Eleven Girls, Three Teachers, and One Mini Horse...

.8:30 am, December 17, 2016, 11 girls piled into two minivans and traveled to Grantville, PA. Instead of going home to start our winter break, we volunteered through CMU's Alternative Breaks for a week. Our break issue was Children's with Disabilities.

In the mornings, we observed classrooms at various schools in the area. At night, we worked at a horse therapy farm called Captial Area Therapeutic Riding Area. (CATRA) This farm is one of the most incredible places I've ever been to.  The farm was started 30 years ago by a Ben and Shirley Nolt. They started by having one rider, now they have around 110 riders a week. CATRA is completely volunteer based; even the owners don't get paid.

Everyone we worked with for the week

Me and Glinda...finally getting along

Since we went in December, there were no riders. Instead, we got to do farm work. Every day we fed the animals, brushed our assigned horse, played with the dogs, cleaned stalls, and brought miniature horses down the hill. Our first day did not go as planned for me. Little did I know it was mating season, and my mini, Glinda, was not having any of the stallion. She took off running...with me still holding on. I was afraid of losing her so I didn't want to let go.  I was pulled along for a ride. For the rest of my week, Ben called me slider.

Besides us volunteering, CATRA had at least 10 volunteers come in every day. Some of these volunteers were persons with disabilities. Some of these people had full-time jobs. Some people were children. All people volunteered for the love of the program. One volunteer, Shakira, worked with us the whole week, Without her, Ben, and Shirley, we would have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They taught us not only how to work on a farm, but also how to be patient with others.

The week was very eye opening. I knew very little about children's with disabilities but luckily I was exposed to some of the best programs in the state. As cheesy as it sounds, I could not have asked for a better way to start my break. I would recommend 1. any CMU student to go on an Alternative Break and 2. look into volunteering at horse therapy farms like CATRA because they are doing amazing things.

(Also 3. Go to Hershey Chocolate World. They have a ride where you get free chocolate and really good milkshakes.)