SIRE, Houston’s Therapeutic Equestrian Centers, will be hosting volunteer training on Saturday, August 23rd from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM at our sites in Hockley, Spring and Fort Bend.

You’ll be joining a great group doing a fantastic service for people with disabilities. In 2013, 550 SIRE volunteers served 33,268 hours valued at $736,570. Of our volunteers, ¼ are teenagers and 24 volunteers have devoted more than 1,000 hours each to SIRE.

Each SIRE client relies upon at least one and often up to three volunteers during his or her therapeutic horsemanship sessions. Likewise, our clients also rely upon community support to afford SIRE’s services. On average, SIRE clients pay for 17% of the cost of their sessions, with underwriting and financial aid making up the difference. There are lots of opportunities for volunteers to be involved in helping out with special events and other ways of raising community awareness and support.

In the arena or outside, you’ll be helping with therapeutic horsemanship in an organization serving more than 300 people of all ages with varying developmental, physical, and psychological disabilities. It’s the spirit and movement of our therapy horses that helps our clients gain a sense of accomplishment, greater independence, and a better quality of life. Over 30 years old, SIRE has a “Premier Accreditation” rating from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International and employs 4 of the 30 Master level PATH Int’l instructors.

To be an arena or lesson volunteer, you must be at least 14 and able to walk in sand for up to an hour. SIRE currently serves clients Tuesday through Saturday, with morning, afternoon, and evening shifts available. Arena volunteers should be able to commit to an hour and a half of service on site for most weeks during the semester (like a school semester). Horse knowledge is not required of volunteers, though it is helpful. If you want to add to your knowledge in a more formal way, volunteers do receive discounted rates for all SIRE educational clinics and classes.

Learn more about SIRE and get to know more people by serving on committees for the gala, ride-a-thon, movie night, golf tournament, and Horses for Armed Forces. Some volunteer work can be done at home and we also love help in the barn and on the grounds.

You can pre-register for the volunteer training here. Use the same form to ask any questions you might have for the volunteer coordinators.