Volunteer Guidelines

General Volunteer Guidelines

  • Must be at least 15 years of age
  • Volunteering involves mod­er­ate phys­i­cal activ­ity. Make sure you are com­fort­able with the phys­i­cal­ity of the role you have selected
  • Volunteers do not need to have pre­vi­ous horse expe­ri­ence but a level of com­fort with horses is necessary
  • Volunteers must be avail­able a min­i­mum of 1 hour per week (same day and time each week)
  • ALL  vol­un­teers are required attend­ing a Volunteer Orientation and Training session
  • ALL vol­un­teers want­ing to be lead­ers or work in the barn must attend Leader/Barn Training once a year
  • Mitey Riders reserves the right to make the final deter­mi­na­tion as to the appro­pri­ate­ness of vol­un­teers for our organization
  • Mitey Riders does enforce a dress code to ensure the abil­ity of vol­un­teers to per­form in their roles as well as to set exam­ples for our riders.

Horse Leaders and Sidewalkers Guidelines:

  • Leaders must be at least 16 years of age
  • LEADERS are respon­si­ble for the horse at all times while lead­ing. (During mount and dis­mount, and dur­ing the lesson)
  • SIDEWALKERS are respon­si­ble for the sta­bil­ity and safety of the rider while mounted at all times (Generally walk­ing beside the rider to pro­vide sta­bil­ity assis­tance as needed and may assist with mount and dis­mount if required)
  • Time com­mit­ment is 1 and a half hours per week for the length of the session
  • Arrive at least fif­teen min­utes prior to class
  • When you’re in the arena, the instruc­tor is in charge
  • If you have sug­ges­tions or ideas, talk with the class Instructor or Volunteer Coordinator
  • Return all equip­ment used to its place
  • Keep talk­ing to a min­i­mum this lets you and oth­ers lis­ten and pay atten­tion to the Instructor’s directions
  • When in doubt, ask!

Dress Code Guidelines:

  • Hard-soled shoes with a low heel are pre­ferred but sneak­ers with heavy tread are OK
  • Shoes must be tied securely
  • Open-toed shoes, san­dals, and slip-on shoes are not permitted
  • Dress appro­pri­ate for the Weather; dress­ing in lay­ers is often a good choice
  • No tops with spaghetti straps/shelf bras. Proper under­gar­ments must be worn and tank tops must have thick straps and can­not be too low in the front.
  • Shirts must cover your stomach/back.
  • No t-shirts with beer/alcohol/drug ref­er­ences or foul language.
  • Shorts must be at mid-thigh or longer (No skirts please!)
  • Please no per­fume or colognes
  • Please no dan­gling jewelry

Consistency is extremely impor­tant in keep­ing our pro­grams pro­gres­sive and run­ning smoothly. Every vol­un­teer is encour­aged to have a reg­u­lar sched­ule for the length of the ses­sion in the day(s) and hour(s) they vol­un­teer. As depend­abil­ity is essen­tial, be sure to con­tact the Volunteer Coordinator as soon as you are aware of any cir­cum­stances that will delay/keep you from your sched­uled les­son time(s).