Upcoming Events

March 7th, 2024

Rec Ride

Fort Atkinson High School

March 11th, 2024

5pm-8pm

New Volunteer Training



March 16th and 17th, 2024

SMILES Equine Seminar and Tack Sale

March 30-May 24

Spring Session

(begins on a Saturday!)

Welcome Ellie!

Help us welcome Ellie to SMILES as our new HEARTS Program Coordinator

and Instructor in Training!

Ellie began her journey at SMILES as a volunteer, looking for an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. These extra couple hours at SMILES quickly turned into something larger and now she takes on the role of the HEARTS Program Coordinator and an Instructor in Training. From a young girl, she has always gravitated towards animals and has a strong connection to them. Being at SMILES gives her the opportunity to involve her love for animals and passion for people together by assisting in Equine-related therapeutic work.



Growing up all over the Midwest, and even Canada, she found herself back to where she's always called home, Delavan. Ellie attended the University of Alabama with a double major in Business and Fashion Merchandising. Shortly after College, she found herself in New York City working at Kleinfeld Bridal.

With many great opportunities in her past, she is so happy to have found herself here at SMILES with the wonderful Staff, Volunteers, Clients, and Horses.

Have you signed up for

Spring Session?

We are needing to fill

242 volunteer spots every week

this session!

Can you help us in any of the below listed classes:

A big SMILES THANK YOU

to all of our Winter Session Volunteers!

SMILES volunteers filled

154

Therapeutic Riding and HEARTS assignments

every week!

Your dedication truly makes a difference in the lives of our clients!

Help us build the SMILES Team

for our upcoming Spring Session!

Do you have friends or family who would be a great fit for the SMILES team?

We are needing horse leaders and side walkers!

We have an upcoming

New Volunteer Training

March 11th, 2024 from 5pm-8pm

Let's review some Safety &

Emergency Procedures!

During our break from classes, let's review how we can keep our clients, horses and each other safe during an emergency!

Volunteer Handbook Update!



Our Volunteer Handbook has been updated with our

Background Check Policy and also our Inclement Weather Closing Policy.

Please review during our March break!

HEARTS Volunteer Survey!

Our HEARTS program (unmounted programming) has grown TREMENDOUSLY in the last year! Due to this growth, our Instructors would like to get some feedback from the volunteers who are helping with this program. 

Please take a few minutes of your time to complete this survey, we would very much appreciate it! 

Please click on the link below to get started. This survey is completely anonymous. Thank you!

We are starting a new program! 

“Books in the Barn” is a literacy program that we are offering to current SMILES clients to encourage reading and communication while fostering a connection with our horses! 

We need your help! We are seeking donations of books so that clients can take their chosen book home with them after reading it to one of the horses! We have created an Amazon list that includes many books to choose from (or you can donate a different book of your choosing!) 

Below is a link to our Amazon Books in the Barn list. Please send/drop off books to the SMILES facility prior to March 20, 2024. 

Thank you for helping to support this new initiative at SMILES! 

Event Volunteer Opportunities

Cleaning Tack for the March Tack Sale Fundraiser

Monday, March 4, 9AM-12PM

Wednesday, March 6, 9AM-12PM

Friday, March 8, 1PM-4PM

Help with Tack Sale Set Up

Wednesday, March 13, 9AM-12PM

Thursday, March 14, 9AM-12PM

Friday, March 15, 9AM-12PM

Tack Sale Volunteer Positions

Saturday, March 16, 8AM-3PM

Sunday, March 17, 10AM-2PM

Tack Sale Clean Up

Sunday, March 17, 2PM-4PM

Monday, March 18, 9AM-12PM

Mailer

Wednesday, March 20, 9AM-12PM

Wednesday, March 27, 9AM-12PM

Have you ever wanted to join an event committee at SMILES? SMILES is looking for members for our Food Booth Committee. This committee will help come up with a menu for the events that require a food booth, help find donations of the food for the menu, and will take turns helping at the food booth during the events. It is a great committee that is involved with almost every event.

