Therapeutic riding relies heavily on trained volunteers. Our program, Rainbow Riders, focuses on education, recreation and leisure. That's what we're capable of providing in our all-volunteer program now. That's right - all volunteer - and that includes me, the instructor. We cannot afford a staff of licensed therapists so we cannot offer physical therapy.

Sometimes, the inessential is essential.

Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose

So often they cannot participate in activities with other children or participate in competitive sports. So getting on this great big animal - in an arena - and mastering this activity, well it's big time. It's very special to work with children toward that success and share in the joy that comes with results.

The interesting thing today was you had the Catholic board, public board, parks and recreation, all the people who have budgets, but they don't work together. There's problems with funding formulas, so I think the first thing we want to address is how they can work together.

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between her work and her play; her labor and her leisure; her mind and her body; her education and her recreation. She hardly knows which is which. She simply pursues her vision of excellence through whatever she is doing, and leaves others to determine if she is working or playing. To herself, she always appears to be doing both.