…Changed the Course of My Life
50 PEOPLE FOR 50 YEARS: KAREN BOCKSEL
A move from Toronto to NJ and an article from a local realtor about our programs introduced Karen to Mane Stream (then SHHRC). The year was 1990 and Mane Stream was still located at Octavia Brown’s farm. Karen’s passion for horses and trail riding first led her to become a volunteer then she trained with Octavia to become an instructor and joined the Board of Directors. She served as secretary for 4 years while also teaching and doing tons of other work around the barn and with the riders. Karen took over as Head Instructor/Program Director in early 1997 and became Executive Director in 1998, a position she held for 2 years. In fact, Karen was the Executive Director when Mane Stream opened our current facility.
Former Executive Director, Karen Bocksel at one of our fundraising events.
When Karen first started volunteering at Mane Stream, she was amazed at how much was done for the riders with very little fundraising involved, “There were no paid employees, it was all done by a volunteer staff which created a wonderful sense of community and there were never enough hours in the day.” Karen recalled, “One of my earliest memories is of the wonderful ride-a-thons we did throughout Bedminister, and the neighbors who all brought their horses for our riders to go out in two huge groups.” She isn’t alone as many people that we have contacted for the 50 People for 50 Years recount these rides as memorable experiences for similar reasons: the wonderful fall weather and the feeling of community.
Karen has many fond memories of her time at Mane Stream and she shared one of her favorites. “I remember the day a very petite senior rider, with advanced MS, could not ride her usual small horse because the horse was having a rest day. We put her on Sue, a great big Quarter Horse instead. We got into the old outdoor ring and the rider began to say, ‘Oh my, oh my.’ Well, her wheelchair was all the way back at the mounting block. I asked her what was wrong she said ‘I'm walking, I'm walking, I feel like I'm walking at the mall, it is wonderful.’ Needless to say, Sue, became the rider’s new mount. Years later, at the Hampton Classic horse show, Karen met the rider’s daughter and her husband (both were riding at the Classic) and they said she no longer rides but still talks about her experience at Mane Stream.”
Wearing so many hats during her tenure at Mane Stream, Karen worked with a number of volunteers, instructors, therapists, participants, and board members. For Karen, it was wonderful to watch the program grow, “I was Executive Director when we were looking for our new home and was involved throughout the building process. We started hippotherapy with one speech-language pathologist and one client and we did the first summer of ‘Camp Cold Brook' which was inclusionary with both special needs and their typically developing peers.”
This was also when Mane Stream became a Premier Accredited Center of PATH Intl. (NARHA at the time.) “When looking back there are many proud moments to recall, especially the day we opened the new center, all of the horses in beautiful stalls, tack in the heated tack room, office space, no more PORTA JOHN, an apartment for live-in help, and being able to see lessons every day!” Karen could go on forever talking about the benefits Mane Stream’s programs and why having the new facility was so important.
Once the new facility was finished and expanded programming solidly in place, Karen moved on to co-found TRAC (Therapeutic Riding at Centenary) with Octavia Brown, and subsequently created The Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End in Sagaponack, NY, where she is currently the Executive Director. She was the recipient of the 2015 Hampton Classic Horse Show’s Long Island Sportsmanship Award, the 2008 PATH Intl. President’s Award, and the 1994 PATH Intl. regional volunteer of the year award.
Karen shared a final memory of when, years after leaving Mane Stream, she met Melanie Dominko-Richards, now Director of Therapy Services, at a PATH Intl. mentor training in Maryland. Karen said, “Seeing Mel there [after knowing her when she was a teenager] and seeing that she had become a speech-language pathologist and riding instructor at Mane Stream, because of the time she spent at SHHRC, was truly amazing and so gratifying to see.”
Thank you for your years of service, Karen, during such an important time in our history – the construction at 83 Old Turnpike Rd.
