“Volunteering is fun and rewarding,” Nancy RoswelI said. “I am inspired as I watch the progress of the riders, seeing tasks that were once challenges become accomplishments.”
Roswell is a Medford resident of eight years who dedicates most of her free time to a kind-hearted cause.
The Compassionate Friends Therapeutic Riding Center opened in 2007, and Roswell joined the program the following year. It is a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding lessons to special needs children and adults.
It originally began at Flora Lea Farm where Roswell started with the organization.
Since then, it has moved to Seafra Farm. Roswell has continued to volunteer at the organization despite the relocation.
“I love riding and being around horses, and I also enjoy working with children, so this gives me the chance to blend the two activities,” Roswell said.
The program was started by Sherri Briggs, who still runs the program. Briggs is a certified Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship instructor, while Roswell helps mainly as a volunteer along with everyone else who is involved in the program.
“The volunteers primarily help guide the horse and student throughout the ride,” Roswell said. “The amount of ‘side walkers’ and ‘leaders’ used in a ride depends on the efficiency of that particular student.”
For students to join, they must fill out a form and send it to Briggs. After the form is received, they come in for an evaluation and are placed in the appropriate class based on their abilities.
Classes typically run for about 30 minutes and contain two students, three as a maximum. There are 25–30 students total in the program.
In November, Roswell took over the role of volunteer coordinator, looking to grow the volunteer base at CFTRC.
“We are really looking to grow the program,” Roswell said. “Getting the word out and getting people to come out and volunteer is tough. Everyone is so busy nowadays, divvying their time up in so many different directions, it makes it hard to find people who have some free time to help out.”
One particular volunteer Roswell couldn’t say enough about was Vince Dispenza.
Dispenza often times comes out even when he is not necessarily needed. The volunteers are scheduled for specific days on Saturday mornings and Monday evenings.
“Depending on the schedule or the weather, there are weeks when there may not be lessons. Vince still comes out, often several times a week, to help work around the farm and with the horses. Vince has also recently taken on more responsibilities in helping to grow CFTRC,” Roswell said.
Despite some of the difficulties the organization faces, Roswell is optimistic about the future.
They currently have four program horses, which limits the amount of students they are able to reach. The more horses they have, the more students they are able to help. They have also recently begun doing more fundraising to help make some upgrades on the farm.
“The future of CFTRC is looking very exciting. Now if I could just find more volunteers!” Roswell said.
