Friday, April 15 ~ Good Friday ~ Office Closed
Monday, April 11 to Sunday, April 17 ~ No Lessons
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It's not too late to register for Session 3 ~ March 28 to June 10 |
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REGISTRATION
Information and registration
for all PARDS programs is
available on our website at www.pards.ca
For a list and overview of all programs and to register, please click on
Program Information & Registration
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22022 Sweetheart of the Year
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It's official!!!
Swancy has been crowned PARDS Sweetheart of the Year!!!!
Swancy is a 20 year old, silver dapple Miniature gelding. Swancy came to us in 2017 through the generous sponsorship from the Swan City Rotary Club of Grande Prairie. With his friendly nature and size he is a perfect fit for our young riders in the Little Pony Motricity program. For riders in our grooming program or those needing that little bit of reassurance around horses he is quiet and gentle which makes him calming and comforting. His size may be small, standing at just 35 inches, but watching him in the driving program he loves pulling the cart and driver. Swancy has been driving for many years, frequently appearing in local parades with his previous owners. This gave him great exposure and makes him a very reliable cart pony for riders looking to become more independent or for the next step up to outdoor driving for those looking for a little more speed.
Thank you to everyone who purchased a Valequine for their favourite PARDS horse.
They all truly felt the love this year!!!
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Sending out gratitude and appreciation to the Swan City Rotary Club for funding the replacement of our Ceiling Mounted Sling Lift. Some of our riders require more support to safely mount their horse or access their cart for their lesson than we are able to provide with traditional hands-on mounting techniques. This support is in the form of a sling lift that gently and safely positions the rider over the horse or cart seat and lowers them into position. This mounting support is necessary for a number of our riders who have extremely limited range of motion (Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, etc.) or who have a weight in excess of what our instructors can safely assist with in the mounting and dismounting process.
Our previous lift broke just before the Christmas break and, due to its age, parts were not available to repair. So, with our only option being replacement, we reached out to Swan City Rotary to seek their help. The opportunity to apply for funding through the Swan City Rotary Club came at a perfect time as, until we were able to replace the lift, the riders requiring this support could not access their lessons and experience the multitude of benefits of their programs. In no time at all, Swan City Rotary confirmed their commitment to fund the purchase and installation of the lift and our riders were able to continue with their lessons confident that their safety and comfort would continue.
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Registration is now open for the 2022 Inclusion Alberta Virtual Family Conference, April 8-9! The conference is a time for families, educators and service providers from all over the province to deepen their knowledge and commitment to assisting children and adults with developmental disabilities to live fully inclusive and meaningful lives in their community.
For more information and to register please visit:
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Rider Spotlight ~ Aboriginal Head Start Program |
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PARDS was excited to have 27 children between the ages of 3 and 5 join us for 10 weeks in our Little Pony Motricity Program. Each week through fun activities they learned about safety and basic leading and riding skills. They learned about horse care, grooming, picking hooves and as well were involved in a literacy component to the day. We can't thank retired kindergarten teacher Nancy Ingram enough for creating the fun interactive literacy part of the rider's day. The Head Start Program's philosophy is "Every child has the right to develop his or her full potential as a spiritual, emotional, social, and physical being. Our program thrives to instill a sense of pride and a desire to learn, provide parenting skills, foster emotional and social development, increase confidence, and improve family relationships." and PARDS can't be more happy they chose PARDS to be a part of this. |
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PARDS Volunteers do much more than help in lessons. The Dream Home Lottery requires days of volunteer hours to fulfill our commitment for which PARDS recieves an honourarium that supports PARDS riders. We would like to thank the following people for helping with this year's Dream Home ticket sales. Thank you to Terry Dion, Don Sharp, Judi Harker, Don Roubos, Victoria Wolf, Sheila Finnman, Lyn Caldwell, Diane Bingham, Barb Wald, Margery Fleetwood, Wendy Trepanier, Brian Wilson, Carol Balcome, Lynda Brown, Naomi Ducklow, Tyla Savard, Jim Rawlek, Robyn Boudreau, Amanda Udey, Gayle Mayer and Jennifer Wolf. |
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PARDS SUMMER CAMP PROGRAMS |
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Inclusive Summer Youth Camp is open to children between the ages of 6 (as of January 1 of camp year) and 14, of all abilities. Campers spend each day learning the basics of horse care and horsemanship through activities, lessons and hands-on learning. Youth Leadership activities are also incorporated into the daily camp schedule along with games, group activities and crafts.
Little Pony Motricity Camp is set up with fun activities that incorporate fundamental skills in early ages of development while working with our miniature ponies. Riding, groundwork and horse care skills are taught
Little Pony Motricity Summer Camp is offered to children 3 (as of January 1, 2022) to 7 years of age to a maximum height of 48 inches and 65 lbs.
EQUESTRIAN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CAMP FOR ADULT THERAPEUTIC RIDERS is 4 days filled with fun and learning for campers aged 15+ with a clinical diagnosis. Campers experience the social, recreational and physical benefits that come with an immersion in PARDS’ therapeutic programs. PARDS provides an instructor, a horse and all the necessary tack and riding/driving equipment.
During their day at camp, participants will enjoy activities including riding lessons, cart driving lessons and stable management.
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PARDS Therapeutic Centre is so happy to share the recent grant contribution from the MD of Greenview in support of our Therapeutic Riding Program! The grant of $20,000 is an investment in the life enhancing therapeutic programs offered to the disability community in Grande Prairie and the surrounding area.
“On behalf of Greenview Council, we are pleased to support PARDS and its ability to continue providing the Therapeutic Riding Program. It is a valuable program offered in our community, providing therapeutic benefits for disabled individuals of all abilities.” – Reeve Tyler Olsen
The funds from this grant go directly toward supporting our therapeutic program participants through the feed and care of our amazing program herd, adaptive riding equipment to provide a safe and fully accessible lesson experience for everyone, staff training to provide continuing skills development in the field of equine assisted therapy, maintenance of the facility to ensure full accessibility as well as program supplies for a fun and engaging lesson experience for our riders.
Thank you so much to the MD of Greenview and all of the residents for your commitment and support of children and adults of all abilities.
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It has been a long, long winter with so much snow!!! We are happy to welcome in the changing season and see all of that snow slowly disappearing. In saying farewell to winter, we also want to say a HUGE “thank you!!!” to Facility Sponsor GP Yardworks for managing our parking lot with snow removal and graveling in order to keep the facility safe and accessible for all. Thank you, Matt and Bill, for all your effort and commitment in a very challenging year full of weather fluctuations and extreme snow falls. Your support is so important to all of the children and adults accessing our Equine Assisted Therapeutic Programs and we all appreciate you! |
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These generous companies provide services or gift in kind donations to help keep our facility running, our herd healthy and our equipment maintained.
Thank you!
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PARDS Therapeutic Centre
710009 RR 55
County of Grande Prairie #1, AB
T8W 5A7
Phone: (780) 538-3211
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