Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program

Volunteering

You can share in the joy of our riders! NVTRP is able to operate because of our dedicated volunteers.  You too can help people with disabilities in your community by volunteering for our program.

There are several ways you can volunteer:

Help with lessons

Most of our volunteers spend the bulk of their time helping with lessons. Many find helping with lessons to be the most rewarding part of their volunteer experience because of the direct connection they develop with our riders and our horses.

Lessons are given in the late afternoon and evening Monday through Thursday, and in the morning and afternoon on Saturday and Sunday. To help with lessons volunteers commit to one day (approximately 3 hours) per week for the 8-12 week session.

Training is provided and horse experience is valued but not required. Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age to help with lessons.

If you are interested in helping with lessons, please see Getting Started below.

Workdays

We have a number of workdays scheduled on our farm throughout the year, usually once a month on Saturday mornings. Our workdays are tremendously important because they are a time when volunteers come out to help with maintaining our wonderful farm, usually by helping with fixing fences, mowing, painting, and anything else that may need to be done!

Workdays are a great way to come out and help on a one-time basis. Many of our volunteers started by helping with a workday just to get to know NVTRP a little bit. We also welcome corporate groups and volunteer groups who want to come and help for a day!

If you are interested in coming out for a workday, please see Getting Started below to find a day that works for you.

Stable Maintenance / Feeding

We are also looking for volunteers with horse experience who can help with stable maintenance. We have feedings in the morning and evening. You can be a regular feeder if there is a particular day and time that works for you, or just be on the list to fill in when one of our regular feeders is absent. Please note that there is a required one-time feeder training for all volunteers interested in becoming feeders. Please see Getting Started below if you are interested in helping with stable maintenance.

Event Planning / Fundraising / Many other ways!

We are always looking for individuals who are interested in helping with event planning, fundraising, or a number of other activities. If you are interested in one of these things or would like to contribute in another way, please contact our volunteer coordinator Linda Aikey by email at info@nvtrp.org or by phone at 703-764-0269.

Getting Started

Please do the following to get started volunteering with us:

1. First and most important, please contact our volunteer coordinator Linda Aikey to let her know you are interested in volunteering. She can help you get started and answer any questions you may have. You can send her an email at info@nvtrp.org or call our office at 703-764-0269.
2. All volunteers must complete the following three release forms and bring them to NVTRP the first time you are at the barn.
   • Download the Required Volunteer Forms (PDF format)
3. If you want to help with lessons you will need to participate in one of our volunteer trainings. Please see our calendar page for a list of upcoming training opportunities.
4. If you want to come out for a workday, please see our calendar page for a list of scheduled workdays. If you are a corporate group or volunteer group that would like to come for a workday, please note that we may be able to find a day that works for your group if one our scheduled workdays does not work.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at NVTRP! Your support enables us to carry out our mission of enriching the lives of people with disabilities in our community.