Fri 21 Dec 2007
PALS Therapeutic Riding Center
If you’re looking for a unique place to volunteer in Bloomington, and you love working with children and animals, then People and Animal Learning Services Inc. (PALS) might be the perfect volunteer opportunity for you.
Executive director and instructor Fern Bonchek founded PALS in July of 2000, and she said it has been the ideal job for her interests.
“I’ve ridden horses my entire life, and I’ve always wanted to help people,” Bonchek said. “So it was my way of putting my love for horses and my desire to help people together.”
PALS offers therapeutic horseback riding, hippotherapy (medical therapy on a horse as opposed to learning to horseback ride), and pet encounter therapy to children and adults with physical, learning, cognitive or emotional disabilities. The organization is the only therapeutic riding center in Monroe County and surrounding counties that is accredited as a North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) Premier Accredited Center.
There are many different volunteer opportunities at PALS ranging from administrative work to lead walking.
“Volunteers mainly work in lessons, and they lead horses or they sidewalk riders,” Bonchek said. “We have some volunteers who do administrative stuff and help on committees, but mainly they help around the barn.”
Volunteers are required to be at least 14 years old. All volunteers also go through some training, but prior experience is not required.
The volunteers at PALS seem to enjoy their time there. Jill Burbank is a junior studying biology at Indiana University. She likes working with children, and she thinks equine-assisted activities can be extremely beneficial to children with disabilities.
“It’s probably [beneficial] because kids are so excited to come every week,” Burbank said. “It’s more of a hobby than a chore.”
Bonchek said equine-assisted activities can be beneficial to anyone, but there are specific ways these activities can help children with disabilities.
“The horse’s walking gait mimics the human walking gait,” Bonchek said. “So for kids who can’t sit up or they can’t balance well, the walking motion of the horse is going to increase their posture and their balance, and their coordination skills.”
Kara Lasher started to volunteer after hearing about PALS from one of her professors. She loves horses, and the program interested her right from the start.
“It’s amazing to see the difference in core body strength,” Lasher said. “Kids who aren’t able to sit up straight are able to walk out after several lessons.”
Lasher is the stable manager on Tuesday nights. Her different tasks include making sure volunteers know what they are supposed to be doing, taking care of the horses, making sure the horses get to their lessons on time, helping with the tack [saddles, bridles, etc.], and welcoming riders and parents into the stables. She also supervises some of the riders as they groom their horses following lessons, helps with administrative work, and writes for the PALS newsletter.
On Friday nights, Lasher “tucks in the horses” for the night and makes sure all 11 are comfortable. The horses have their own page on the PALS website that explains all of their different backgrounds. The site describes the unique personalities of the horses – personalities that can be matched to fit each individual rider.
Kace Escobedo is another Indiana University student who volunteers at PALS. She is a junior studying therapeutic recreation and is a pre-physical therapy student, and PALS fits in nicely with her studies. She found out about PALS through her introduction to equine-assisted activities class when Bonchek came to talk to the class.
“It adds a different swing to things,” Escobedo said. “It exposes me to different kinds of therapy.”
She feels there are many benefits not only to children with disabilities but to adults as well. Escobedo is shadowing other leadwalkers at the moment, but soon she will begin working with Caroline, an adult rider.
“Caroline takes the horse back to groom afterwards,” Escobedo said. “It translates to her life, and helps her learn more responsibility.”
Escobedo said the program has been very interesting to her for personal reasons as well. Her twin brother has cerebral palsy, and she is thinking about trying to get him involved in the program at PALS.
From a parent’s perspective, Susan Schlegel also had good things to say about the program. She watched from the side of the arena as her two daughters maneuvered their horses around the dusty, oval-shaped ring.
“The staff is great, the volunteers are great – they’re so patient,” Schlegel said. “For them [her daughters], it’s so calming to come here.”
Schlegel adopted the girls, and they have some anxiety-invoked emotional issues. One daughter is a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome. The girls have some issues with depression and ADHD.
Schlegel’s girls have developed a bond with their horses. The horses have helped her girls build confidence, and learning about the care of the horses and the equipment also has been beneficial, Schlegel said.
Every year, PALS puts on a
If you’re looking for a unique place to volunteer in Bloomington, and you love working with children and animals, then People and Animal Learning Services Inc. (PALS) might be the perfect volunteer opportunity for you.
Executive director and instructor Fern Bonchek founded PALS in July of 2000, and she said it has been the ideal job for her interests.
“I’ve ridden horses my entire life, and I’ve always wanted to help people,” Bonchek said. “So it was my way of putting my love for horses and my desire to help people together.”
