Grooming horses is one of many tasks volunteers like Alexander Rodriguez perform at Forward Stride Equine Therapy Center.

By: Abigail Winn

Tucked away at the base of Cooper Mountain, Forward Stride Equine Therapy Center in Beaverton, Oregon has been providing equine-assisted therapy since 2003. The non-profit offers several methods of therapy to an array of clients from veterans to people with physical or mental disabilities to those seeking emotional support. While there is a small permanent staff, Forward Stride relies on volunteers like Alexander Rodriguez to help run the center.

Rodriguez is a busy guy: he balances climbing the corporate ladder at Uber with his personal life and volunteering at Forward Stride. But his focus at the barn makes it clear Forward Stride is a priority. Volunteer coordinator Kristin Kelley notes that he is “very punctual and works hard.” He trots from the tack room to the grooming stalls with a sense of urgency, toting the English-style saddle needed for the upcoming session’s horse, Pippin. Grabbing a brush from Pippin’s grooming kit, he starts to brush away the bits of mud caked on her neck, rolling his dark eyes as he finds more dried in her fluffy mane.

Raised in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Rodriguez started riding at age 13. After spotting riders jumping their horses and doing drills at a county park stable while on a hike with his father, he knew he’d found something special. “I just looked at my dad and I was like, ‘I wanna do that.’” Rodriguez rode competitively until the age of 18. For the next twelve years, which included completing his undergraduate degree in Greece and working as a flight attendant, he went pleasure riding in his free time and visited his old stable when staying at home.

Laughing, he recalled first hearing about Forward Stride in an Uber. The woman encouraged him to volunteer, especially if he was used to the animals. Having just quit his job as a flight attendant and missing being around horses, he signed up. “I needed to do something for myself,” he said. But soon volunteering at Forward Stride became about more than just being with horses. After seeing a client who, two to three months prior, could not support himself in the saddle ride with hardly any assistance, his motivations changed. “Now I’m doing it to help the kids,” he said. “It’s definitely been a reality check.”

Although mainly focusing on his current job as an Uber onboarding specialist, Rodriguez still makes volunteering a priority and wants to continue in the future, aiming to earn more responsibilities around the barn and help with the center’s upcoming move to their new location at the Feves Family Farm. “I don’t see myself going anywhere,” he said. “It’s amazing to watch the determination of the human spirit.”