Step Up - Volunteer!
Thank you for your interest in volunteering for The Right Step, Inc.! As a volunteer, you will help make our lessons safe, productive, and fun for our clients. You will help clients develop riding skills, become physically stronger, improve communication skills, and become more confident. Outside of lessons, you may also help with our horses and facility's care and maintenance, fundraising, or administrative work. You will form lasting bonds with clients, volunteers, staff, and our horses!
Horse care and Lesson Volunteer Opportunities:
Volunteers assist in the daily care of our horses and serve as side walkers, ground-based horse leaders, or horse leaders during lessons. All volunteers start with a general orientation and then move on to training. They can choose to train to feed horses and muck stalls, side walk during lessons, and/or horse lead during lessons.
We feed our horses three times per day, and we muck stalls twice a day. There is a one-time training for Feeders/Muckers.
Side walkers walk alongside our clients on horseback, are responsible for the safety of the client during the lesson, and support the client as needed. There is also a one-time training for side walkers.
The first level of Horse Leaders is our Ground-based Horse Leaders. They help with turning out the horses, hand-walking horses for exercise, and getting horses groomed and ready for lessons that don't involve a client riding. Training for Ground-based horse leaders consists of working with a mentor to learn the needed skills and then an evaluation of those skills by an instructor.
Lesson Horse Leaders are responsible for grooming and tacking up the horse before lessons, leading the horse during lessons, and untacking and grooming the horse after lessons. Training for Lesson Horse Leaders also involves working with a mentor to learn needed skills for lessons beyond those of a Ground-based Horse Leader and then an evaluation of those skills by an instructor.
Each of our lessons requires a Horse Leader and up to two Side Walkers depending upon the individual client's needs.
All volunteers must complete training to learn unique client assistance techniques and horse handling methods. Horse experience and experience working with people with disabilities is a plus but is not necessary. Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age to serve as Side Walkers or Horse Leaders. Volunteers under the age of 16 can assist with horse care outside of the arena and other barn tasks but must be accompanied by a trained adult volunteer when volunteering.
Volunteer Opportunities other than horse care and lessons:
Fundraising - Our fundraising efforts primarily support scholarships for our clients who would otherwise be unable to afford our lessons and care for our horses. Volunteers help with small events, large events, online fundraisers, and our annual direct giving campaign. For more information, contact Executive Director Sharon Smith at executivedirector@therightstepinc.org or 720-893-0650.
Administrative Support - Volunteers help organize the office, answer the phone, do data entry, write thank you notes, and help with the "non-horsey" part of the program. For more information, contact Admin Maggie Voss at admin@therightstepinc.org or 720-893-0650.
To get started:
Attend one of our Volunteer Orientations for a facility tour and general program information. Orientations are on the second and fourth Mondays of each month from 9:30-10:30 am and the second and fourth Tuesdays from 5:00-6:00 pm. Please email volunteercoordinator@therightstepinc.org or call the office at 720-893-0650 to tell us when you are coming. Thanks!
Next, please complete the online application (click on button below). Once your application is received, our Volunteer Coordinator will email you information on upcoming trainings and additional forms and waivers to complete. Volunteers 18 and older must also complete a background check. All volunteers must update forms each January. Background checks must be updated every five years. All volunteers must also go through a "refresher" training every year.
Horse care and Lesson Volunteer Opportunities:
Volunteers assist in the daily care of our horses and serve as side walkers, ground-based horse leaders, or horse leaders during lessons. All volunteers start with a general orientation and then move on to training. They can choose to train to feed horses and muck stalls, side walk during lessons, and/or horse lead during lessons.
We feed our horses three times per day, and we muck stalls twice a day. There is a one-time training for Feeders/Muckers.
Side walkers walk alongside our clients on horseback, are responsible for the safety of the client during the lesson, and support the client as needed. There is also a one-time training for side walkers.
The first level of Horse Leaders is our Ground-based Horse Leaders. They help with turning out the horses, hand-walking horses for exercise, and getting horses groomed and ready for lessons that don't involve a client riding. Training for Ground-based horse leaders consists of working with a mentor to learn the needed skills and then an evaluation of those skills by an instructor.
Lesson Horse Leaders are responsible for grooming and tacking up the horse before lessons, leading the horse during lessons, and untacking and grooming the horse after lessons. Training for Lesson Horse Leaders also involves working with a mentor to learn needed skills for lessons beyond those of a Ground-based Horse Leader and then an evaluation of those skills by an instructor.
Each of our lessons requires a Horse Leader and up to two Side Walkers depending upon the individual client's needs.
All volunteers must complete training to learn unique client assistance techniques and horse handling methods. Horse experience and experience working with people with disabilities is a plus but is not necessary. Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age to serve as Side Walkers or Horse Leaders. Volunteers under the age of 16 can assist with horse care outside of the arena and other barn tasks but must be accompanied by a trained adult volunteer when volunteering.
Volunteer Opportunities other than horse care and lessons:
Fundraising - Our fundraising efforts primarily support scholarships for our clients who would otherwise be unable to afford our lessons and care for our horses. Volunteers help with small events, large events, online fundraisers, and our annual direct giving campaign. For more information, contact Executive Director Sharon Smith at executivedirector@therightstepinc.org or 720-893-0650.
Administrative Support - Volunteers help organize the office, answer the phone, do data entry, write thank you notes, and help with the "non-horsey" part of the program. For more information, contact Admin Maggie Voss at admin@therightstepinc.org or 720-893-0650.
To get started:
Attend one of our Volunteer Orientations for a facility tour and general program information. Orientations are on the second and fourth Mondays of each month from 9:30-10:30 am and the second and fourth Tuesdays from 5:00-6:00 pm. Please email volunteercoordinator@therightstepinc.org or call the office at 720-893-0650 to tell us when you are coming. Thanks!
Next, please complete the online application (click on button below). Once your application is received, our Volunteer Coordinator will email you information on upcoming trainings and additional forms and waivers to complete. Volunteers 18 and older must also complete a background check. All volunteers must update forms each January. Background checks must be updated every five years. All volunteers must also go through a "refresher" training every year.
We look forward to working with you!
