March 2010 Newsletter from VTEA, a Langley, BC charity for hippotherapy for the disabled and for special needs children - Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association

VTEA Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association for the disabled

VTEA Monthly Newsletter - March 2010

Session Dates:

Our Winter 2010 Session ended on Sat, Mar 6th. We will be closed for Spring Break from Sun, Mar 7th until Monday, Mar 15th. Our Spring 2010 Session commences on Tue, Mar 16th and runs through until Thur, Jun 24th.
Julie, our Head Instructor, has been busy scheduling riders for the Spring Session and all riders should have received their Spring Session invoice. Please remember that payment for lessons is due prior to or at the first lesson – sorry, no exceptions.

Our Fall Session will commence on Tue, Sep 14th and run through until Sat, Dec 20th.

Please note that we do not run lessons on long weekends. During the Spring Session we will be closed on Fri, Apr 2 and Sat, Apr 3 for Easter and Sat, May 22 for the Victoria Day Long Weekend.

Spring Clean-Up:

We would like to thank Julie Matijiw, Paula Farr, Suzette Brunner, Deborah Styles (Robyn’s Mom) and Laurie (one of our volunteers) for coming in on Tue, Mar 9th to do a ‘spring clean-up” at the barn. They spent the day cleaning the arena, office, etc. We would also like to thank our volunteers Wayne King, Wayne Singbiel, Wade and Pete Creamore (one of our directors) for doing a huge clean up on the VTEA grounds and doing dump runs. – the facility looks wonderful!

New Staff at VTEA:

We would like to welcome Pete Creamore as our new Board Director as of Jan/10. And we would also like to welcome the following staff - Kelly Hooper, our Full time Barn Staff, Kitty Pylatuk our Fri Barn Staff, Winnie Murphey and Lydia Peters our new Saturday Assistant Instructors. We also have Jason working on stalls during the week.

CanTRA Instructor Exams:

The Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association held their 2010 Technical Exams at VTEA on Fri, Mar 12th and Sat, Mar 13th. Jane James and Margaret Rigby were our CanTRA Examiners and came over from Vancouver Island for the two day exam. Paula Farr, Gillian Schmitz, Alison Barr and Winnie Murphey (all VTEA Assistant Instructors in training) participated and we are pleased to announce that all four VTEA candidates passed the technical exam and have been advised they are eligible to take the final exam as soon as possible. We also had Christine Ross (taking her final Instructor exam) and Ginette Chambray (taking her AI Technical) join us from the BC Kootenay Region. Congratulations to all of the candidates for passing their exams.

Also thank you to the riders and volunteers that came out to participate. Also a huge thank you to Julie Matijiw for preparing all of the candidates over the last year for their exams – holding classes, assisting us with our lesson plans and answering endless questions!

Therapeutic Riding Assistant Course

We have just completed our first TRA - Level #1 course and believe this was a huge success. This is an 8 wk course open to all volunteers and parents. Topics included were safe mounting/dismounting, proper leading/sidewalking techniques, how to groom a horse, how to tack a horse. No experience is necessary and this course is offered free of charge. The course is limited to 8 participants to allow as much "hands on time" as possible. Volunteers were able to practice and also get some riding time in.

Our goal is to encourage all volunteers and even parents to take this course. Eventually volunteers will require their TRA Level 1 to be able to lead and sidewalk at VTEA. We will be offering this course again starting in April, if you are interested, please sign up with Suzette, our Volunteer Co-ordinator ASAP as space is limited. Suzette will be announcing the graduates of this course shortly.

Annual VTEA Horse Show:

Our Annual Horse Show is scheduled for Sat, Jun 26th. All riders are encouraged to participate, this is an extremely fun day and there are classes for all riders to enjoy and ribbons for everyone!

We will have sign-up sheets available at the barn on May 15. Instructors will be discussing with riders/parents suitable classes for each rider to enter. These shows require a large number of volunteers to assist with the classes, grooming/tacking horses, show assistants, etc. Again, a sign-up sheet for Volunteers will be posted in the arena by May 15th.

We will be asking volunteers to sign up with their favourite horse as grooms/assistant grooms for the day - and again finishing off the day with a "best costume class for our horses" - last year Big Ben won as our "Hawaiian Hula Girl"!

July Summer Camps

We will be offering Summer Camps during the month of July for our riders and our volunteers. Julie will be posting a sign-up sheet in the arena during May.

