The Community Association for Riding for the Disabled is dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities through quality therapeutic riding programs. A Magical Connection CARD 4777 Dufferin St. Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T3 Tel: 416-667-8600 Fax: 416-739-7520 [email protected] www.card.ca INSIDE THIS ISSUE VOLUME 10 Connect With CARD Spring 2014 Happy Anniversary CARD! It’s a year long party at CARD and we want everyone to help celebrate. Throughout 2014 CARD will be holding events such as our recent bowling night which was a huge success. All events will have a 45th anniversary theme. Chairperson’s Message Bowling For CARD Volunteers of the Month Seana’s World Fundraising Horse Psychology Facility Upgrades 2014 Golf Tournament You Asked Us Board of Directors Mr. Donald Buckley (Chair) Ms. Katherine Bontje (Vice-Chair) Mr. Steve Wanless (Secretary) Mr. Andrew Macdonald (Treasurer) Mr. Joseph Ferrari (Human Resources) Mr. Conrad Cohen Mr. Michael Goldman Dr. Rafael Gomez Welcome to Our New Fundraiser ”Walk On for CARD” Sunday June 22, 2014. Walk to support our horses, 1 km and 5 km walk, minimum pledge of $45 , celebrating our 45 years. Breakfast, lunch. Walk for your favourite horse….ie Team Oreo, Team Maggie, etc. Please join us in this inaugural fundraiser. CARD 10th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Ink the date of Tuesday August 12 in your calendars. It’s CARD’s 10th annual golf tournament at BraeBen Golf Club. (See details within this issue). We welcome everyone to attend and if you are in a capacity where you can sponsor a hole or other options during the tourney, please don’t hesitate to contact our tournament convener at [email protected] or the CARD office. A Magical Connection Still “Walking On” After 45 Years New Facility Changes! Washroom Renovation We are thrilled to announce that we have secured funding to renovate our Men's' Washroom into a Family Washroom. This accommodation will enable families who require special toileting to have a private and accessible Washroom. Message From The Chair Dear members of the CARD family. I trust that everyone survived this treacherous and bone- chilling winter. For everyone –riders, instructors and volunteers, who managed to come for their classes may I congratulate you for keeping up your enthusiasm and dedication to our wonderful riding lessons. I know trying to get around and getting to CARD must have been quite challenging because of the horrible winter conditions. At this time, I would like to welcome our new Board member Andrew Macdonald to our board. Thank you Andrew for you willingness to join us and share your expertise. I would like to thank everyone who came out to our annual bowling night, including the many sponsors and people who donated their time and items for the event. As well, I would also like to thank our staff for all their hard work. Without everyone's support the event would not have happened. We managed to raise approximately $ 4500.00 which will help maintain our fantastic riding facility. We are always looking for financial support either donations or products in order that our precious riders may continue to fulfill their goals and ambitions at CARD. One thing is certain, as long as they don't ban 2-handed bowling I won't have to “hang-em up”. We had a lot of fun and I can hardly wait until next year's event. I know that spring officially is just around the corner and that can only mean some warmer nicer weather and as well the spring classes which will start very soon. May we all take the time to enjoy the nicer weather and the long holiday weekend in April with family and friends. It is an honor, as the Chair, to work with such an outstanding group of people, the staff the instructors, the board and of course the many wonderful volunteers. It's because of you that the dream stays alive. Thank you for being who you are and what you do for this great organization CARD. This is the very best therapeutic riding facility because of your dedication and hard work. Kindest regards Don Buckley Chair, CARD Board of Directors. To make contributions of articles and/or photos to CARD’s newsletter, please e-mail submissions to Michael Goldman, Editor at [email protected] So Much More Than Fun And Games Often, when you watch a class at CARD you'll see riders of all ages working on mounted activities and/or games. What you may not realize is that the majority of the time, we are not doing so just for the enjoyment value. Many of the activities/games have tremendous therapeutic benefits in a riding setting, and one of the best parts- particularly for younger students or those clients who are 'burnt out' from clinical forms of therapy- is that the therapeutic benefits are often happening “under the radar” or outside of the rider's conscious thought process. This radically decreases issues with motivation or compliance, which often challenges in traditional clinic-based therapies. Did you know that a simple object transfer has as many as 15 different therapeutic benefits? Or that negotiating an obstacle course helps with motor planning, direction following, memory and non-repetitive problem solving? So if you've ever looked through the lounge windows and wondered why we do what we do, here's a brief outline of some of the benefits of our class activities: · Rolling halts and pace changes- trigger balance and righting reactions, improve core strength and postural alignment · Weaving pylons-balance and recognition of left/right, repetitive motor skills/planning and cause/effect · Hunting and matching