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COVID-19 Update
It has been a heavy undertaking to navigate the unknown landscape of this pandemic and communicate it properly to all of our riders and volunteers. CTRA is following and adhering to both BC Health Authority COVID-19 protocol and Via-Sport regulations under their 'Return to Sport' document. Although we are a therapeutic riding stable, we are classified as a sport. We are also under accreditation and follow guidlines set out by the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA) using CanTRA certified instructors.
After a complete shut down in the Spring, we started back with a minimal ridership of completely independent riders in July. Those riders needed no assistance from volunteers and an instructor could guide and teach safely from the center of the ring. This was 'phase 1' of our return to sport plan. Proper protective measures were put in place, and our barn was completely closed to the public.
Starting October 5th, we entered 'phase 2' which allows us to engage a few volunteers in a horse handler position only as they can still maintain the prescribed physical distance. Instructors for these semi-independent riders can also maintain the prescribed physical distance. Our barn is still closed to the public. We are also limiting the number of people on and around the facility at a given time and collecting contact tracing data.
Our hearts are breaking under the constraint of not being able to bring back our full spectrum of programming to riders who we KNOW benefit greatly from their riding time physically, mentally, and emotionally. We can only progress to 'phase 3' when given the allowance by our governing bodies (this would allow us to engage sidewalkers in the rider's family/caregiving bubble and Instructors could engage and support riders in close proximity).
For now, we stay the course, care for our special herd and stay at the ready, ever hopeful to continue delivering vital therapeutic riding to those with special needs.
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Horse Diaries, a Pony Parade, and some Safe Halloween Fun!
When the COVID pandemic suddenly sequestered us all to our homes, it didn’t just affect us humans. CTRA’s therapy herd was quite baffled by the inactivity around the stable. Reaching out through social media, the herd had a chance to share their feelings and send love to their followers.
"Leo is very upset. As the undeniably neediest member of the herd, he is having a very hard time with this social distancing business. On an average day he can be seen nickering at passers-by if they attempt to walk past his stall without saying hello, so as you can imagine, his snuggle meter is currently running dangerously low!"
In light of this, we invited our riders, volunteers, and their families to put on a parade for our ponies who were missing their admirers terribly! To ensure everyone’s safety at that point in the pandemic, visitors were asked to leisurely drive by the horse paddocks and around the stable. This was a great chance to catch up with their pony and instructor, make a few stops for a horse snuggle, and to drop off apples or carrots for their favorite pony’s treat bucket. It was an uplifting afternoon and the horses received notes and artwork from many riders to display on their stall!
As the pandemic continued, COVID restrictions kept a majority of our rider base from returning, so the CTRA team wanted to create another opportunity to connect our community. Our ‘Nicker Treat’ event, was a safe open-air alternative to Halloween door-to-door trick-or-treating. Set appointment times were allotted to small groups, allowing them to walk around the facility to each paddock where every CTRA horse was festively costumed to suit their personality. Participants entered via Spooky Lane. This section of the walk was set up as a haunted house....for horses (It was made up of things horses tend to be scared of). In the spirit of Halloween, pre-bagged alfalfa cubes were provided for riders to divide among their favorite horses' treat buckets and at the end of their experience kids received a special treat bag of candy of their own to take home.
It did us all good to see our riders & families in costume and share some smiles, even if they were behind masks.
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Bonnie Tarchuk Award
The Bonnie Tarchuk award is an annual award given to the CTRA rider who best shows the ability to face a challenge head on, to maintain a positive attitude and outlook for the future, and to live life joyfully.
This award was set up to honor the memory of an inspirational woman. Bonnie was adventurous and brave, with an infectious smile, who overcame many challenges in her life.
Bonnie was diagnosed as a teenager with lupus and later lost most of her hearing due to antibiotic treatment for a deadly disease, which also severely handicapped one leg. It was later in life that she found a special friendship with a Fjord horse named 'Bocina' and realized that riding helped her more than other types of physical therapy.
This year's recipient, Bryan Downey, rides a Fjord horse named 'Ember'. Bryan has overcome enormous physical challenges, eagerly engaging with his horse partner to strengthen his core muscles and to encouarge spastic muscles to relax and increase their range of motion.
Bryan enjoys his riding and time at CTRA so much that he invited his teachers to one of his riding lessons, where they created a special video to share with his schoolmates, helping them understand what therapeutic riding is.
It is smiles all around when Bryan is riding! He brings his own music playlist. His courage, perseverance, and infectious joy makes him a clear example of why CTRA exists. Congratulations Bryan!
This award was made possible by the generous donations of Bonnie’s friends and family in January 2018. For the next 12 years a take-home plaque will be given to the winner, along with a lifetime membership to CTRA.
