• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Madison Fields

Growing Together

  • About
    • Madison Fields
    • Our Team
    • Meet Our Herd
    • Madison House Autism Foundation
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
  • Programs
    • Agricultural Education
    • Equine-Assisted Services (EAS)
    • Job Readiness
  • Volunteer
  • The Garden
  • The Soapery
  • Support Us
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Sponsor
  • Cart

Volunteer Impact | Postcards from the Ponies by Carmen Miller

September 9, 2021 by Taylor Polito

WrittCarmen came up with, fundraised for, and completed this project during the Stay-at-Home order in early Spring, 2020.

Carmen (left) side-walking during a Hippotherapy session!

Carmen’s story

I have been volunteering at Madison Fields, a therapeutic riding facility, Since September, 2019. Madison Fields uses equine assisted activities to help people with neurological and physical differences. One thing I have learned from my volunteer work is how important consistent routine is to most of the riders.

The Impact of COVID-19

In late March, 2020, all activities in my area shut down because of COVID-19. The pandemic created great upheaval in the lives of people all over the world. Among the activities I had to stop was volunteering at Madison Fields.

Additionally, many of the riders did not have the privilege of understanding why their routine stopped so abruptly. It made me wonder how the riders and their families would deal with all of the changes COVID-19 would bring to their lives. I wondered if there was some way I could help with the loss of their weekly riding lessons at Madison Fields.

One of the big challenges Madison Fields faced was how to stay connected to their riders. I began to think: what I can I do from my home to help the riders and their families have a way to stay connected to the horses and the people who work and volunteer at Madison Fields?

Carmen’s Solution

To help the riders stay connected, I decided to send a postcard from each of the horses. My goal was to reassure riders and their families that we were thinking of them. Everyone missed the riders so much. My experiences taught me that a tangible object would be an effective way to show the riders that the staff and volunteers still cared about them. Postcards with their own lesson horses would add a personal touch!

I asked Taylor Polito, Madison Fields’ Volunteer Coordinator, for insight into the affect of these changes on the riders. She agreed that this time was really stressful for many of the riders and was enthusiastic about my idea. She asked me to go ahead and develop the project on my own.

I named this project Postcards from the Ponies. At the completion of the project, I had created “I miss you” postcards; one from each of the therapy horses to their riders. I also created cards to wish riders a Happy Birthday, Congratulations on their first ride, happy holidays, and even thank you cards to send to supporters, donors, and volunteers!

If you would like to sign up to be a part of our volunteer program, please fill out the form below!

Filed Under: Featured Journal Entry, Volunteering Tagged With: accessibility, Connection, COVID-19, eaat, Equine Assisted Activities, horses, path intl, post cards, postcards, therapeutic riding, volunteer opportunities, volunteer project

COVID Therapeutic Riding Procedures

June 29, 2020 by Taylor McCarthy

The Therapeutic Riding Team is so excited to start welcoming independent riders back to the farm! Montgomery County’s Phase 2 allows us to slowly open our programs, but we are still wearing masks, physically distancing, and following new Therapeutic Riding Procedures.

Below is a video of a demonstration of what is expected from riders and parents during their lesson in the barn. We ask that you please watch this before attending lessons.

We thank for your patience and we are so happy to have you back!

Filed Under: EAAT Tagged With: COVID, Montgomery County, phase2, Procedures, therapeutic riding

In the Spotlight | Volunteers Shawnee & Sophia

April 30, 2020 by Taylor Polito

Madison Fields serves 45 riders in our Therapeutic Riding Program, 5 riders in our Hippotherapy partnership with REINS Therapeutic Services, and over 400 people each year through our Equine Assisted Activities and Learning programs. As you can imagine, volunteers are the backbone of all of our programs, but especially those that involve our equine companions! Volunteers are necessary for our riders and students to engage in activities safely.

The volunteer program at Madison Fields thrives when our staff is able to recruit critical thinkers, innovators, and leaders who return year after year to make a difference in our community. We often engage volunteers for a variety of reasons; some individuals come to Madison Fields to fulfill community service for student service-learning requirements, some come out to make new friends in a welcoming environment, others want to gain horse experience, but what ties all of these individuals together is that they all strive to be active members of the community and make a difference in the lives of others. 

Today we take the time to put two of our most active and reliable volunteers in the spotlight: Sophia Kozauer and Shawnee Ronyak. Both of these dedicated teens clocked in over 150 hours in the Madison Fields barn in 2019.

Sophia Kozauer

Sophia holding Stinky for Pre-K STAAR Program  riders

Sophia Kozauer and her younger sisters, Maya and Sydney have all been riding horses for years. They have been volunteering at Madison Fields for three years, helping with everything from cleaning stalls to polishing our lesson equipment, and more recently, helping to exercise certain members of the Madison Fields herd. 

