Erin O’Rielly has come a long way from her days riding horses AT Equine Meadows in the Goulds — although she still rides the same horse, a handsome palomino named Sonny.
“Equine Meadows is actually where I met my horse,” said O’Rielly. “He was a lesson horse at the time, and I fell in love with him there, and years later I purchased him as my own. So, I’ve actually been riding him, and have had him in my life, for almost 14 years.”
In 2014, O’Rielly, who attended Mobile High School and grew up in Witless Bay, where she lived until recently moving to St. Johns, began volunteering with Rainbow Riders Therapeutic Riding Centre, moved by a love of riding and of helping others.
Then a university student, O’Rielly went on to earn a degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Memorial University in 2017. She worked at a riding facility in California for about a year following her studies, and began working with Rainbow Riders in 2019, where she is currently the Program Director and Head Instructor.
“We are a therapeutic riding centre, so we offer a variety of horse-based programming to children and adults with disabilities in our province,” said O’Rielly. “We have a variety of different programs, our main one being our therapeutic riding program, where participants ride horses and work on a wide variety of different skills.”
This summer, the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association (CanTRA) awarded O’Rielly the 2022 Andrea Gillies Outstanding Instructor award.
“There was definitely a little bit of Imposter Syndrome, because there are so many highly qualified and amazing therapeutic riding instructors across the country that have been doing this so, so, so much longer than I have, and I have had the pleasure to learn from so many of them,” said O’Rielly. “These are mentors, and I strive to accomplish what these people have accomplished, so, to have received this award in that kind of company was shocking to me, but I was also incredibly honoured, of course, and very grateful to be a part of something as amazing as therapeutic riding.”
The award is named after Andrea Gillies, who, along with Margaret (Muggs) Tibbo, current CanTRA Vice-President & Rainbow Rider’s Board member, founded Rainbow Riders over 30 years ago.
O’Rielly was nominated by colleagues and was presented the award by Muggs at the Hoedown in the Barn, the organization’s big annual fundraiser in late June.
“This is an award that belongs to the whole facility because everything we do here is a team effort,” said O’Rielly. “We have so many amazing staff members and volunteers and participants who, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to receive this award without. As soon as you walk into this place you see what a well-oiled machine it is and how many amazing people we have here working everyday to make it happen. It’s not jut me, for sure, it’s a team effort, and we’re all lucky to be able to work on that team.”
She attributed the growth the program has shown under her leadership as a large component of her receiving the award.
“When I first started, the biggest semester Rainbow had ever seen was 30 weekly participants,” said O’Rielly. “Now, we’re at about 115 weekly participants. I hit the ground running from day one, and really, really wanted to see that growth.”
She has helped with the creation of more programming, and learned American Sign Language (ASL) in order to coach the deaf and hard of hearing, and has also coached students to success in international competitions.
Those interested in joining as a participant or as a volunteer can find the appropriate forms on the Rainbow Riders website.
