2024 Michigan 4-H PEP Instructors Update

October 19, 2024 - October 20, 2024 Registration begins at 1:30 PM and the Welcome and Icebreaker begins at 2:00 PM

Registration Deadline: October 14, 2024 - 11:45PM

River House Farm, 1200 S. Shepherd Rd, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858


Contact: Christine Skelly

2024 4-H Proud Equestrians Program Instructor Update

DATES & TIMES

Saturday, October 19, 2024 : 1:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 20, 2024 : 8:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

 

LOCATION

River House Farm

1200 S. Shepherd Rd, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858

 

LODGING

COURTYARD By Marriott                   

2400 East Campus Drive, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

989-773-1444

 

REGISTRATION (Includes sessions, meals, and lodging (shared room):

$200.00 for PEP Instructors, MSU Extension Volunteers, and MSU Extension staff (shared room – 2 queen beds).

$400.00 for approved non-PEP instructors (shared room—2 queen beds). For all approval requests, please email or call Dr. Christine Skelly, skellych@msu.edu, at 810-338-8200.

If you are a participant who believes you will be receiving a scholarship, you must contact your county office before proceeding with your registration. For a listing of county offices with contact information, please visit http://msue.anr.msu.edu/county.

Registration Deadline: October 14, 2024

 

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Persons who do not show up at the workshop, do not have a replacement, or do not cancel by notifying Christine Skelly by Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, will be charged the full registration rate.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This workshop is developed for therapeutic riding instructors, therapists working with therapeutic riding programs, and MSU GOLD volunteers working towards their PATH CTRI.

All 4-H PEP instructors certified before Jan. 1, 2024, are required to have completed either the 2023 PEP Update (held October 7-8, 2023) or the upcoming Oct. 19-20, 2024 PEP Update to be approved to instruct a 4-H PEP program in Michigan from Jan. 1, 2025 - Dec. 31, 2025.

 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

This workshop supports Michigan 4-H Proud Equestrian Program Instructors in maintaining their Michigan 4-H PEP Instructor certification and PATH Intl. CRTI. This hands-on workshop will strengthen the Michigan 4-H PEP Program by focusing on safe and impactful therapeutic riding instruction for youth.


SCHEDULE

Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024

Location:                                   River House Farm, 1200 S. Shepherd Rd Mount Pleasant, MI 48858

1:30 – 2:00 p.m.                       Check-in

2:00 – 2:30 p.m.                        Welcome and Icebreaker: Dr. Christine Skelly and Tasha J. Federinko

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                      Topic: Enhance Your Communication Skills When Interacting with Neurodivergent Youth - Adam Berman, Ed.D. Special Education Program, Central Michigan University 

3:30 – 3:45 p.m.                       Break

3:45 – 5:15 p.m.                         Topic: Hands-on Session on Instruction Techniques for Neurodivergent Riders –        Kim Berggren, ETC Development Group

 

Location:                                     Cheers Grill 1700 W High StMount Pleasant, MI, 48858, TEL: 989.772.7171

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.                      Dinner

 

Location:                                 COURTYARD By Marriott, 2400 East Campus Drive, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.              Check-in         

7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.              Trick or Treat:  Developing lesson plans for neurodivergent riders and PEP   update – Christine Skelly

 

Sunday, October 20

7:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.               Breakfast: COURTYARD

8:15 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.               Topic:  Mending the Stress Fence - Misty Obeil, Health, and Farm Stress Extension, MSUE Isabella County Office

9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.               Check out and relocate to River House Farm


Location:
                                   River House Farm, 1200 S. Shepherd Rd, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858

9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.             Topic: Manure Management Planning for the Horse Farm - Thomas Guthrie: MSU Extension State Horse Educator, MSUE Jackson County Office

10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            Topic: Hands-On Session Lesson Plan Demonstrations:  Small groups will present lesson plans – Kim Berggren, ETC Development Group

12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.            Break

12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.                Lunch Talk:  His Legacy, Our Lineage: 3 Generations, and Counting... – Jermo Reese, MSU Statewide Program Instructor, MSU Extension

