Children's Thoughts
Haley M.
In 2011, a fun program was had by all at the Mesa Farm. Read Haley M.'s evaluation and share in her experience. 
Maggie H.
Seven years ago, I never would have expected to have gotten as far as I have in the equestrian world. This past summer, I was given the chance to become a working student at Liberty Hill Farm, in Lancaster MA. But I started off riding at Apple Knoll Farm in Millis, MA when I was just 8 years old.
The person who got me involved with horses is my mom. Without her I never would've been where I am right now. I owe it all to her. My mom first heard about City to Saddle through Big Brothers, Big Sisters Foundation. In a newsletter we received, there was an essay contest about getting your child involved with this organization [City to Saddle]. My mom entered without telling me, for fear that the chance of getting me in was slim. I remember that phone call, in my second grade class, the teacher called me over and said my mom was on the phone. I picked it up, and my mom, bursting with excitement, told me the whole story and that in the following month I would be going to Boston to meet the City to Saddle people.
After the trip, I went to my first stable, Apple Knoll Farm and met Anne, my instructor and all the helpers. That week was just about every girls dream, being able to ride and work with over 10 horses/ponies. The end of the week consisted of a horse show for the campers and their families, to watch.
A Winning Pair!
Never would I expect that years later, I would be doing that, but only on a much larger horse at Briggs, with 10 other girls in a ring, all trying their best to impress the judge. Just goes to show if you strive for the best, it just may happen.
The next years consisted of summer camps with fellow City to Saddle kids, like me. One of the farms, Lee Ella Farm, had most impacted me, though. City to Saddle and Barbara set me up to go to a program, called Living with Horses, in Western MA. While there, I learned to take care of my own horse, and how to run a barn, pretty much. Feeding, daily grooming, stall picking, and bringing the horses in and out of paddocks was just the beginning of it. During the two summers I attended Living with Horses, we went to real life equestrian places. The first year, we went to an event, the Stuart Horse Trials. I finally got to see what many different types of riding there are in the world.
The weeks spent at Lee Ella Farm set me up for my next challenge in the equestrian world- taking care of two horses. It was in the summer and my brother, mom and I went to the beach, and there we saw a girl riding a horse, so we felt compelled to go talk to her, and found out she was leaving for college soon, and needed people to care for her horses. So, that year consisted of every weekday and sometimes weekends going to the family's 5-stall barn and feeding, grooming, and mucking the stalls. While with the girl, she took me to shows at a stable called Briggs, where I got to compete, and be the one on the horse in the ring instead of the girl just watching. My first real competition was in walk/trot/canter for kids under 14. We went almost every week and about the 2nd week I placed 4th out of 12 girls!
All these experiences with City to Saddle set me up for so many things in the equestrian world. It even helped me get a job as a working student.
This past summer I was offered an aide position for the City to Saddle kids at Liberty Hill Farm, (the previous week, I was a student at the barn, and got lessons everyday). I only expected to be there for two weeks, so i didn't get my hopes up, knowing I wouldn't be able to ride there much. What I found out, though, completely took me by surprise. I had been offered a job as a working student, by the barn owner, Kelly. My wildest dreams had come true- I would be able to ride, once again, on a regular basis. Kelly offered to have me work on the weekends, on Sundays.
The day started at 8:00am, and ended at about 5:30pm. My day (accompanied by a girl in her 20's) consisted of bringing all 12 horses down to their paddocks, then mucking stalls, emptying/filling water buckets, and cleaning feed tubs. Then I got a one hour lesson, & lunch. Afternoon included hacking (exercising) horses that hadn't been ridden that day, doing extra random chores, feeding the horses, and giving hay throughout the day, taking care of the sick/injured horses, sweeping, doing the laundry, [which piles up so quickly haha], and then closing up the barn.
Without City to Saddle, I never would have been able to do any of this, and I probably wouldn't even have gotten involved with horses, and that would be devastating. So, I owe my blossoming equestrian career to City to Saddle, and my loving mother.
Postnotes: Maggie now is a working student at Apple Knoll Farm in Millis, MA.
Maddie D.
My name is Maddie and I started the read to ride program for you! Let me just say that I LOVED making the lists and deciding what books to put on them. It was so much fun, that I forgot that it was community service!! (Even if it wasn't it would still be lots of fun! (: ) I'm so glad that I could help in this way and I look forward to hearing about how the kids like the books!! Thanks for everything!!
Check out Maddie's reading list.
