Julie Onofrio’s Story

When I was 16 years old, I was just learning to ride and had only a few lessons when I was thrown from a horse named Pitchfork.  I broke my elbow. I never went back to riding or horses, but always wanted to.  At age 33, I somehow came across Little Bit and signed up with a friend to volunteer [around 1990 or so], still with my fear of horses in my mind...but that is all I ever dreamed about was being around horses and riding.  So, I took the volunteer class which taught basic handling and care. I was still afraid of their huge size, big hooves and horses being known for their reactions to surprises and scary things everywhere, but I felt confident that the horses at Little Bit would be easier to be around and learn from.  And that I did.  Horses teach you more about yourself than you might think.  I volunteered as a walker for a few years and went on to finally get my first horse and that led to me being a caretaker for all my neighbors’ horses for over 30 years!