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CTRA Volunteers take on theSassy Lion Thrift Shop
We have the most amazing volunteers at CTRA! This summer we partnered with the Duncan Lion's Club to manage and staff their Sassy Lion Thrift Shop on Saturdays with partial proceeds from the day's sales donated to CTRA's operational funds.
This was a chance for our volunteers to wear CTRA clothing, advertise our program, spend some good time together, AND help keep CTRA financially steady during this pandemic.
Our volunteers continue to amaze us with their dedication and support, taking on so many different tasks, pivoting to where the needs are, always helping to keep CTRA stable and moving forward!
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Saddle Up! at the Jane James Used Tack Shop
The Jane James Used Tack Shop is continuing to provide our community with a safe shopping experience during these difficult times.
We have seen some unique and special items come through the store recently, like a vintage pack horse saddle, and a beautiful western show saddle.
As online sales increase, we have broadened our customer base and have sold items as far as the Yukon and Ontario! We have also had repeat customers from the mainland!
An exciting connection was recently made with a gentleman who has taken an entire car full of tack to send to a riding school in Africa! He took 10 saddles and many totes full of assorted tack. We will be maintaining a relationship with him and hope to be able to supply the riding school with more tack in the future!
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Well-Earned Retirement for Longtime CTRA Coach Lisa Pink
For Lisa Pink, a successful equestrian career and the desire to utilize it exponentially for those with special needs, has embedded her life in CTRA for over 30 years and will continue to do so.
Lisa grew up with horses in a Pony Club structure competing in all disciplines.She started her involvement with therapeutic riding by volunteering with the Pacific Riding for the Disabled Association (PRDA) which would later become the Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association (CTRA) as we know it today. Lisa worked closely with Instructor Jane James as a horse handler, trailering in her own horse, “Alachi’, who became part of the program and retired as a CTRA therapy horse.
Putting her efforts with therapeutic riding aside for a while, she went on to compete on the Canadian Show Jumping Team. Among her accomplishments are a gold medal and team silver medal in Puerto Rico, a team bronze medal in Guatemala, and establishing an 8th place ranking in Canada for Three Day Eventing.
During this time, PRDA moved its program to Providence Farm and became known as CTRA. Lisa started to volunteer regularly again, doing everything she could to help out. Coming into the program certified as an Equine Canadian Coach, she then became certified as a Sr. Instructor for therapeutic riding through the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA). Through the years Lisa moved up the ranks to a certification as a CanTRA Coach and Examiner, highlighting her passion for being a mentor to up and coming therapeutic riding instructors.
With awards such as ‘Coach of the Year’ from Horse Council BC, and CanTRA’s ‘Andrea Gillis Award for Outstanding Instructor’, among Lisa’s proudest moments are coaching two riders to the Canadian Dressage Nationals and the World Dressage Championships, with one of those riders going to the Olympics.
With all of her individual accomplishments, Lisa is resolute in giving credit to Jane James for her support and mentoring and thanks to all the CTRA staff throughout the years. In her opinion, each CTRA instructor has something special to give and that it takes teamwork to support such an outstanding program.
“My best teachers were my students and I wish them all the best. I leave being very proud to have been part of one of the best therapeutic riding centers in Canada or even the world.” - Lisa Pink
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Horse YOGA?
The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'Yuj', meaning 'to join' or 'to yoke' or 'to unite'. This is so fitting when you consider the basis of therapeutic riding. Instructors use the 100 mutli-dimensional movements of the horse to teach riders balance, strengthen core muscles, and encourage flexibility. For riders dealing with chronic pain, exercising and stretching their muscles and joints without bearing their own weight is another advantage. Add in the bond formed between horse and rider and the enjoyment of fluid movement together and you get miraculous results!
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Something amazing happened to me after last week's lesson. I was following someone through a store when I suddenly realized I was walking freely and without any pain! A sense of euphoria had flooded over me. I continued to feel this way for two more days. I am looking forward to my next lesson. You are literally miracle workers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
- Wende Fenske
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We Can't Do This Without YOU!
With CTRA's therapeutic riding lessons and camps suspended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of our program-dependent funding was lost.
CTRA was transparent in our appeal for help in providing for the ongoing daily care of our therapy horses and essential costs of the facility. The overwhelming response from our community and supporters meant we not only survived the shutdown but continues to add buoyancy to the re-start of programming. The challenges of delivering safe services to our immunocomprimised clients and adhering to current COVID regulations and restrictions means we are running limited programming and are not out of the woods yet.