Sophia is an eventer and competes in several circuits in the local area with her competition horse, Luna. She is well-versed in the ins and outs of horse-care. When Sophia turned 14, she was eager to begin using her horsemanship skills in Therapeutic Riding lessons during our STAAR Summer Program. She quickly evolved into a volunteer leader, teaching new volunteers about horse behavior and how to work through tasks in the barn. 

Beyond teaching others, Sophia has developed meaningful relationships with other volunteers. Of her experience over the last three years, Sophia said, “My favorite things about volunteering at Madison Fields are all the friends and memories I make every day. The Madison Fields volunteers and staff are like my family and there are so many friends I’ve made that will last a lifetime. The horses are definitely a bonus too!”

Our volunteers are taught to be adaptable and to think on their feet! It’s the nature of Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies that things don’t always go as planned. Sophia said she has learned so much over the three years she has volunteered with Madison Fields, and added, “one thing that sticks out to me the most is that it’s okay to have bad days. Not everyday is going to be perfect, and that’s alright! You just have to keep your chin up and try again tomorrow, because there is no use worrying about things that you can’t change.” 

Shawnee Ronyak

Maddie, Cara, Shawnee, and Sophia pose after cleaning stalls.

Shawnee Ronyak began volunteering with Madison Fields during the Spring Session in 2019. Shawnee is hard working, she decided she would dedicate herself to volunteer work that amounted to the number of hours she would be working in a full-time job. This kind of dedication is hard to come by and is wildly commendable for a high schooler during the summertime.

Shawnee, like Sophia, came to Madison Fields with some horse experience. She grew up riding western, enjoying trail rides, and working on a farm as a young girl. When Shawnee moved to Maryland, she didn’t continue riding, but picked all of the skills back up quickly and became another volunteer leader, helping to teach other volunteers the ropes of the barn.

One thing that makes Shawnee so very awesome is that she’s not afraid to ask questions. So many of the skills Shawnee has picked up here at Madison Fields have been developed because she is attentive, asks questions, and takes initiative to learn and teach others every time she comes out!

The biggest thing Shawnee says she has gained from her experience volunteering at Madison Fields, are the friends she’s made along the way! After the STAAR Summer Program, she said, “The friends I have made at Madison Fields are the best friends I can ask for. Finding a lasting friendship is hard to come by, but never at Madison Fields because we are always there for each other.”

Of all the thing’s Shawnee has learned from connecting with our riders, she said the most important thing is how to look at the world with a positive attitude. She said, “When I’m in a lesson with a rider, I can always hear them laugh or look back and see them smiling. The lessons these riders have taught me have opened my eyes to so many things and I’m thankful for that.”

Thank you to our volunteers!

The mission of Madison Fields is in essence, to recognize the strength in a diverse, inclusive community. That means our staff, volunteers, and clients work together to teach one another and help one another to live up to our greatest potential. It becomes evident quickly that when we all work together, we become better versions of ourselves. 

Sophia and Shawnee exemplify this every time they walk into the barn. It’s volunteers like that these who help us to create an inclusive environment in the barn, the community, and the world at large! We’re thankful for all of our dedicated volunteers who understand that we all grow best when we’re growing together!

Click here to sign up to join our volunteer team! 

Volunteers prepare for an Agriculture Education obstacle course

Filed Under: EAAT, In The Spotlight, Volunteering Tagged With: #EAAT #horses #horse TherapeuticRiding, eaat, Madison Fields, spotlight, team, therapeutic riding, therapeutic riding program, volunteer program, Volunteering, Volunteers

In the Spotlight | Max

April 27, 2020 by Taylor McCarthy

The Madison Fields EAAT team is devoted to improving our participants’ quality of life through developing and fostering healing relationships with our therapeutic riding horses. Today, we are honored to put the spotlight on one of our riders, Max! Read more to find out what his family had to say about his experience at the farm.

[Read more…] about In the Spotlight | Max

Filed Under: EAAT, In The Spotlight Tagged With: #EAAT #horses #horse TherapeuticRiding, autism, autism awareness, Autismafter21, eaat, farm, horse, horse riding, horses, Madison Fields, max, rider, Riding Program, spotlight, therapeutic riding

Madison Fields | Horse Breeds Activity

April 1, 2020 by Whitney Grim

At Madison Fields we have many horses with varying personalities, but have you ever wondered what breed each horse is and how it makes them special? In this horse breeds activity, we introduce you to each of our horses by name and breed and give some insight into what makes them so unique. There are even some discussion questions to keep students and families engaged while getting to know our herd a little better. Let’s continue growing together each and every day!

Equine Assisted Activities and Learning Horse BreedsDownload

Filed Under: EAAT Tagged With: #EAAT #horses #horse TherapeuticRiding, activity, community, eaat, farm life, grow together, growing together, horse breeds, horse riding, horses, Madison Fields, madison house autism foundation, therapeutic riding

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Weather

Receive Our Newsletter

We will not share your information

Contact Us

21355 Big Woods Rd.
Dickerson, MD 20842
(301) 349-4007

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

© 2021 Madison House Autism Foundation | Handcrafted by Reelboy Productions