At its recent Year End Celebration, Horses & Horizons Therapeutic Learning Center named Christine Schilling the organization's Volunteer of the Year for 2016. Seth Grube received the honor of "Volunteen" of the Year.

This was Schilling's second year of volunteering since her return to the nonprofit therapeutic horseback riding program for the disabled. She was a lesson volunteer all during high school and business school in the late 1990s.After she married, Schilling left the program for more than a decade to raise her two sons. Now she once again serves as a horse leader during lessons. Earlier this year, she accepted a position on the organization's board of directors and took on the position of acting treasurer when the post became vacated. She has since been elected to treasurer of the board.Schilling is employed full time by Effective Controls in Snyders.For the past three years, Grube has volunteered as a side aide in lessons during all three sessions from April through October. This year, he volunteered on Monday nights along with his mother.Grube returned on Wednesdays to sidewalk with a physically challenged rider who needed his height and strength to help provide her with a safe lesson on the horse.According to the learning center's executive director, Harvey Smith, "Volunteers generally love assisting riders in the lessons, but it sometimes is not as easy to get people to help with the other chores. We could always count on Seth to also lead horses back to the barn from the pasture and to put away equipment when the lessons were finished for the evening."Grube also won the "Volunteen" of the Year Award in 2014. He is a senior at Blue Mountain High School. He recently enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and will begin his military service after he graduates.The learning center's year-end celebration was held Nov. 6 at the Zion's Stone Church of West Penn Township. The purpose of the event was to show appreciation of the organization's many volunteers and to recognize the achievements of its riders.The highlight of the event was the premiere showing of the documentary film, "Horses & Horizons: A Journey of Hope and Resiliency" by Michael C. Rock of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The 33-minute film featured three of the organization's riders: Sydney Marko of Mountain Top, Cory Heckman of Tamaqua and Hannah Tervo of Orwigsburg. The documentary was Rock's thesis project for his Ph.D. in filmmaking at American University in Washington, D.C. He spent many hours filming during lessons and in the riders' homes. Rock plans to complete a longer version of the documentary sometime next year using the additional footage that he filmed.In addition to the film, Smith and his wife, Elaine, HHTLC's program director, awarded the organization's more than 50 volunteers with certificates of appreciation and its 25 riders with certificates of achievement. The event featured a potluck dinner, and fun and games.Horses & Horizons is a registered nonprofit organization. Since its founding in 1993, it has operated from the Smiths Helping Horse Farm, which is located between Tamaqua and New Ringgold. The therapeutic horseback riding program is staffed entirely by volunteers. It serves riders who range in age from 3 years old to 70 with a wide variety of physical, mental and emotional disabilities.Therapeutic horseback riding has been shown to improve balance, posture, strength and coordination. It also helps to increase self-awareness, self-confidence, attention span and independence. Riders often gain improved social skills as well.Horses & Horizons holds riding lessons from the end of April through October. During its months of operation, in addition to helping with lessons, volunteers are needed to assist with grounds maintenance, cleaning saddles and bridles and fundraising.For information on becoming a volunteer or enrolling a rider, visit

www.horsesandhorizons.org, or call Harvey or Elaine Smith at 570-386-5679.