Get in on the Fun

Volunteers are needed daily to walk beside the students while they ride, ensuring their safety, and to take care of and control the horses throughout the lessons. All you need is a completed application, a schedule, and a little training to get started. Remember, we can only accept volunteers 14 years old and up.

Orientation and Training Session Guidelines

At this orientation and training session, required of all volunteers working directly in the riding lessons, we will review the history and purpose of our program, learn about how to keep students safe in lessons and take a tour of our facility. We will also conduct a hands-on training with the horses that qualifies volunteers to be Sidewalkers. In-depth horsemanship training for those who would like to be Leaders will be conducted at a later date.
If you are interested in special events, stable chores or other non-program volunteer opportunities, we do recommend that you attend the first portion of orientation to learn essential information about how we operate, and the facility tour so you can become familiar with our environment and safety concerns.
Please bring:

• Your completed Volunteer Application, signed by your parents if you are under 18
• A copy of a TB clearance done within the past two years, if you intend to volunteer with us during daytime hours September – March (this is a requirement of the Elk Grove Unified School District of anyone working with their students)
• If you are a student with CSUS doing Service-Learning, be sure and bring all required paperwork from the university
• If you are a high school student and your school requires any forms, be sure to bring those
• (optional) A Snack or Water Bottle

Please wear:

• Sturdy closed-toe, closed-heel shoes or boots
• Comfortable, modest appropriate clothing that you don’t mind getting exposed to dust, animal hair, etc.
• In cool weather you should plan to dress in layers as we are partially exposed to the environment; in warm weather, jeans or modest shorts and a t-shirt are fine.

Please do NOT wear or bring:
Strappy tank tops or tube tops, short-shorts (use the length of your hands at your sides as a guide), flip-flops or other open sandals, dangling jewelry, sagging pants, exposed undergarments, clothing with inappropriate language or images, personal music players, earbuds or video game players.
We ask for everyone’s safety that you turn off or silence all of your electronic devices while you are here.

Get Started!

You can sign up to attend orientation and choose your volunteer shifts, right from our website. Click here to get started volunteering at Project RIDE.