Why we love her: Marilou is a leader and sidewalker, and this session she added temperature check/check-in to her job duties. “I love being a sidewalker and leader, but have come to appreciate greeting our riders as they try to hold in their excitement and enthusiasm to be (at The Shea Center) to ride. They are so very cute.”
Path to The Shea Center: Marilou was searching online for volunteering opportunities and found The Shea Center. “I was a rider then, loved to ride and was curious how horses worked in therapeutic riding. I had experienced a lift in spirit when riding, and wanted the same for others, so I applied in 2002.” During the ensuing 12 years, her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and amove interrupted Marilou’s volunteering until she came back in 2015. “I started back with Back to Shea Day, Swallows Day Parade and then summer camp—I was hooked.”
Favorite Shea Center memories:
“The last OC Foster Family Day and the EMFP (Exceptional Military Family Program) Day in November 2019. I volunteered for both events. I was at the round pens, where we rotated horses to feed and be introduced. We assisted with cutting carrots, and feeding the horses. After introductions, carrots gone, some (children) would reach out their hand to pet the horses. Their nervous laughter, their smiles from ear to ear, the giggles from touching the horses’ noses are forever in my ‘happy place’. And two young riders I once led no longer need me. They both tack their horse, lead it to the arena, then ride and untack their horses. I am so proud of each of them and ever more grateful for that shared time. Their courage was inspiring.”
When not at The Shea Center, she can be found doing this: Marilou volunteers with USO Bob Hope at John Wayne airport, supporting active military and their families. Pre-pandemic, she spent her downtime photographing landmarks, beach sunsets, nature and wild horses at a Central California sanctuary. “I never want to stop opening myself to something new or different.”
She finds her bliss: “Being GRATEFUL. These days when I park at Shea, I lean on my trunk to replace my shoes with my boots (favorite on my feet), ID in pocket, name tag, and mask in hand I walk through the Shea gates, feeling blessed. I am home. I really love Shea, the horses and ALL the people within.” And she finds bliss with her USO partners: “Serving our military and their families, nothing but JOY.”
