Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center

Our center workday on February 2nd proved yet again that many hands make for light work. With staff having set out an ambitious 2-page list of chores to be done, it was looking as if a 2nd work day would need to be scheduled. True to form, many of our wonderful volunteers turned out and set themselves right to work. Not only was a second work day not needed, but the afternoon was not needed! By 10:30 in the morning nearly the entire 2 pages of chores were checked off. Thanks to Justin Neville and his handy chain saw, trees were trimmed, power lines cleared, and drainage slots made. Sam Parino and Bruce Presser, with help from Ellen Marienthal and Annette Barter, emptied an entire compost bin. Then, there was the transformation of our mounting ramps thanks to sanders Nigel Hearne and Mark Caron, along with the help of numerous painters. Fence railings were painted, our mailbox was reset in concrete and moved to a better location. The list of accomplishments goes on and on as does the list of helpers. Thank you to everyone who came and participated and put our center in tip top shape for the start of the 2013 season.

It is with much sadness, that we had to put down one of our very special team members, Cocoa.  As many know, Cocoa suffered from extreme arthritis in her hind legs.  Over the last  few months, Cocoa’s disease progressed at a rapid rate. She had taken several terrible falls and was having trouble getting back up after rolling.  Last week she fell again in her paddock and could not get herself back up. Our veterinarian was called, and on his advice, the decision was made to end Cocoa’s suffering.

Cocoa came to Xenophon in 2001.  She was purchased for the center after having had several owners and many jobs: including show horse, parade horse and trail companion.  Cocoa had a huge spirit and could be quite the challenge for her able-bodied riders.  What made her so special to Xenophon was that she had an intuitive sense of her riders abilities.  Thus, our most challenging riders were put on Cocoa.  She would always carry them with concern and care.  Cocoa’s disease prevented her from carrying riders for the past 7 months, but true to Cocoa form, she continued to play an active role in the program by caring for her students on the ground.  During her ground lessons, Cocoa could give and heal just by her presence. She worked for Xenophon for over 11 years and impacted the lives of countless children and adults alike.  In 2008 she won the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship’s Horse of the Year award.

We are grateful we could honor Cocoa at our horse show. It was a fitting tribute to an amazing horse. We are happy that people had time to visit with her and say their goodbyes over the last weeks. She has left a huge hole in the program and in many hearts. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.

Xenophon’s volunteers are of every age and come from all walks of life. We are fortunate to have a number of teenage volunteers that also come to the center each week to give of their time. Many come to fulfill their school’s community service hour requirements, but stay well beyond the needed hours for they, too, are drawn in to the magic of special needs children and horses. Each of these teens brings energy and laughter to the program. In light of the stressful work schedule of high school students these days, the hours given to Xenophon are especially appreciated. Each year, Xenophon recognizes one of these teens who seems to go above and beyond the norm in terms of hours of time given, jobs done, and overall helpfulness within the program. This year, Rachel Ziegler was chosen by the Xenophon Staff as the outstanding teen volunteer of the year. Our staff says,

“Rachel is always quick to jump in where needed and take on any task no matter how trivial or how dirty she might get.”

“Rachel has an amazing level of maturity about her. She always gives her all to the job”.

Congratulations, Rachel, and thank you for all you do for Xenophon!

Click below to read the interview with Mari Parino by Contra Costa Times columnist, Tom Barnidge.

Times Article

This year’s annual PATH conference took place in Bellevue Washington. Xenophon was able to assist five staff members with attending the conference. There were two days of workshops and seminars, which were all presented with helpful and new information. The third day of the conference took place at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, where the Seattle Mounted Police treated us with a demonstration at lunch. New ideas from lesson plans to barn management where brought back to enhance our program.

Xenophon had a “thank you” award luncheon for our amazing volunteers. Thanks to our new covered arena, the rain didn’t matter. Our parents provided yummy salads and desserts to go along with BBQed hamburgers and hot dogs. Awards were given out to those who have given 30, 60, 90, and more hours. We have so many volunteers who have been with us for years and years, some accumulating 1000 hours and more. We are so fortunate. A great big thank you to all.

We are now closed for the holiday season and will resume lessons in February.

Click to view pictures and videos from the Xenophon Volunteer Luncheon!

The Contra Costa Council’s Social Responsibility Task Force honored our founder, Judy, this year with the Lifetime Achievement Award.  For the past 2 years, the Contra Costa Council has celebrated outstanding contributions of time, leadership and financial support by businesses, individuals, volunteers and community service organizations in Contra Costa County.  Their goal is to acknowledge and encourage philanthropy among others.   Judy will be honored at a breakfast on November 8, 2012 along with Wells Fargo, Neiman Marcus of Walnut Creek, and In-Vision Communications.  The award celebrates her work of founding and growing Xenophon, as well as acknowledging the impact the program has had on so many lives.  We cannot think of anyone more deserving of this honor.  Congratulations, Judy.

