Emily Jones doesn鈥檛 fit neatly into a box.

The 11-year-old is developmentally disabled and has a variety of medical, physical and mental disabilities.

Her skill development is delayed and will never reach that of a typical child her age.

But five years ago she went to her first horse riding lesson at the and since then there has been a sizable difference in her physical ability, her attention span and her ability to follow instructions.

鈥淪he absolutely loves coming to riding lessons,鈥� said her mother Toby Jones.

鈥淪he is doing remarkably well. Her core strength and her ability to lead the horse and do all those with assistance has dramatically improved,鈥� she said.

Emily loved the lessons the very first time she went out. She goes once a week for half an hour.

鈥淪he can鈥檛 wait for them to help her mount the horse,鈥� explained her mother.

鈥淪he knows the routine. She鈥檚 got her helmet, she gets her boots on. She knows where she is going.鈥�

Emily also enjoys feeding the horse a treat, which she gets to do after each lesson.

Toby has not only seen improvement to her daughter鈥檚 core strength and her muscle tone, she also sees that Emily feels quite empowered by her new ability to ride a horse.

During a recent riding show a lot of Emily鈥檚 family turned out to watch her. Every time Emily passed by she would wave at them.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the only time she is looking down at people, whereas all the other times she is looking up. She is mentally empowered, she鈥檚 challenged. She is learning so many new skills,鈥� said Toby.

Currently the organization that has done so much for Emily is in desperate need for volunteers.

Lately program coordinator Emily Felgnar has been out in the arena helping with riding lessons, instead of doing office work, because there is nobody else to help out.

The organization is looking for both leaders and side walkers.

A leader鈥檚 responsibility is leading the horse around the arena. A side walker paces beside the participant up on the horse to offer support. The side walker has the majority of the interaction, participating in the games and assisting the riders in the activities.

No experience is necessary and no horse experience is necessary. All volunteers are trained on how to get the horse ready for the lesson and everything they need to know for the arena.

鈥淚t鈥檚 quite straightforward,鈥� said Jessie Fraser, executive director with the NFTRA.

Right now the NFTRA is looking for between eight to 12 volunteers.

鈥淏ut we鈥檒l take anyone at this point. We鈥檒l never turn anyone down,鈥� said Fraser.

During the summer session, lessons are Monday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday. All other sessions lessons run six days a week from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

鈥淭hat being said, if volunteers are limited for their time, we only require an hour and a half to two hours for volunteers,鈥� said Fraser adding that if a volunteer wants to spend an entire morning helping out that鈥檚 great, but an hour and a half of their time and the organization is grateful.

The NFTRA offers equine facilitated riding lessons to people with disabilities, and with physical, cognitive or emotional challenges. More than 80 per cent of the riders are children.

鈥淭he beauty in being involved with this type of program is that you get to be outside, you are working around animals,鈥� said Fraser.

The programs are subsidized. Families pay about one-third of the lesson fees for the actual class. The NFTRA doesn鈥檛 receive any government funding whatsoever.

鈥淭here is no other therapy that can duplicate this in a more clinical environment. The movement of the horse, duplicates that of a normal human walk, so it鈥檚 really a wonderful way for (participants) to develop core strength,鈥� said Fraser.

There are a high percentage of children in the program who have autism. For those children the social interaction is key. They learn to interact with people with the help of the horse.

鈥淩egardless what a person鈥檚 diagnosis, whether it鈥檚 autism or physical challenges, it鈥檚 the building of self esteem and self confidence. It literally can transform these kids into these confident, outgoing individuals,鈥� Fraser explained.

鈥淭here is really a huge need for this,鈥� said Fraser explaining that there is a waiting list. 鈥淚f we could double our programs we would, but we can鈥檛 do it without volunteers. They are our backbone.鈥�

They need anywhere from one to three volunteers per child. In September, there will be between 100 to 110 students at the centre.

Volunteer orientations are given four or five times per year.

Audrey Roberge, a volunteer with the organization for a year and a half, finds it very rewarding.

鈥淲hen you see those kids up on those horses and they鈥檙e smiling from ear to ear, you just feel like you鈥檝e done something good,鈥� said the retired nurse.

For Toby, watching her daughter participate is soul food.

鈥淧eople get so much out of watching these people accomplish the things that they can with the help of all these volunteers,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t takes an army of volunteers to make the program work to be honest.鈥�

To volunteer with the North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association call 604-462-7786, email info@nftra.ca or go to .

Recently the NFTRA held their biggest fundraising event, the Open Benefit Horse Show, where they raised $10,000.

The focus of the show was dressage for able bodied people but they included riders with disabilities as well.

2017 NFTRA Open Benefit Show Results:

Training Level - Junior Champion Brooke Jansen

Reserve Champion Taylor Walraven

First Level 鈥� Junior Champion Devlin Sheehan-Davies

Reserve Champion Danielle Hoskins

Training Level 鈥� Senior Champion Nicole Shewchuk

Reserve Champion Rachel Duck

First Level 鈥� Senior Champion Jessica Marquis

Reserve Champion Cathy Carl

High Point 鈥� Senior Nicole Shewchuk 78.08

High Point 鈥� Junior Brook Jansen 74.77

Most Sportsmanlike RDA Marie Hol

Junior Noa Carrier

Senior Fionna Christensen

Best Turn-Out RDA Hannah Carson

Junior Brooke Jansen

Senior Jessica Marquis