games- environmental awareness, asymmetrical motor skills and planning through guiding the horse, reaching outside base of support, midline recognition, fine and gross motor coordination, multi-step processing · Jeopardy, Eye Spy- facilitate speaking, group participation, motor planning and balance, environmental awareness · Letter halts/search/spelling- sharp turns across the arena provide increased proprioceptive and vestibular input, as well as facilitate early learning skills regarding reading, cause and effect, motor planning if using reins Many of these games and activities are also laying a foundation of riding skills in terms such as spatial awareness and planning, understanding how the horse responds to directions, how to speak to the horse in their terms (verbal or via rein and leg aids) and also beginning to familiarize riders with basic riding figures and exercises. Therefore, instructors will often use obstacle and game-based class work as a prelude to the more theoretical elements of riding, helping riders to travel from concrete to abstract thinking as a result. So when you're looking through those lounge windows, we do hope you are seeing a lot of fun going on; and we hope that you are now also seeing a lot more than games. Seana Waldon Program Director VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2013 The Wednesday Evening group is very lucky to have Trish as a part of their team. She is dependable, patient, and can be counted on to think quickly in tough situations. She loves a challenge and often sidewalks with riders who benefit from her firm, but fair methods. Trish is there for the CARD riders and always puts their needs first. She consults regularly with her team to ensure that the riders get the most out of the program. Many individuals have been able to achieve their goals thanks to Trish and CARD is very fortunate that she gives so much of herself each and every week. (Written by: Julia Burke) I chose to volunteer at CARD because of the riders, the horses, and my fellow volunteers. Back in the 80's I volunteered for CARD for over 5 years. I made great friends and was even a "mother" (trainer) of a great horse named Cutter. Then life took over in the form of marriage, kids, etc. and time became scarce. I am so glad to now have the time again to devote to CARD. Trish & her Sweetie Ronan Trish Anderson Check Out Our New Web Site! Our new web site is finally up and running. After a bumpy start and lots of angst and anguish…we went live with our new communication tool earlier this season. With much help and advice from two wonderful volunteers (Anne Thomas -Web Design and Lloyd Speyer - IT), we survived the changeover. To all of you who sent us feedback and suggestions on the new look, and the contents – thank you. We are very proud of this accomplishment, and look forward to many years of sharing our programs, news and events with you. YOU HAVE BEEN SPOTTED! Do you know a fellow volunteer that has gone above and beyond their regular duties or has done a good deed to assist another volunteer, rider, instructor or a staff member of CARD? We want to hear about it. Don’t let their good deeds go unnoticed. Send your stories in. Bowling For CARD CARD's annual bowling fundraiser “Bowling for CARD” was held at the Parkway Bowl on Saturday February 15th. Although it was cold outside, the weather was nice and toasty in the alley. 135 keglers took to the lanes to show off their bowling talents. Thank you to the following sponsors: Dignity Transportation Inc. and the Toronto East Detention Centre for being co-sponsors of the event. Lane Sponsors: Loaded Dog Pub - D & G Trophies - Appel Dental Centre - Queen Victoria Pub Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel - Draglam Waste - Nobleton Feed Mill - Horses for Courses Muckish Irish Pub - Triple Crown Bar & Grill - Sam Samivand – Re/Max - Diana's Seafood - Print Fast Dessert Table Sponsors: Tina Baird - Tori's Bakeshop - St. Urbain Bagel - Ken Holt - Judy Wanless - Yummy Market - Mamma's Pizza - Costco - and Meredith Wiens for their donations of pizza and desserts. Thank you as well to the companies and individuals who donated items for door prizes and a big thank you to Steve, Daniel and Cathy for donating their time and to the staff at Parkway. Congratulations to CARD's own Scot Stewart who had the high 10 pin single game score and Donna Halliday who had the high 5 pin single game score. This event raised over $4500 for CARD! VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH JANUARY 2014 Sonia has been a long-time volunteer with the CARD program. She is hardworking, kind, and shows a lot of patience with the riders she works with every week. As a reliable Wednesday Evening volunteer, Sonia often works with some of CARD's quietest riders. Her gentleness allows these riders to open up and feel confident trying new things. Many riders have benefitted from Sonia's consistency and encouragement. As a result, they have been able to achieve their goals and begin working on more challenging ones. CARD is very lucky to have Sonia as a volunteer and recognizes all she has done to benefit the program. (Written by: Julia Burke) Sonia with Colonel I have been lucky enough to be a part of CARD for about 4 years now after noticing the facilities one day while out in the park. Although I'm not much of a horseman myself, I have always loved horses and was excited to find this opportunity. I consider myself very lucky to be able to work with these beautiful animals and more importantly to work with the great riders and volunteers. I know that it sounds