PALS offers therapeutic horseback riding, hippotherapy (medical therapy on a horse as opposed to learning to horseback ride), and pet encounter therapy to children and adults with physical, learning, cognitive or emotional disabilities. The organization is the only therapeutic riding center in Monroe County and surrounding counties that is accredited as a North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) Premier Accredited Center.
 |
| Kristin Riccardo |
| As she gets ready for the next lesson of the evening, Stacey, a PALS volunteer, stops to praise Holly, one of the horses at PALS. |
“Volunteers mainly work in lessons, and they lead horses or they sidewalk riders,” Bonchek said. “We have some volunteers who do administrative stuff and help on committees, but mainly they help around the barn.”
Volunteers are required to be at least 14 years old. All volunteers also go through some training, but prior experience is not required.
The volunteers at PALS seem to enjoy their time there. Jill Burbank is a junior studying biology at Indiana University. She likes working with children, and she thinks equine-assisted activities can be extremely beneficial to children with disabilities.
“It’s probably [beneficial] because kids are so excited to come every week,” Burbank said. “It’s more of a hobby than a chore.”
Bonchek said equine-assisted activities can be beneficial to anyone, but there are specific ways these activities can help children with disabilities.
“The horse’s walking gait mimics the human walking gait,” Bonchek said. “So for kids who can’t sit up or they can’t balance well, the walking motion of the horse is going to increase their posture and their balance, and their coordination skills.”
Kara Lasher started to volunteer after hearing about PALS from one of her professors. She loves horses, and the program interested her right from the start.
“It’s amazing to see the difference in core body strength,” Lasher said. “Kids who aren’t able to sit up straight are able to walk out after several lessons.”
Lasher is the stable manager on Tuesday nights. Her different tasks include making sure volunteers know what they are supposed to be doing, taking care of the horses, making sure the horses get to their lessons on time, helping with the tack [saddles, bridles, etc.], and welcoming riders and parents into the stables. She also supervises some of the riders as they groom their horses following lessons, helps with administrative work, and writes for the PALS newsletter.
On Friday nights, Lasher “tucks in the horses” for the night and makes sure all 11 are comfortable. The horses have their own page on the PALS website that explains all of their different backgrounds. The site describes the unique personalities of the horses – personalities that can be matched to fit each individual rider.
Kace Escobedo is another Indiana University student who volunteers at PALS. She is a junior studying therapeutic recreation and is a pre-physical therapy student, and PALS fits in nicely with her studies. She found out about PALS through her introduction to equine-assisted activities class when Bonchek came to talk to the class.
“It adds a different swing to things,” Escobedo said. “It exposes me to different kinds of therapy.”
She feels there are many benefits not only to children with disabilities but to adults as well. Escobedo is shadowing other leadwalkers at the moment, but soon she will begin working with Caroline, an adult rider.
“Caroline takes the horse back to groom afterwards,” Escobedo said. “It translates to her life, and helps her learn more responsibility.”
Escobedo said the program has been very interesting to her for personal reasons as well. Her twin brother has cerebral palsy, and she is thinking about trying to get him involved in the program at PALS.
From a parent’s perspective, Susan Schlegel also had good things to say about the program. She watched from the side of the arena as her two daughters maneuvered their horses around the dusty, oval-shaped ring.
“The staff is great, the volunteers are great – they’re so patient,” Schlegel said. “For them [her daughters], it’s so calming to come here.”
Schlegel adopted the girls, and they have some anxiety-invoked emotional issues. One daughter is a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome. The girls have some issues with depression and ADHD.
Schlegel’s girls have developed a bond with their horses. The horses have helped her girls build confidence, and learning about the care of the horses and the equipment also has been beneficial, Schlegel said.
.jpg) |
| Kristin Riccardo |
| Piper, a PALS rider, smiles as she works on her balance with horse Cody. |
few fundraisers because it is a non-profit organization. One such fundraiser is a horse show for the riders. Schlegel’s girls participated in the event.
“It was their first fun show,” she said. “To them it was like a real competition.”
Bonchek said that the biggest fundraising event is a wine and beer tasting and silent auction. The volunteers often help with fundraising or coordinating events.
“It was their first fun show,” she said. “To them it was like a real competition.”
Bonchek said that the biggest fundraising event is a wine and beer tasting and silent auction. The volunteers often help with fundraising or coordinating events.
Currently, PALS has about 150 volunteers, two full-time staff, and three part-time staff members. However, there are still plenty of opportunities available for interested volunteers.
“I find it kind of creeping into every aspect of my life,” Lasher said. “But the reason that it does is because I love it so much.
“It’s an amazing organization – everybody cares. … It’s a pretty special thing to be a part of.”
* For more information, visit: http://www.palstherapy.org/about/index.php
“I find it kind of creeping into every aspect of my life,” Lasher said. “But the reason that it does is because I love it so much.
“It’s an amazing organization – everybody cares. … It’s a pretty special thing to be a part of.”
* For more information, visit: http://www.palstherapy.org/about/index.php