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  Building Update Construction has started and We need your help!!    Acquiring the right to build has taken years but in less then 1 week holes were dug, footers were in and the poles were up. It's almost unbelievable how quickly things are now moving forward. We still have a way to go before the arena is ready for our first riders but what an exciting time it is!
   Your financial support is needed - no gift is too small and every dollar is greatly appreciated.  In a couple weeks the professional builders will finish up their work framing out the building and securing the roof. At that point the completion of the arena will be in the hands of volunteers. You can help by swinging a hammer or providing a meal or dessert for hungry workers. Come out and be part of our team for 1 day or 1 week. Read the Full Story
  Shining Stars Golf Tournament  Save the date - July 23rd!!   Once again, Shining Stars is holding our annual golf tournament, this year at the beautiful Hanover Country Club Golf Course.  Join the competition in this fantastic event which benefits our riding program..   Read the Full Story
  Besides the sheer fun of it... a huge dose of self-confidence comes with riding and horse-related activities! Therapeutic Riding helps raise self-esteem, but it also teaches special needs students essential skills. It improves balance, builds trust, and starts a friendship with horse, rider, and volunteer. Students forget they're having physical therapy and lose themselves in the fun!   Read the Full Story

Instructor Spotlight

Lindsay4Shining Star -- Lindsay Toms

“I just fell in love with the program. There is nothing better than seeing smiles."

This month's newsletter profiles instructor Lindsay Toms, both one of the most experienced and at the same time one of the youngest leaders at Shining Stars. Lindsay has known Brandy pretty much her whole life.  So when Shining Stars began, Lindsay had a front row seat, at the age of twelve, for the program's beginnings. By the age of 17, she was at a beginning point herself, as an instructor and has been sharing her “knowledge and love of horses” with her riders ever since. Lindsay says that, “being an instructor helped me a lot, it's my therapy, too. Being a very shy person, it challenged me to communicate and use leadership skills. Being in Shining Stars has helped me grow as a person.”

Lindsay's great strength as an instructor comes from her love for horses. She began taking lessons, from Brandy, at the age of 6, she has long been active in 4-H, and she still rides as often as she can. She currently has three horses of her own. Her first “job” at the program was as a rider for a student who was learning to lead Hochie. “As I got older,” Lindsay says, “I just fell in love with the program. There is nothing better than seeing smiles. I know how much horses have helped me and make me smile, so it's very rewarding to be able to do the same for others. I can't imagine my life without horses.”

Lindsay also works with horses -- what a surprise! She has been employed at the Maryland Equine Dental Inc. for almost 4 years. She attends Freedom Valley and helps with Sunday school there. She also finds time to “swing dance a little” and do some ballroom dancing.

Lindsay has taken her role as instructor seriously, and continues her growth in that position. She has successfully completed Phase I and Phase II of the Pennsylvania Council on Therapeutic Horsemanship trainings. She also has proven to be a progressive instructor here at Shining Stars, always striving to learn more and more about her “profession” in order to better serve our riders. Since Lindsay is only 20 years old now and is a great instructor already... just imagine how many lives will be changed for the better over the many many years that Lindsay has yet to give!

So, the Program thanks Lindsay for her dedication... and for sharing her love for horses with her students. We all look forward to those many more years of smiles for ... and from ... the people around her. Thanks Lindsay!

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