cliché but I really do feel that I get more out of volunteering than I am ever able to give, so for that I say thank you to all the wonderful people at CARD. Sonia Chorafakis The Monster Ride Adopts CARD On Saturday, May 31, 2014 a group of 15 men (the Innerweb Riders), who ride recreationally on a weekly basis, will be riding the Lake Ontario Waterfront trail from Niagara Falls to Toronto, in support of CARD. Each year a Grand Marshall is appointed to organize the ride and raise funds. That person this year, is Arthur Kaminsky, husband of one of our long standing volunteers, Linda . They complete this ride in one day. If you would like to sponsor any of the riders, please go to our web site “How you can help”, and follow the link. Thank you to Arthur and his team for doing this, and thank you to Linda for sharing her passion about CARD to her husband! Thinking Like a Horse Horse Psychology CARD was delighted to host over 60 attendees on March 21st at our first Seminar with Lindsay. We laughed with her wonderful personality and we learned a great deal about how horses think and act due to body language and touch. We can’t wait for our next session with Lindsay. Here is Just Some of the Feedback we Received. Just wanted to say THANK YOU for organizing a superb clinic!! Lindsey Grice was a joy to listen to and I learned so much!! I hope that last night was the first of many and I eagerly look forward to the next event!! BB Thank you so much for arranging for Lindsay Grice to speak at CARD. I learned so much from her about horses and how horses think and react. Lindsay is an excellent speaker and so informative about horses. I hope CARD will continue to have more excellent Seminars like this. LH Just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Lindsay's presentation last night, as did everyone else I spoke with. Thanks for setting that up! It's nice to see riders as well as volunteers attend. More, please : ) MLS VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH FEBRUARY 2014 She's amazing! Bonnie is there almost every single week without fail. On the odd time something comes up where she can't make it, she gives me ample notice, making sure I'm covered. As well as being reliable, she is incredibly personable, and well liked by everyone. Bonnie supervises the barn for me before lessons, helping other volunteers, and ensuring everything is covered and running smoothly. This frees me up to float about getting the arena set up, checking volunteer numbers, talking to Seana, etc. Bonnie basically runs things behind the scenes, and I have no concerns when she is in the barn. As well, she assists with all of the mounting and dismounting, and is happy to side-walk or lead with anyone at Bonnie Barry all. She is also not afraid to speak up if there are any concerns from volunteers I should know about, acting as the go-between for those volunteers who might not feel comfortable approaching me themselves. This has been really helpful, as it gives me more of an insight as to the other volunteers and their comfort levels with certain situations, riders, and horses. (Written by: Jenny McDermott) Being a CARD Volunteer: For me being a CARD volunteer is all about fulfilling a life-long passion to be around horses! My love of horses is genetic as my grandfather was a Captain in the cavalry during WWI and I began riding when I was about 6 yrs old. I rode for about 15 yrs and then moved on to other things that took me away from horses but always hoped that someday I would be able to return to my first love. My riding days are behind me (except for the odd trail ride) but I am so fortunate to have found CARD about 6 yrs ago. I love working in the barn and have learned a great deal from the incredible barn staff. I have also been fortunate to have worked with some very skilled and supportive instructors. The Tuesday morning volunteers are a wonderful group and I am proud to call them my friends. But, it is the CARD horses that touch my heart and energize my soul!! THANK YOU CARD for all that you have given me!! Bonnie L. Barry 2014 Charity Golf Tournament CARD A Magical Connection Community Association For Riding For The Disabled Join the Community Association for Riding for the Disabled (CARD) for the 10th Annual CARD Charity Golf Tournament supporting children and adults with disabilities. Tuesday August 12, 2014 at BraeBen Golf Club 5700 Terry Fox Way, Mississauga Ontario ITINERARY 12:00 Noon Registration - Lunch - Putting Green Driving Range 1:00 pm Shotgun Start 5:30 pm Networking & Cocktail Reception 6:30 pm Dinner, Awards, Silent Auction Tournament Fees are $200.00 / person $750.00 / 4-some Fees Include: Valet Bag Drop, Locker Room w/ Towel Service, Course Competition, Shared Power Cart, Dinner, Prizes, 50/50 Draw, Silent Auction Additional guests are welcome to join us for dinner for $75.00 All proceeds raised at the CARD Charity Golf Tournament support CARD’s mission to improve the lives of children and adults with disabilities through quality therapeutic horseback riding programs. CARD’s unique therapy combines the motion of the horse with specifically designed activities and tasks to improve mobility, core strength, communication, focus, confidence, self esteem and more. Since 1969, CARD’s program has had a direct and positive impact on the lives of thousands of children and adults with disabilities across the GTA, helping them gain greater physical, cognitive, psychological and social skills and significantly improving their quality of life. Tax Receipts will be provided for the portion allowed by CCRA: 11887 0138 RR0001