Welcome to our first newsletter of 2022! The hours of daylight are rapidly increasing and while we're still waiting for our January thaw, we do know that soon enough, the weather will start to moderate and we'll be looking forward to seeing signs of spring--as a matter of fact, I've seen some buds swelling on trees already and heard the spring song of the chickadee last week!
We know that one of the only constants in life is change itself. Being flexible and adaptable is what has helped RTT to remain strong after 29 years! After changes in our staff this fall with the retirement of long-time RTT staff member, Denise Clemens and the brief departure (thankfully) of Julia Hamilton (see article below re: Barn Staff), we have another staff change to announce. Susan Cole, RTT's Director of Development for the past 11 years, will be retiring April 1. Susan has spearheaded and grown RTT's Annual Fund, our Corporate and Foundation giving, and our special events, most notably The Triple B (which has grown from a net of $71K in 2011 to $189K in 2019)!! With her help we have been able to expand programming, increase staffing and make facility improvements.
Susan has decided to move up her time table for retirement by a year or so, to spend more time with her family and traveling (she has a beautiful new grandson in Germany!!). I know you will all join me in wishing Susan the very best and stay tuned for our plans for a Farewell Party. If you know of anyone with Development experience (especially in a "small shop"--e.g. a jack or jill of all trades!) please email me. We will be posting this position in the near future!
Finally, we've been reflecting on 2021 and all that was accomplished at RTT, despite the ongoing pandemic. In next month's newsletter I'll share more about the number of clients served, volunteer hours and program demographics from 2021. In the meantime, be well!!
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Annual Volunteer Trainings and Continuing Education
We held our first of four Annual Volunteer Trainings for 2022 on January 6th, with 15 volunteers In attendance. The purpose of these trainings is to review emergency procedures, and best practices as related to grooming and tacking, horse leading and side walking, and mounting and dismounting at RTT. ALL volunteers are asked to attend one of these trainings (each will cover the same information, so there is no need to attend more than one). The remaining dates for 2022 are:
- Monday, April 25th: 5:30-8:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, August 16th: 1:00-3:30 p.m.
- Saturday, November 16th 1:00-3:30 p.m.
Please look at the above dates and email Nick to let him know which training you plan on attending. In addition, we ask that annually, you update your Volunteer Registration form which can be found here.
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Volunteers Needed for the Winter session!
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Tuesdays: 3:00-5:30: Expediter for lessons
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Thursdays: 3:00-6:00: Horse Leader for lessons
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Fridays: 3:00-5:30: Expediter for lessons
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Saturdays: 9:30-11:30: "Header" for driving lessons
Expediters assist with putting equipment out for lessons, getting horses from, and returning them to, their paddocks/stalls, horse prep/grooming, and tack cleaning. This position helps to keep our lesson schedule moving smoothly and on time!
Horse Leaders and Headers are experienced horse handlers who have been trained and approved by RTT.
If you are interested in learning more about any of these opportunities, please email Nick for more information!
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NIH Research Study--Spring Cohort
The Spring cohort of research participants will begin with the therapeutic riding group on Tuesday, March 1st, and the barn activity (control) group on Wednesday, March 2nd. This study is examining physiological changes in children, ages 6-16, who have autism during participation in each of these groups. Volunteering for both the therapeutic riding group and the barn activity group has proven to be a unique and highly rewarding experience for our volunteers and staff. In the words of Kim, one of our volunteers, "In a relatively short period of time, the students made amazing growth with their horsemanship skills and overall confidence, however, most rewarding was observing the ease with which they developed caring friendships among themselves." The spring cohort runs for 10 weeks (through RTT's April break weeks) and we try hard to have as much volunteer consistency as possible. Please contact Nick if you are interested in learning more!
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Volunteer and Staff Workshop!
On January 8th, we welcomed Linda Crabtree of Circle of Peace Animal Reiki and Equine Acupressure for a workshop on meditation and grooming with gratitude. We had both morning and afternoon sessions, with a total of 19 participants. This was a wonderful opportunity to bring humans and horses together using relaxing and healing methods while greeting and grooming. Linda introduced us to methods to help relieve tension and anxiety and bring peace and calm to the whole body (both horse and human!) Taking the time to observe, appreciate, and just BE with our horses was truly a healing experience for all.
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"Parents as Experts" Virtual Conference |
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Maine LEND at UNE is presenting a Virtual Conference: Parents as Experts. This conference, which will be February 5, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., is a day of education and community-building for Maine parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Click here to learn more and register!
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What's Happening in the Ring?!! |
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Practicing Emergency Procedures
During the initial weeks of each new session, instructors try teach or review emergency procedures with participants and volunteers. You may be learning one-rein stops or emergency dismounts, or you may notice instructors working with volunteers to discuss steps that should be taken in the event of an emergency. This video is one of our training videos about different emergency procedures including an emergency dismount. If you have any questions about this, please speak with your instructor. And thanks for helping to keep safety first and foremost at RTT.
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Barn Staff Updates
We are back on track with our barn staff! Thank you to all who helped out while we were in transition to ensure that care for our horses was not disrupted! We are pleased to announce that Julia Hamilton is back at RTT on a full time basis as our Equine Care Coordinator. Kristin Meaney, our Equine Manager, is working with Julia to coordinate farrier and vet visits, and overall equine care and nutrition. In addition, Lina Jordan, Barn Assistant, works in the barn two days a week, and Melanie Peabody, our On-Site Caretaker works Wednesday mornings, along with night check and one weekend day. What an amazing team!
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How You Can Help!
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Walgreens Rewards to Benefit RTT: RTT has been selected to be a nonprofit recipient of Walgreens Rewards March to May 2022. If you shop at Walgreens, sign up for the rewards program and from March through May you can transfer your rewards to RTT! This program is available through the Walgreens mobile app and online at Walgreens.com.
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Amazon Smile: Choose RTT as your charity of choice on Amazon Smile, while you're shopping, pick out a few items on RTT's Wish List!
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CLYNK Bags: an easy way to return bottles and cans to benefit RTT!
- Pick up CLYNK bags with RTT tags--call Lorena to arrange a time for pick up at 892-2913 x10.
- Fill the bag with your returnable bottles and cans – up to 20lbs per bag
- Drop off at participating Hannaford Supermarket CLYNK locations.
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