Contact Us
Southlands Therapeutic Riding Society
Tel: 604-837-2042
Email: stars@ponies.ca
Address: 6767 Balaclava St, Vancouver, BC., V6N 0A7
Maria joined the STaRS program in 2019, after falling in love with horses and therapeutic riding as a child in Southlands. In her riding career with STaRS, Maria has been able to ride with almost every instructor, including Megan, Sue, Penelope, Ruth, and now with Charlotte!
Maria loves getting outside, especially when the weather is warm and enjoys the freedom that riding provides. She also likes the opportunity to exercise in her lessons and finds that riding helps her work on her core strength, balance, posture, leg position, and technical riding skills.
When she first joined STaRS, Maria rode Teddy and loved giving Teddy cuddles. Maria now rides Austin and particularly enjoys it when Austin gets going with a forward walk! She also likes spending time with Austin before and after her ride, feeding, brushing, and leading Austin. Maria finds that her lessons with Austin go by too fast!
Thank you very much to Maria for sharing your story and journey with us!
When I first joined the STARS program, I was really excited, but also very nervous, since I had not been on a horse since I was really little, and horseback riding was still a brand-new sport to me. I decided to take it up again after watching my favourite show on CBC, Heartland.
When I met Gail, Ruth, Susan and Sally I instantly felt comfortable. They were very patient with me and really encouraging, which definitely made me feel more confident. Susan and Sally were amazing side walkers and Gail and Ruth were amazing teachers.
I was excited to see Lexi every single day and give her some carrots as an extra treat after practice. I felt like Lexi knew I was anxious, and that’s why she was so calm when I was mounting her for the first time, which I was nervous about doing. Once I got on Lexi, I felt so comfortable and relaxed. She was such a great horse and riding her instantly made my anxiety go away and my everyday worries. I’m so glad that I got paired with her.
I felt so calm in the STARS environment, and everyone was so incredibly supportive and patient with me, which I couldn’t be more grateful for. I’m so glad that this program exists, and I will continue to support it for a very, very long time and everyone involved.