If you would like to give to our on-going campaign you can easily donate through our page on Canada Helps via this link
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| 2021 CTRA Memberships Available Now!Membership is a great way to support the association by becoming a part of this community on a deeper level. The general membership meets once a year to review CTRA's vision and mission, the health of the organization, as well as planning for the future! Contact us for info
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What a Haul!
Your recyclable donations this summer kept Susan very busy. Thank You!
And Thank You to Sue!
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| Get Involved!There are always many ways to support any non-profit. Here are some of ours.
Returnables
CTRA has a large Return It bin at the top of the driveway leading down to the stable. Drop off your returnable drink containers any time! Plastic and metal containers go in the big bin. Glass returnables go into the blue bins alongside. This ongoing fundraiser is easy and effective!
Returnables can also be taken to the Duncan or South Cowichan Island Return It Depots and donated to our account. Simply tell the cashier they are for Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association when you reach the counter.
You can also take your unsorted returnables to the Return-It Express in Ladysmith! Simply use our phone number to generate your labels. 250-746-1028. These returnables must be in clear bags.
Thrifty Foods Smile Cards
By using a CTRA-linked Thrifty Foods Smile Card, your grocery purchases put money in our pocket! Thrifty Foods generously donates 5% of the amounts you load onto your card. It's so easy! Please contact us to get a CTRA Smile Card and start shopping!
Monthly Giving
Committing to even a small monthly donation makes a difference to our bottom line. Having steady, reliable and unrestricted funding allows better budgeting for the basics such as utilities, wages and other overhead costs that many grants won't cover. Monthly donations are easily set up on Canada Helps.
Tack Donations
We can always use tack! Donations of gently used and in good condition horse tack and equipment are a great way to help. Items we can use in our own programs are sidelined--reducing our equipment costs. Items we can sell in the Jane James Used Tack Shop generate funds for our programming. Higher value donations are eligible for tax receipts if desired.
Planned Giving
Consider a legacy gift in your will or as part of your long term financial planning. Talk to your financial advisor about how to set this up.
Volunteering
Our volunteers make CTRA happen. Without them, we simply could not function. And most of them say that their time here is their therapy!
There are many roles that CTRA volunteers can have, but the most common are side walkers and horse handlers to facilitate our lessons.
To find our more about how you can take part in what we do, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Bren Pickel at 250-746-1028 or info@ctra.ca.
Sponsorships/Donations
philanthropy: the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes
Financial support is still one of the best ways to support your favourite cause. Although we seek support from a variety of sources, funds are often restricted to certain purposes or uses. Unrestricted funds are harder to find, yet are often the most important for us.
Sponsoring an event or project, getting coworkers together to sponsor a horse, or simply making a donation are all great ways to practice philanthropy in your community. You will receive recognition for your contribution and know that you have made a difference. Find out more here.
Being a CTRA Ambassador
You keep in touch with us regularly, and you already support us financially. What more can you do? Be a CTRA Ambassador!
Tell people about us! Make sure that your sphere of influence knows about your interest in what we do. Promote our website and social media pages. Wear CTRA branded clothing (available at our office). Put up a CTRA poster at your gym or workplace (contact us for this). Nominate us for philanthropy/fundraising groups such as 100 Women or 100 Men Who Care.
Spreading the word about CTRA keeps us engaged with our community and garners support from our funders. Plus, it can help to direct new participants and volunteers to us.
Support Our Supporters
Since many of our supporters are local businesses, it helps to let them know you appreciate their contribution to CTRA. Knowing that their involvement has been noticed is wonderful feedback to receive!
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|  | Toys, Toiletries, & Toques went online this year with a silent auction. We hope someone special will be wearing our contribution of CTRA swag in support of this great initiative
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| | Visit our website for everything you want to know about CTRA! You can find press releases, information about our herd of therapy horses, forms and much, much more.
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| | Facebook is a great place to see what is happening day by day at CTRA. Follow us to stay current and see some of those special moments that happen here.
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| | You will smile. You will laugh. You will cry. You will relate. Follow us on Instagram for memorable moments that will touch your heart.
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| | Looking for some CTRA in action? Watch staff, horses, and riders moving and grooving in these creative short videos.
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|  Great stocking stuffer idea!
Keep calm with all natural lavender sachets for just $5. You can purchase them in the office and the used tack shop with all proceeds to our general fund. | |
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FUN FACTS
🐴 Horses can run shortly after birth.
🐴 Horses gallop at around 44 kph (27 mph).
🐴 The fastest recorded sprinting speed of a horse was 88 kph (55 mph).
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| Dala Horse
A Dala horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden statue of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna.
Using simple tools, generally only a knife, woodcarvers made toys for their children. It was only natural that many of these toys were horses. the horse was invaluable in those days, as a trusty friend and worker who could pull great loads of timber from the forests among other uses on the farm.
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