Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy

Want to Make a Difference?
Become a SMART Volunteer!

Volunteers are the heart and soul of SMART. Everyone works together at SMART to form a vital team that is essential to the success of our program. Being a mostly Volunteer organization, our need for Volunteers is always great.

Whether your experience with horses is lifelong or nonexistent, your willingness to give of yourself and your time is what we need! There are many areas of volunteer opportunities here at SMART; our volunteers help with leading horses and assisting students in classes, as well as with horse care, facility and grounds maintenance, fundraising and administrative work. We will be happy to work with you to find the area where you will feel most comfortable and that will be the most rewarding to you.

At SMART, we want everyone involved in the program to feel comfortable and safe. The safety of our Riders, Volunteers, Horses and Staff is of the utmost importance to us. To that end, all Volunteers are required to attend our Volunteer Orientation. We offer these orientations once a month from September through May. A one-on-one Volunteer Orientation can also be scheduled by appointment. Please call the SMART line for more information: 746-1493.

We invite you to come out to be a part of our SMART Volunteer Team. Not only will you get to spend time with some great people and wonderful horses---you will get to witness the joyous smiles and hear the peals of laughter that come from our SMART Riders as they ride toward a life of inclusion and respect!

Click here to download a Volunteer Application.

Volunteer of the Year - DON THAYER

One of our "Main Men" in this organization is Don Thayer. He has become such an important part of our Volunteer Team. We lean on him heavily during the winter months when he is here--and miss him terribly when he is not! We have an on-going "Honey-Do" list that is all ready for him when he arrives in late October, and we have projects for him right up to the very last minute when he leaves in May. Next time you are at SMART, take a look at those fabulous arena gates, trail course obstacles, barn repairs, solar hot water system, fencing, lighting, building improvements, ramp improvements, carriage repairs.....the list just goes on and on. And so does our love for this man! He also has a great team of guys (Rudy, Ted, Dick, et.al) who join in the work and fun of it all--and we love them, too!

Not only can we count on Don to "be there" for SMART in all of these ways---he also helps out with riding and driving lessons!! He always makes himself available for whatever is needed in the moment, if possible. He truly is a man who helps to hold this organization UP and he makes a huge difference in many, many ways. Don has been with us at SMART for many years now--and there is simply no way we could ever express our gratitude for all that he has done and continues to do for ALL of us at SMART.

 

Volunteer Brie Schwartz’s college essay about her SMART experience

Always shining against my sweaty, often dirty skin when I work around horses, Sean’s bracelet never lets me forget him. Every time I look down at the delicate silver loops hanging loose on my right wrist, I think about how the ten-year-old affected my life.

On my first Tuesday at SMART, a therapeutic riding facility, the other volunteers and I gathered in front of the tack room door, waiting anxiously for the kids to arrive. As soon as I saw Sean, I could not take my eyes off him. He swaggered into the tack room, so proud to get his helmet. His energy was contagious. The instructor brought the kids over to us and said, “Alrighty, riders, choose your volunteer!” The first to choose was Sean. He glanced around our semi-circle and then turned to me. His face was all squished in a smile, and he stretched his arm up and pointed at me. He then brought an open hand down to take mine. My pulse raced. I was so excited that this little ball of positive energy picked me.

From our first day together, Sean and I were a team. I led his stead for lessons and during horse shows. We were an inseparable trio: the pony Carly, Sean, and I. If I had a bad day at school, I would speed to the farm and count the minutes until I heard Sean’s voice. He was always happy, whether leading the group out into the ring for the lesson or excitedly grooming Carly. Even though every rider in the program had a disability, from the day I met Sean it never mattered to me that he was disabled.

Sean always had trouble saying my name, but for about the last month of lessons, all I heard from him was, “BWREEEEE!” I was so proud that he was remembering my name, and as I helped Sean to pronounce it and slow down his speech, he helped me to learn my own lesson. One Tuesday, Sean was having a bad day, and I started making funny faces at him. Immediately, Sean started making faces back at me, and he forgot all about his bad mood. Before long, the game was a part of our weekly routine. Playing with Sean, as silly as it seemed, made me realize how to turn bad days around and just enjoy myself. Sean made me see, as we stuck our tongues out at each other, that I am the only person keeping myself from having a great day and that with an upbeat attitude, anything is possible.

When it came time for our last riding lesson, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Having gained a new friend who I was used to seeing every week, naturally I did not want to say goodbye. I found a picture of our trio at the last horse show and printed in out for him. When I got to SMART, Sean came running, waving a blue envelope, “Hi BWREEEE! LOOK! LOOK!” He had bought me a bracelet. My heart melted as I hugged Sean. Never had I imagined when I started volunteering that I would develop such a strong relationship with anyone in the program.

Now when I am volunteering at SMART, I feel lost without the bracelet on my wrist. It reminds me that when I originally started volunteering, I thought that I would help other people, and that what I was doing for the organization would make a difference. Having Sean in my life, and looking forward to every Tuesday with him, has allowed me to find a new perspective of life: I learned to recognize that every situation does have a silver lining and that life is too short to spend time worrying about the little things.

By Brie Schwartz