Reach out to Emily if you are interested.

events@smilestherapeuticriding.org

262-882-3470, Option 6

Food Booth –

Food Donations Needed!

Help SMILES have a successful food booth for our upcoming

Equine Seminar and Tack Sale!

Sign up to bring as many items as you can!

From the Barn!

Congratulations, Sue!

We are excited to announce that Sue officially graduated and is our newest four-legged staff member.

A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who assisted in her training during her trial period.

We could not have done it without you, and we hope you are just as proud of her as we are!



She will be transitioning into the mare herd over break.

Be sure to look for Sue in classes for Spring Session! 

Did You Know? Gaited vs Traditional

Have you ever wondered what the staff means when they tell their client their horse is gaited? SMILES is grateful to have several gaited horses on staff, each with a unique movement. Let’s get into it!

A “gaited horse” is a breed of horse that has an extra gait, which is visibly different from a traditional moving horse. They are born with this movement, and this extra gait is typically very smooth for the rider. The SMILES gaited horse team is made up of Diesel, Sport, Faith, Doc and Sue!

Here are some commonly known gaited breeds:

• Tennessee Walking Horse (Sport, Diesel)
• American Saddlebred
• Rocky Mountain Horse (Faith)
• Icelandic Horse
• Paso Fino
• Missouri Fox Trotter (Doc)
• Peruvian Paso
• Spotted Saddle Horse (Sue)

While the gaits might look very similar, there are often slight differences between breeds. We have created a short video showing the different movements between gaited horses as well as a traditional moving horse (Holly.) When we watch Sport move, you will see his movement is more lateral, moving side to side. Sue’s head raises for balance, and her movement is more front to back. On both gaited horses, you will see their left and right sides move together, which means the left and right front and rear legs move forward and back at the same time. A traditional moving horse, like Holly, move the opposite where the front left moves forward when the right rear moves forward.

We love our gaited horses at SMILES, as they provide such a smooth and unique movement to our riders, plus they are loaded with personality.

See if you can spot the difference next time we are trotting in class!

Watch our video below!

March Volunteer SPOTLIGHT!

Meet Greg Stevens

How did you become involved with SMILES and how long have you been volunteering?

I saw an article about SMILES in the newspaper and I thought that it might be a nice place to volunteer. I was so right and I`m glad that did. I have been volunteering at SMILES since around 2008.

Where did you grow up?

I have lived in Janesville my entire life.

Who is your favorite horse at SMILES and why? That`s a tough question because there are so many nice horses at SMILES. If I had to pick one I would have to pick Rodney because he`s just so dependable, gentle, and just a cool dude. 

Do you have a favorite SMILES event? If you are new, which event are you most interested in attending? I really like the Student Horse Show to see the students display their skills and also the 5k event to see the interesting costumes on the participants and horses.

What would you say to someone who is interested in volunteering at SMILES? I would say don`t hesitate but to sign up right away. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities at SMILES that are very enjoyable. And the staff at SMILES are the greatest.

Is there anything else you'd like your fellow volunteers to know?

My fellow volunteers are great at helping each other out so I just wanted to say thanks and I appreciate all the help you have given me.

Paragon Community Services is doing a fundraiser for

SMILES (through Culver's)!

Master Gardener needed!

We are needing a master gardener to coordinate the upkeep of our beautiful

Sensory Garden this year.

Email Troy Moldenhauer, Executive Director,

if you are interested.

March Birthdays!

Megan Antczak 3/3

Cheryl Smith 3/3

Jenny Junghen 3/8

Audrey Groell 3/11

Patsy Schneider 3/17

Jean Schriever 3/19

Bill Koch 3/21

Sherry Aune 3/23

Gail Magnuson Kowalski 3/24

Ray Owens 3/24

Kathy Jones 3/26

Dean Ridder 3/28

Trisha Sage 3/30