Lucie Norman, 16, loves horses and loves children with special needs. She combines her passions with her volunteer work at Naples Therapeutic Riding Center.
Several times a week, the high school sophomore volunteers at the stables. While NTRC has hundreds of volunteers, not many can do it all. Lucie leads horses and is also a sidewalker, an individual who walks alongside the horses to help riders who need assistance. She helps in the barn, cleaning the horses, feeding them, and cleaning the stables. Lucie recently became an arena assistant.
Volunteering at NTRC was a natural fit, given that Lucie lives in the neighborhood, takes riding lessons, and also volunteers for Special Olympics.
“My first time here, I had so much fun, and it made me love the place and the community,” she said.
During softball season, she can be at NTRC only once a week, but Lucie is at the stables three to four afternoons a week as soon as the season ends. In the summer, she volunteers for the camp program.
NTRC was born in 1997 as the Naples Equestrian Challenge. Its mission is to improve the lives of children and adults with physical, social, and mental health needs through therapeutic riding and other equine-related programs.
Beth Atherton, an instructor at NTRC, said Lucie does much more than most volunteers.
“She does everything,” Atherton said. “She even untacks and does the grooming and the cooling. [This] is an arena assistant [position]. It is really a leadership role.”
Lucie finds her volunteer work very rewarding.
“I love seeing the same riders each week and how much they progress,” she described. “Sometimes there are riders who come here, and they don’t talk. Then after a few weeks, they are interacting more, and it makes me feel so happy to see how they progress.”
The teen has many heartwarming stories from her time at the barn.
“There was this girl who had extreme anxiety. Once we got her on the horse, she had the biggest smile on her face,” Lucie said. “Even though it was a big hurdle to get her on the first time each week, she started getting on faster and faster, and she just had the best time. And she would do more and more every week. It was amazing.”
Lucie also enjoys volunteering with Special Olympics and plans to do it again this summer.
“One of my teachers suggested Special Olympics for service hours,” Lucie explained. “The first time I went, I was a little skeptical because I had never worked with kids with special needs before. But the moment I went there, I loved it. I loved working with them and seeing the smiles on their faces.”
Lucie is able to squeeze in all her volunteering, even with her busy schedule. The sophomore at Community School of Naples plays softball, takes horseback riding lessons once a week at M & H Stables in Naples, is a member of the planning committee for Special Olympics, and helps arrange alumni activities for Special Olympians. Lucie says she is very passionate about school and studying, in addition to spending time with her family and traveling.
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