Volunteer

Volunteering is a wonderful way to be involved with CATR!  Volunteers can fill two main positions:

• Leader- This person is in charge of the horse during the lesson, and must be an experienced horse person.
• Side walker- This person walks alongside the horse assisting the student and instructor during the lesson. Less experience is needed for this position.

CATR has two phases of volunteer training:

• Orientation- This 2 hour introduction to our program includes some work in the ring with the horses. This concludes with an opportunity to look at the lesson line-up to determine your availability and schedule the Phase II training.
• Training- This 1 1/2- 2 hour training includes hands-on practice of grooming techniques, further details about the equipment and a mounted session to role-play and learn about the student’s experience.

The goal of these trainings is to evaluate your skill set and determine whether volunteering at Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding is right for you!

We ask our volunteers to commit to at least one hour per week for the duration of the session.  Our sessions are as follows:

Fall Session         10 weeks  September- November

Winter Session     6 weeks    January- February

Spring Session     10 weeks  March – May

Summer Session   4 weeks    June

We take a break in July and August due to the heat.  Program runs Monday-Friday 9-6pm and Saturdays 10-1pm.

Please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Dee Partridge at admin@catrfarms.org if you would like more information or to sign up for training.  You can go to our Calendar page to see when the next training is scheduled.  We have trainings in late August and February before our 10 week sessions.

We hope to see you at the farm!