I don't have that many goals in life, it's bad, i know. But one thing I've always wanted was my own horse. Of course, I can't afford one yet... so I looked for ways to be around them for free.

That's how I got myself into volunteering at the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) every Saturday afternoon 3:45pm. The RDA provides free, therapeutic horse riding lessons to children and adults with disabilities.

Every week, I volunteer as a side walker for their beginners class. There are about 6 children in one class with 6 horses, 3 instructors, 6 leaders and 6-12 sidewalkers. The Instructor plans the lessons, the Leaders are responsible for the horses and the Sidewalkers communicates basic instruction to the riders. Each rider has a special condition. My rider, Ashwin, is Autistic.

Ashwin has a hard time concentrating and is frequently pre-occupied with his own thought. But slowly, through his RDA lessons, he learns to concentrate better with voice commands. On some days it's hard to get through to him, but on some days (like yesterday) he's such an angel that you wouldn't think there is anything wrong with him. Oh and he also likes to see himself in mirror which is always cute to watch.

To be honest, I volunteered because I can be around horses. But those little kids' smiles are fast becoming my Saturday afternoon miracles.