Click on the link under "volunteer" forms and fill out. Then bring it with you to Barn W-1 at the Pr. George's Co. Equestrian Center on Tues, Wed or Thursday nights to volunteer during our riding season. Watch this website or check the calendar to see when NEW Volunteer training will be held and come!
The PETS program is a 6 month operation. The PETS program starts up in or about mid-March of each year at the Pr. George's Co. Equestrian Center and ends around Labor Day in September. Our lessons are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 4:30 PM until around 8:30 PM. Volunteers are encouraged to come around 4:30 PM each of those days to help set up the rings and get the horses ready..
After Labor Day, we send our horses to their winter homes and close down our barn for the winter. The horses are cared for and ridden throughout the winter months. Most often, those taking horses for the winter, do so at their own expense.
All of our horses are donated to us. We have a screening process before we accept any horses. This allows us to decide if the horse is suitable for our program or not. If the horse seems suitable, we accept it and work with it before actually putting it into our program. This ensures the safety of our riders and volunteers.
We are looking for horses around 15.2h. They need to be calm, able to walk, trot and canter, no vices, sound and preferably around 10-18 years of age. We do, however, screen any potential horse regardless of age or size.
We always accept donations, as we are an all non-profit, all volunteer program. You can donate in a number of ways. You can send a check directly to us, use PayPal, contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign, bring a check by the barn during the riding season, or track down one of the Board Members or volunteers to bring it to us.
We need all types of volunteers. If you are uncomfortable around horses, we can use people behind the scenes to help set up or tear down the arenas each week, be gatekeepers, be record keepers, fundraisers, help with public relations and much more. If you want to volunteer, we'll find a job for you!
Yes. We are a North American Riding for the Handicapped Assoc., Inc, (NARHA) Premier Accredited Therapeutic Riding facility. We adhere to strictest of standards and undergo re-accreditation every 5 years. This again ensures the highest quality of guidelines to promote the greatest safety of our riders and volunteers .
To actually work around the horses, volunteers need to be at least 14 years of age. However, we accept younger volunteers who can help with setup or tear-down of the arenas, open and close gates, etc. .
The PETS program currently serves the population of Prince George's County, Maryland. We have a screening process for riders to make sure our program would fit their needs. The rider must be at least 7 years of age. After our screening process, we will let the student and parent/guardian know if our program will fit their child's needs, or perhaps another program might be better. There is no age limit above 7 years. Our riders currently range from 7 to over 50.