Volunteer With Us

Are you an animal lover? Do you enjoy helping others in your community? Rainbow Riders may be the place for you!!

Our facility is supported by a dedicated group of over 150 volunteers!! We are always looking for energetic and motivated individuals to help us facilitate therapeutic riding lessons, barn chores, fundraisers, and odd jobs around the stable. No horse experience needed!

See descriptions for each of these roles further down this page.


What type of facility are we?

Since Rainbow Riders opened over 30 years ago, volunteers have been an integral part of keeping our programs running! Volunteers can help out in our therapeutic riding program, or volunteer in our barn, helping to keep our herd happy and healthy.


During a single therapeutic riding session, we can have as many as four individuals with varying diagnoses riding in group lessons. For each individual to ride, it takes one horse leader, two side walkers, and an instructor to make the lesson possible. For just one lesson with 4 riders, this can mean up to 12 volunteers! Not to mention all the work behind the scenes to keep our horses happy and healthy, and our beautiful facility running smoothly.

Eligibility:

In order to volunteer at Rainbow Riders, you must be at least 16 years of age. You do not need to have any horse experience, but it would be certainly considered an asset, and may be mandatory for select volunteer positions!

Interested individuals must submit a volunteer form and anyone over the age of 18 must submit an RNC criminal record and vulnerable sector check. (Go to https://www.rnc.gov.nl.ca/criminal-records-screening-certificate-vulnerable-sector-check/ to apply online for a code of conduct from the RNC - email us to receive a fee waiver). 

If you have questions about joining our volunteer team, please contact us! Please note that we track our volunteers’ hours, and that hours logged with Rainbow Riders are eligible for the high school Career Development course.

Volunteering Opportunities

  • Operating a 16-horse barn year-round is a lot of work - and we can only maintain everything due to the help of our reliable volunteers! Our barn volunteers help with tasks such as horse feedings, filling horse's waters, turning the horses outside/inside, cleaning stalls and paddocks, sweeping the barn, preparing meals, cleaning tack, cleaning various places in the facility, and feeding our barn kitties! Barn Team volunteers commit to at least one weekly shift, Monday-Sunday (8:30-11:30 am, 3-5 pm, 6-8 pm).

  • Many participants in our riding program require the support of sidewalkers. Sidewalkers are a vital link of communication between instructors, riders, and horses in therapeutic riding lessons. They reinforce the instructor's directions, provide encouragement, give physical support if needed, and interact with the riders. Sidewalkers are mentors, teachers, friends, and role models to our participants. Volunteers must complete sidewalker training at our facility to become a sidewalker in our program.

  • Leaders are responsible for safely tacking, leading horses and caring for their mental well-being during each lesson. Our horses have the most critical and challenging job of carrying our riders and offering them the unique therapy each rider may need. We require individuals who can communicate to our horses clearly and respectfully what their job is throughout the lesson. Additionally, leaders will groom and tack the horses for the lesson. Horse leaders are typically volunteers who have been helping regularly with our program, know our horses well, and have experience and confidence in handling horses in all situations.

  • Rainbow Riders offers Corporate Social Responsibility volunteering opportunities. 

    CSR: “ Corporate volunteering is pillar of corporate social responsibility that encourages employees to volunteer their time and give back to their community's nonprofits, charities or other initiatives.”

  • Our new facility is state-of-the-art, but every building requires maintenance! We need help maintaining fencing, clearing away fallen trees and debris around our trail system, performing minor carpentry tasks, light gardening duties during the spring and summer, and keeping our trusty Kubota tractor (aka Scoopy!) running smoothly. If you are handy in any of these areas, reach out to add your name to our list of contacts for odd jobs.

  • It is the instructor's role to direct the riding lesson to ensure the rider, therapy horses and volunteers are safe, and that the session is both fun and constructive for our riders. All of our instructors certified through the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA), or candidates working towards this certification under the guidance of a mentor. For information about joining our instructor candidates pool, email us at rainbowridersnl@gmail.com. Also see CanTRA’s website for more details!

Group Opportunities

Property maintenance for our beautiful location is no small task! Groups are welcome to come and help ensure the safety and beautification of our facilities for our riders. Tasks include, but are not limited to: maintaining flower beds, mulching, moving hay, mucking out pastures, cleaning tack, dusting the cobwebs, and cleaning up our trails.

Group Volunteers are great for:

  • Churches

  • University groups

  • Corporate Groups

How to Apply

Completed forms or questions can be emailed to our Volunteer Coordinator - Shanna Nyathi

using the link above or by email at volunteer@rainbowridersnl.ca

Or

Mailed to:

Rainbow Riders Therapeutic Riding Centre
P.O. Box 23199
St. John’s, NL A1B 4J9 

Or

Dropped off in person at our location:

103 Mt. Scio Road, St. John’s

Volunteer of the Month

Volunteer of the Month - May 2023

Tom is our very deserving May volunteer of the month. He is an especially dedicated barn volunteer, a very hard worker, and always takes initiative to get things done!

Tom started helping out in the barn with little horse experience, so this month we celebrate his eagerness to learn! Tom has become a very knowledgeable volunteer who we trust to offer guidance and act as a role model to our other volunteers.

We are so happy that you have grown to love the barn and the horses, as much as we love having you around!

Volunteer Resources

VOLUNTEERS ONLY! Click the photo to access our library of volunteer resources!

If you do not have access please email volunteersrainbowridersnl@gmail.com for the password.

Gallery of Volunteer Photos