The Storm King School has a long tradition of community service, providing students with hands-on learning experiences while supporting philanthropic organizations in our local area. Across the Hudson River from Storm King Mountain, a new collaboration is taking shape at a state-of-the-art therapeutic equestrian facility with an inspiring mission. Topfield Equestrian Center, located in Cold Spring, New York, offers animal-assisted therapy programs through a variety of mounted and unmounted activities for children and adults with special needs.

The budding collaboration began with a visit to Topfield, where Head of School Lisa Shambaugh and members of Storm King’s community service team met with Executive Director Dr. Sarah Uzelac, toured the facilities, and discussed potential volunteer opportunities for Storm King students. “We were very impressed with this amazing organization, and very grateful to Executive Director Dr. Sarah Uzelac and her team for their warm welcome,” commented Ms. Shambaugh, following the tour.

As the next step, Dr. Uzelac and the Topfield team visited Storm King to present their organization to the school community at a recent All School Meeting. Their presentation, which introduced their mission, animal-assisted therapy and its benefits, and ways to get involved, sparked strong interest among the students.

For Storm’s King first community service event at Topfield, a group of students participated in a Saturday Volunteer Day where they assisted in both the riding arena and the barn, with roles assigned based on their previous experience with horses. The day included a tour, a mini-lesson, and a discussion with a Topfield client who shared her positive experiences with therapeutic riding. For the remainder of the day, students helped with barn maintenance.

Lisa Shrem and Mark Rigg, Storm King faculty members and community service coordinators, expressed their enthusiasm for the collaboration: “Our first event was a success and our group came back to campus smiling. We are confident that we will be able to offer more frequent service opportunities at Topfield in the near future. This is a fantastic connection and an invaluable opportunity to enhance our community service program. It also provides an incredible learning experience for our students, allowing them to contribute to this meaningful work.”