On October 7, 2012, Xenophon hosted a day of educational workshops for our instructors and for instructors from other local therapeutic riding centers.  The day was designed to provide a networking opportunity with other professionals in our field as well as continuing education on a variety of subjects.  Over 21 people from 3 different centers attended a total of 6 workshops.  These covered a variety of subjects from how to best use the horse as a therapeutic tool to medication awareness to teaching approaches for clients with autism.  Xenophon is fortunate to have talented instructors who shared their knowledge and expertise on a variety of subjects with those in attendance.   The driving clinic was a big success and provided comic relief as participants took turns being the “horse” and trying to understand a new vocabulary of words from their “driver”.   All were thankful to John Sayuk, a pharmacist, who shared his knowledge of the side effects of medications and how these might impact our riders.  It was a great day of networking and instruction with all hoping to continue this in-service day into the future.

                                                                             JIM PIRE
Tai Yong, with Xenophon walkers, recently took part in Xenophon’s horse show.
PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International)
recently visited Xenophon for its five-year accreditation and certification inspection.
Xenophon passed with a 100+ rating for safety, facility setup, and quality of instruction.
PATH even discovered new safety techniques utilized by Xenophon that it plans
to implement with other PATH certified centers.
ORINDA NEWS

Landscaping Project Completed

If you have been out to the center, you may have noticed the new beautiful landscaping that has certainly enhanced the look of the place.  Five new planter beds were installed over the past few weeks to break up the “moonscape”.  The project was the work of numerous individuals and companies.  Garden Lights Landscape Design, located in Orinda, provided the landscape plan for the beds pro bono.  Lopez Landscaping came in and prepared the beds and installed the irrigation system well below cost.    A big thank you goes out to our board member, Leslie DeBoer and her friend, Pam Winther, who is a landscape architect.  They were able to secure all the plants we needed at wholesale.

Week of Caring 2012

  Xenophon was fortunate to be one of hundreds of non-profits who benefitted from Week of Caring this past week.  Once again, the Volunteer Center of the East Bay and Chevron, banded together to bring non-profits and corporate employees together.  The Volunteer Center coordinated projects amongst the non-profits and different companies from around the East Bay provided the labor by giving their employees time off work to come and help.

We had 14 Chevron employees arrive on September 12th.  In just 4 hours they installed a wheelchair path from our 2 handicapped parking spaces, across 50 feet of driveway to the mounting ramp.  The labor involved heavy digging and carting wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of rock back and forth.  What they accomplished was truly amazing.  In additon, the group managed to paint our entire arena fencing.  Thank you, Chevron for your hard work.  Our parents are thrilled, as are we!

Xenophon was fortunate to be one of hundreds of non-profits who benefitted from Week of Caring this past week.  Once again, the Volunteer Center of the East Bay and Chevron, banded together to bring non-profits and corporate employees together.  The Volunteer Center coordinated projects amongst the non-profits and different companies from around the East Bay provided the labor by giving their employees time off work to come and help.

We had 14 Chevron employees arrive on September 12th.  In just 4 hours they installed a wheelchair path from our 2 handicapped parking spaces, across 50 feet of driveway to the mounting ramp.  The labor involved heavy digging and carting wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of rock back and forth.  What they accomplished was truly amazing.  In additon, the group managed to paint our entire arena fencing.  Thank you, Chevron for your hard work.  Our parents are thrilled, as are we!

PG&E Lends a Hand:
The project could not have been completed without the many hands it took to dig the holes, plant the plants, install the landscape fabric and then shovel and install the mulch.  On August 29, a wonderful crew from PG&E came in and worked for an entire day at the center.  They completed the planting of 3 large beds and put down a great deal of the landscape fabric.  We are grateful to PG&E for the long standing relationship they have had with Xenophon,, from the ability to lease the land to their sponsorship of our gala.  A big thank you to Mark Caron, one of our board members, and his team from PG&E who provided all the helping hands.

Chevron Joins In:
Last, but certainly not least, a wonderful group from Chevron arrived on September 5th and in one afternoon managed to complete the plantings of the final two beds, finish off the landscape fabric and put the mulch in all 5 beds.   This group from Chevron has come to do projects as Xenophon for over 8 years.  They built our deck, the run-in shed on the hill, installed fencing, and painted more buildings and fences than we can count.  In addition, they have supported us as sponsors and attendees at our annual gala.   Thank you to Louie Ehrlich, and his group for their continual support.