In the summer of 2009 I decided to do something different. I left Finland to visit Florida for three months because I wanted to know what it would be like to stay in the US for a whole summer. Instead of having just a typical tourist vacation, I wanted to experience normal life in Fort Myers and meet real, ordinary American people.
 
Although I had a place to stay, I needed something to do. Volunteering seemed to be the best solution. When my friend's aunt told me about Special Equestrians, I knew that I wanted to become one of their many volunteers. Working with their program seemed like a perfect job for me. I love working with children and animals and now I could work with both in the same place.
 
When I first got to the farm, people from the program welcomed me in the warmest possible way. I thought I would just fill out some papers, but instead I ended up having lunch with everyone. I started volunteering the next day.
 
Now July is turning to August and the horses are going to have their well-earned rest for a month. Soon it will be time for me to fly back to Finland. I will leave Fort Myers sad, but happy of all the new experiences I've had. I have learned very much about working with mentally and physically challenged people and about Western riding and horses in general. Special Equestrians have offered me much more than I expected.
 
I want to thank everyone from Special Equestrians for having me as a part of your team for the summer. Especially I want to thank Dee Hollander, who trusted me, a Finn whose vocabulary considering horses and riding wasn't too good when I started. I also want to thank Sherry Gilbert, who guided me and taught me very much about horses and Bob Lanham, who made it possible for me to volunteer every week. It has been a great joy to work with all the people from the program!
 
-Susanna Tiainen