1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.                 Closing Remarks: Christine Skelly     

 

Presenter Information:

Adam Berman, Ed.D., joined the Special Education program at Central Michigan University in 2023, bringing new perspectives and strategies related to autism acceptance. Berman received his master’s and doctoral degrees in Special Education from George Washington University. Additionally, Berman taught at the K-12 level for five years. Being autistic himself, Berman brings expertise from both a personal and professional level and has scientific publications on how the average workplace can negatively impact autistic people. Dr. Berman currently studies how autistic girls process friendships and social relationships, debunking past research that suggests autistic people do not want friends.

Kim Berggren, of ETC Development has been a lifelong horse person, starting in the backyards of Wisconsin. She has been involved in the Equine Assisted Service industry for over 25 years as a PATH Intl. advanced certified instructor with her CTRI, ESMHL, PATH Intl. mentor and lead site visitor.   Kim has held many seats on the PATH Intl. Region 4 Leadership team, Membership Outreach Committee, and other Path Intl. committees, including two terms on the PATH Intl. board of trustees. Kim has been awarded the Path Intl. President’s Award and PATH Intl. Volunteer Leadership Award. She has also spoken multiple times regionally, nationally, and internationally.  Kim continues to expand her educational background, focusing on Equine Assisted Services and leadership training. Recently, Kim became a Jay Shetty Certified Life coach. 

Tasha J. Federinko is a psychotherapist in private practice. She has received additional training and certification as an Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy and Advanced Therapeutic Riding Instructor through EAGALA and PATH International, respectively. Her background in mass-mediated culture, including film as literature and film and documentary as an agent of social change, has resulted in writing and producing news stories and documentaries about individuals with disabilities since the 1980s for radio, TV, and online use.

Tom Guthrie is a statewide equine extension educator for Michigan State University. Based in the Jackson County MSU Extension office, Tom’s role is to develop and provide statewide accessibility to educational programming within the Michigan equine industry. Tom’s extension efforts for the equine industry focus on environmental management on horse farms, pasture management, toxic plant identification, and general equine management. Tom has bachelor’s degrees in animal science and forestry and a master’s degree with a non-ruminant nutrition specialization, all from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.

Misty Oebel is a Health and Farm Stress Educator with Michigan State University Extension. The Managing Farm Stress program provides education about stress and suicide risk for farmers and offers connections to resources like teletherapy. Misty serves multiple counties in Michigan and has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology focusing on clinical applications. Before joining MSU Extension, Misty worked with the Gratiot Isabella RESD to provide services to young adults with barriers to education or employment. She taught workshops on life skills and employment topics and worked with community business owners and agencies to provide learning work experiences for participants. Additionally, she worked several years as a Family Therapist with teens and families in the foster care system. In this role, she worked with individuals and families in crisis to identify and develop support systems and healthy coping skills.

Jermo Reese is originally from Lexington, Kentucky. He spent his early years working with his grandfather on a local Thoroughbred farm, which fostered his passion for horses. Jermo worked as a professional photographer in California before transitioning to the horse industry in California, where he focused on various breeds and studied horse behavior regarding training. Upon returning to Lexington in 2015, Jermo established Frankie’s Corner Little Thoroughbred Crusade (FCLTC) in honor of his grandfather. FCLTC is a non-profit organization that provides hands-on equine education to youth and young adults. Jermo pursued a teaching license and completed courses at Bellarmine University and the University of Southern Florida, focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. He transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to major in Agricultural Education. In the fall of 2024, Jermo Reese joined Michigan State University Extension as a statewide program instructor.

Christine Skelly, Ph.D., has been a professor in the Department of Animal Science since 1995, serving as the State Equine Extension Specialist, Director of My Horse University, and teaching equine courses at Michigan State University, including Equine Nutrition.  Dr. Skelly serves her third year on the CANR DEI Committee and chairs the Departmental Animal Science Committee.  Dr. Skelly is on the development team for the proposed Equine Concentration in the Department of Animal Science.

Registration for this event has closed.

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