Hearts & Horses, in partnership with Temple Grandin Equine Center at CSU, is conducting a study on the efficacy of our Changing Leads School Program, an equine-assisted social-emotional learning program provided to middle school students. Our fabulous volunteer Catalina Denny is translating study forms into Spanish, so that students from Spanish-speaking families can participate in the research. This critical task ensures that students from diverse backgrounds can take part in Changing Leads this school year, and will be represented in the research findings about how the program impacts their social-emotional competencies, mental health, and academic engagement! We sat down with Catalina to learn a bit more about her and what brought her to Hearts & Horses.
Catalina grew up around horses, leading to a lifelong love of all things equine. She has a degree in Equine Science and Management and previously worked as an Assistant Ranch Manager. Her passion for helping individuals with special needs and her interest in equine-assisted therapy led to signing up for our volunteer program at the beginning of this year. Since then she has been volunteering as a sidewalker with our Therapeutic Riding participants, in addition to her translation work on our Changing Leads research.
Catalina’s warm, accepting nature has allowed her to form remarkable connections with her riders. One rider in particular, who is nonverbal, became very comfortable with Catalina over the course of the semester. “Whenever he wanted something he would look at me and grab my hand,” she says. “It was so moving to see his progress from day one to the final class, and being able to see him smile and laugh.”Catalina says that she “always leaves the ranch with a full heart.” She loves how welcoming everyone is and that “even though there are so many volunteers, everyone knows who you are, even if you haven’t been in a while.”
With her sunny personality, passion for helping others, and strong talents as both a sidewalker and translator, Catalina is a true asset to the Hearts & Horses family. We want to thank her for helping to advance our mission of making equine-assisted services accessible to everyone!
Help us spotlight a volunteer that you think should be recognized for their time, talents, and service to our mission by filling out our Volunteer Spotlight nomination form!
