Pegasus Special Riders

A number of years ago my family and I volunteered at a place called Pegasus Special Riders. Since I had more free time this summer I decided that I wanted to work there again.

Pegasus is a horseback riding program that provides an activity that is both fun and therapeutic to children and adults who have special needs. They have 20 horses that have been donated to the organization; many volunteers come during the week to help with the classes and the multitude of "barn chores".

Previously when we worked here, all the classes were outdoors. A few years ago they updated their facility and had a wonderful, new arena built.

In the tack room, each bridle and halter are labeled with the horse's name. Since there are so many horses and I don't have them all memorized yet, I often refer to the ring binder that has the names and pictures of each horse and what pasture they are in.

Before each class begins, the other volunteers and I go and catch each horse that will be used during that lesson, then groom and saddle them.

This is a shot of the indoor arena where all the lessons take place. I couldn't get any pictures of any of the actual classes since I was leading a horse during that time!

Each client is different in what they are capable of. Most need a volunteer to lead the horse, some need a leader and two people to walk alongside for support, and a couple are able to handle the horse and do everything themselves.

Pegasus has plenty of barn cats who wander around begging for attention!

Black Jack is all saddled and ready to go...

Just like the people, each horse has its own unique temperament. Brock is a Halflinger who can be quite a handful sometimes!

I'm so glad I have an opportunity to work at this organization - I'm not looking forward to the season ending in October or November.

4th of July weekend

Our 4th of July celebrations began on Friday with Melody's band concert.

She plays in our municipal band each summer, and they put on a patriotic concert every year on the old courthouse lawn.
We had my mom's parents over for dinner, games, and the concert.

During the Armed Forces medley, the announcer asked those who had served our country to stand up when the song was played for their branch of service. Grandpa was in the navy during WWII.

The Skarin family invited us to join their celebrations on the 4th.

They had quite a crowd that day!

It rained pretty much the entire time we were at the picnic, and some of the guys put up a HUGE tarp to shelter us all.

Jason and Mark S.

It worked really well!

The rain didn't stop those who wanted to play volleyball and frisbee.

A little 3-on-3.

My bro was quite wet by the time they were done.

This little cutie had fun playing in the rain. She was completely soaked!
At one point, we could only see two little feet sticking out from underneath the umbrella!

Jase, Matt J. and Dad

Kaitlyn J. and her little one, Amber

Olivia, Mrs. Skarin, and Melody made quite a few trips bringing the food out.

I didn't get to taste this yummy looking dessert, but it sure looked pretty!

I was itching to get my hands on Amber!

What a sweet smile!

After the meal, we were treated to special music and skits to commemorate the holiday.

This was a very unique skit!

They even had a sound effects man.

Jason and Jesse S.

Caleb S. challenged Melody to a game of bean bags.

Our host...

and hostess did a wonderful job making us feel welcome!

On Sunday afternoon, Mel marched in the parade with the band.

She is second from the right.

We ended our weekend watching the Dixon fireworks with friends, but I forgot the camera. It was a lovely weekend!

Weekend Fun!

Last weekend was a very busy one for us. Melody and I traveled to New Boston to visit with the Bluedorn family. We spent Friday at their home and then we girls went to the Quad Cities on Saturday for some shopping. We ended the day with dancing at Bishop Hill.

There was a live band that played a lot of fun folk songs and we enjoyed the all the lively dances.

On Sunday afternoon we were invited to some friends' house for supper. We finally arrived at their lovely home after getting quite lost on all the twisting, unlabeled country roads!

Most of us played a game of baseball before supper...

Linnea and Mr. C.
Swing, batter!

The moms sat and watched, and Melody gave the two youngest girls an art lesson. The three girls decided that they preferred drawing to baseball!

I guess it's been a long time since I've played this sport and this was evidenced by the fact that I was a quite sore the next day!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

When the game was done, everybody crowded around to watch the artists at work...

Liesa and Laura did a great job! Melody was quite impressed with how well they did at such a young age!

After a yummy taco supper we played a number of "mind" games, such as "The Magazine Game", "One Up, One Down", and "The Moon Club".

They were all great sports and caught on to the tricks a lot quicker than most people do!

Both of our families enjoy singing the different harmony parts on hymns, so they brought out their hymnbooks and we sang Faith is the Victory. The C. kids also treated us to vocal piece they recently learned!

We had quite a fun weekend spent with all these friends!