Horsing Around at Day of Service

Around 30 Watsonville volunteers rolled up their sleeves and put on their boots to donate a day of service to the Monterey Bay Horsemanship and Therapeutic Center, a facility that hosts 25-30 horses and 70-80 special-needs kids and adults every week.

On Monday, the place was packed with labor-intensive work, as volunteers answered President Obama’s national call-to-service initiative.

MLK Day of Service, which is part of United We Serve, was developed in honor of  Martin Luther King Jr's service work. It asks for all Americans to come together on King's birthday to help in correcting any national problems by donating a day of service.

That’s exactly what volunteers did as they shoveled mud, dug holes and made repairs around the center.

“We’re here to help out and do whatever needs to be done, like moving wood or shoveling dirt,” said Jonathan Chaney, a sophomore at in Watsonville.

St. Francis High Spanish teacher Kate Medina took students to the center so they could give back to the community, while also forming stronger bonds with their fellow classmates.

“It’s a team-building exercise, as well as giving back, so that they foster closer relationships with each other and also get into the habit of doing things for the community and thinking about others,” Medina said.

Although Obama’s day of service comes but once a year, volunteers flood the Monterey Bay Horsemanship and Therapeutic Center every day, donating their time and skills to help special-needs children and adults live a life away from therapy and hospitals.

“They have an opportunity to come and escape the worries of their lives,” said Chelsea Burman, 22, of Watsonville, who volunteered at the center for around 10 years before becoming part of the staff. “[The center] lets them be independent and their own individuals, and we accept every single one of them as who they are, just like they accept us.”

Ann Phipps, director of the center, started the organization in 2000 with Gail Wright. The center started with one retired horse and Phipps' son, Timmy, and its therapeutic program offers amazing outcomes, Phipps said.

“Kids that come have amazing results, and amazing things happen,” she said. “The motion [and] the impact of the horses on the kids’ bodies gives them the most amazing workout.”

Proving just how healing the movement of horses can be is Timmy Phipps, who was born a heroin-addicted baby with cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair until he was 8. After some horsing around, Phipps said, Timmy dumped the wheelchair at age 9 and was able to swim, just from being on horses.

“People who are locked in bodies—it’s a terrible thing—and yet they get on the horse, and they suddenly are attached to an athlete and have this amazing freedom,” Phipps explained. “We live in the world of amazing: We have kids who come in wheelchairs, who are riding independently on their own; we have kids with incredible, violent backgrounds, who are going to lockdown facilities, who are here functioning, having jobs, having an amazing life.”

Sophie Pateras of Watsonville has volunteered at the center with her twin daughters, Irini and Eleni, for nearly 10 years, starting when her daughters were 4½. She says the life lessons her daughters have learned through the center are irreplaceable.

“The volunteer hours that they spend here, the compassion, the patience, being barn buddies with special-needs kids, you can’t put a price on that—it’s priceless,” Pateras said.

Although the center receives funding from grants, donations and sponsorships, Berman attributes the center’s success to its loyal volunteers.

“We have always been volunteer based, we would not be here today if it wasn’t for the volunteers that come weekly or monthly or everyday for eight hours a day,” she said. “It’s amazing and everything that you see—the sand that’s put in the arena, the ramp, trellis, everything like that—is completely volunteer driven and they’re the backbone of this facility and program.”

Phipps said the center caters to all people with an array of conditions, including autism, Down syndrome, chronic brain damage, post-traumatic stress disorder, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, blindness and deafness. 

The center is working on expanding its autistic program so it can accommodate more full-day children and will also add a gym.

For information on how to volunteer or join the program, visit mbhorsecenter.com