It was an innocuous start, one of those High School Career days where countless professionals tout the benefits of their job.  Yet one seminar stood out to her, speech language pathology (SLP).  The speaker casually mentioned other areas of study, and hippotherapy happened to be amongst them.  After looking into a handful of therapeutic programs on the Peninsula, Eva de Waal Malefijt chose to explore equine facilitated therapy here at NCEFT. 

It’s been over a year and half since Eva joined our team of volunteers, and we’re sad to be turning the final page on this chapter of her life.  She’s off to college at Illinois College where she’ll be participating in a five-year Masters program in Occupational Therapy (OT).  Though originally interested in SLP, Eva credits the hands-on experience of side-walking at NCEFT for kindling a passion in her future career as an OT. 

It was at NCEFT Eva first saw hippotherapy performed, and though a knee injury ended her riding career at the age of 14, she reveled in her time with the therapy horses.  Their unique personalities, and those of the kids who ride them, continued to draw Eva back to the facility every week.  “The horses are saints on hooves,” Eva said, “they never flinch during lessons.”

We asked Eva what she’d miss the most about NCEFT, and try as we might to put it into our own words, Eva really said it best. “I will miss seeing all of the kids excited for their lessons, waiting at the gate for their instructor to let them begin the lesson. I love the sense of community NCEFT has, someone is always willing to lend a hand or step in without being asked. All the volunteers that help during the lessons, the long hours put in by the therapists and barn [staff], and the willingness of the horses to do their job makes volunteering worthwhile.”