Why I abstained from equestrian volunteering

When I registered with my university, everything seemed promising, both in terms of academic progress and equestrian activities. When I registered with my university’s riding club, I was very happy. I could ride and also volunteer, hence developing my stabling skills. I liked both Trent Valley and Riding for the Disabled. Everything appeared normal and in accordance with my ambitions and expectations.

Until I started getting ill. More and more. My condition had been ignored so much by the University’s GP’s, that last January I needed to call 111 to report faint, dizziness, sleepiness and other nice stuff, that had to do both with my disability and anemia. I had to hide this at work and only revealed it in January. And, of course, I abstained from riding for about 3 months.

Since the beginning of my new MA, I have volunteered only twice at the RDA. It’s not only stress about work that kept piling up while I was sleeping. It was the fact that, if I felt unsafe, how would I ensure the safety of a disabled child? So, I abstained, although I like it so much.

So, that’s for now. It feels a bit weird, but at least I’ve shared it with somebody.