Volunteer Appreciation BBQ

Mark your calendars! Sunday, July 10th is our Annual Volunteer Appreciation BBQ at VTEA. We currently have approximately 50 volunteers that assist at VTEA every week. Without this amazing group of dedicated people we would not be able to run our program. They dedicate their time and their talents - rain or shine each week to enable our riders to enjoy fun but safe lessons.

We encourage all parents and riders to join us for a "Volunteer Celebration" at our Annual BBQ. This is a pot luck event and there will be sign-up sheets posted in the Parents Viewing Area during the month of June.

Volunteer Positions Available at VTEA:

We would like to offer the following volunteer positions at VTEA - Tack Room Co-ordinator, Safety Co-ordinator and General Housekeeper - if you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Suzette Brunner, our Volunteer Co-ordinator ASAP. Riding lessons with our VTEA Instructors will be offered in exchange for these positions.

We also have a couple of positions available on our Board of Directors, if you are interested, please contact Kim at the office.

Criminal Record Checks

The Board of Directors at VTEA are in the process of developing a policy regarding criminal record checks for staff, volunteers, etc. and this policy will be posted in our April Newsletter.

RCMP Posters - Fundraiser for VTEA

We have some beautiful RCMP posters for sale at VTEA for $25 – these are the posters from the RCMP Musical Ride and are signed by their team – please see sample posted in the parents viewing area in the arena. For more information, please contact Kim, at the office.

Riding Attire for Lessons

Just a reminder that proper riding attire is strongly recommended for all riders at VTEA. This includes riding boots or rubber boots with a 1" heel, riding pants or stretchy fitted pants. Gloves are also recommended (no mittens). Although VTEA does provide helmets, if you are riding on a regular basis it is recommended that you purchase your own helmet - these are available at local tack stores for around $65 and up. If you have any questions regarding correct riding attire, please discuss them with your Instructor and they will be happy to advise.

VTEA Wish List

Please take a look at our VTEA Wish List posted in the Parents Viewing Area. If you are able to assist with any of these items, please discuss with Kim Yawney, our Office Co-ordinator.

Art Show in Fort Langley – Fundraiser for VTEA

Susan J. Falk has a wide reputation with artwork in public and private collections. Inspired by the surroundings of the natural ponds and forests of her ten acre studio South Langley location, her works have gained kudos from reviewers and commentators for her gallery exhibitions. Sought after for her mentoring and advisory capabilities, she often is found teaching at her studio or serving on the Board of Directors of The Fort Gallery, in Fort Langley. Her active commitment to public showings in Vancouver, Fort Langley, White Rock, and other Lower Mainland venues or high-end auctions, this artist is vigorously involved in the life of art. Susan and her horse Cody ride at Rosewyn Stables in Langley with Coach - Monique Fraser.

Susan has generously offered to donate partial proceeds from her upcoming art show to VTEA. The show is called “Equine Persuasion” and will be held at The Fort Gallery from Apr 7 to Apr 25 – opening day is Sun, Apr 11 from 1-4pm. Please take a moment to visit Susan’s website at www.susanfalk.ca - her paintings are amazing!

The Fort Gallery is located at 9048 Glover Rd., Fort Langley and is open Wed through Sun from 12-5pm - www.fortgallery.ca

TEA Poem Contest

Our VTEA rider – Hailey Miller was the winner of our Poem Contest advertised in the last edition of “The Valley Messenger” – our VTEA Newsletter. Hailey’s poem will be posted in the parents viewing area for the Spring Session. Hailey will also receive a gift certificate –congratulations Hailey!

Valley Dogs

Many of you have been asking about Bender and Harley – our Valley Dogs! Bender was adopted by Julie Matijiw and Harley was adopted by Paula Farr. Both dogs are happy and healthy, they have had visits to the vet and are enjoying their new homes. Bender often comes to work at VTEA with Julie to visit everyone and Harley, although very old and quite arthritic is now on mediation and doing so much better. He is enjoying his daily walks to the lake and loves visiting the ducks – he even jumped in one day and went for a swim! Harley will be visiting VTEA when we have some nice warm, sunny weather.

Harley under the Christmas tree!

Bender relaxing at home!

The Staff and Board of Directors at VTEA sincerely hope that you are enjoying your riding and/or volunteer time with us. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our staff at the office at 604-857-1267 or by e-mail at info@vtea.ca

See you all at the barn! Paula

Sincerely, VTEA Staff and Board of Directors