heavy hitters to help us on July 20th, but I know we can beg or borrow the power.  Machines needed include a post-hole digger, a Bobcat, chainsaws, and assorted power tools.  Special talents needed include landscaping experience, weed aggression, confidence with power tools, and experience installing things into concrete-filled holes.

Please contact Anne here or by phone if you can come on July 20th, if you are bringing friends and family, and if you know of landscaping or construction firms who can help us out.  Let’s get this done!

Another record-breaking year?

Okay, I’m not one to count my chickens before they’re running around in the yard and laying eggs, but…

When I did the regular tally of volunteer hours for the past week, I checked up at the top of the self-adding spreadsheet, and we are just shy of 5,000 hours for the first half of the year.  If we keep this up, another hours record will be set in December - this time at 10,000!

On the other hand, one should always value quality over quanitity.  Good thing S.E. volunteers are the best in the business.  Thanks, everyone, for making this place a part of your life, and for contributing so greatly to the successes of the program.

*sniff*

I’m all choked up now.  I’m going to go brush Zeus.  Keep up the great work, everyone!  Here’s to another record-breaking year!

Spring Festival

June 15th is on its way, and we’re gearing up for a fabulous Spring Festival!

Volunteer sign-up sheets are at the barn, for the 5K race (7-11), the activities fair (12-5), and the horse show (12-5).  There are tons of non-horsey volunteer opportunities for friends, family, and community groups.  We’ll need all hands on deck!

Send a message here or talk to Anne to find out how you can be a part of this fantastic day of fun.

Roller Derby Mania

The Philly Roller Girls, our local roller derby league, have invited us to their 2008 championship bout on Saturday, June 7, at 5pm at the Sportsplex in Feasterville.

Staff and volunteers from Special Equestrians will be there to have a great time and to educate a new and exciting group of people about what we do.  The Roller Girls are also going to field a team of runners at our 5K on June 15th.  You can pick your favorite girl at the bout and sponsor her through the S.E. website.

If anyone is interested in carpooling from the barn to the bout, post a message here and we can organize it!