Horseback riding is hugely beneficial for physical and mental health. Riding a horse for just 30 minutes is considered moderate exercise, which reduces the chance of heart disease and lowers blood pressure. Establishing a positive relationship with a horse leads to a better sense of purpose, responsibility, and connection.
Everyone can benefit from time spent with equine friends. Yet horseback riding is also a sport with high barriers to entry–equestrian sports are some of the most expensive sports in the world, and many urban areas don’t have enough available land to board horses.
The equine community is making strides to ensure everyone has access to equestrian pastimes. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in equine community outreach initiatives. Currently, the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) recognizes 29 programs “that provide equine-based learning opportunities … for free or on a sliding scale of fees based on financial need,” according to their website. The programs range from youth activities for historically underrepresented communities to equine vaulting, lessons for people with disabilities, and more. Below are just a few of the current initiatives offered by these organizations.
Detroit Horse Power
Since its founding in 2015, Detroit Horse Power has brought more than 500 Detroit youth to participating barns in the surrounding area for free summer camps and after-school programs. The children learn valuable life skills, like responsibility, perseverance, and self-esteem. Now, the program is in the process of building an urban equestrian center within Detroit city limits, on the site of a demolished school. With this future facility, they’ll be able to impact even more lives. To learn more or to get involved with this cause, visit https://www.detroithorsepower.org/.
Great Oak
Located in Aiken, South Carolina, Great Oak is a nonprofit organization that provides Equine Assisted Programs to people of all ages with special needs. Other than therapeutic riding, they offer a multitude of services to the community. For example, the Great Oak Assisted Life Skills (GOALS) program provides young adults with disabilities the opportunity to gain employment and life skills. All of their therapeutic riding lessons are subsidized, but scholarships are available to those for whom tuition represents a financial hardship. To see more of the amazing work Great Oak is doing in the community, visit http://www.greatoakeap.org/.
GallopNYC
GallopNYC makes therapeutic horsemanship available to all New Yorkers with special needs or disabilities through their wide array of programs. They offer hippotherapy and therapeutic riding, as well as riding and groundwork for veterans. Additionally, GallopNYC has a job skills program for people with disabilities called Harnessing Empowering and Realizing Dreams (HERD), which provides training and skills development for a transition into the workforce. GallopNYC offers therapeutic riding tuition scholarships and has a sliding scale tuition model. Learn more about the great work at GallopNYC here: https://gallopnyc.org/
Taking the Reins
This nonprofit organization is located near downtown Los Angeles, California and provides historically underserved girls the opportunity to ride horses, tend to gardens, and care for farm animals. Their programs have reached over 4,000 girls in their 25-year history! Taking the Reins offers weekend and after-school programs to girls aged 8-18, where they learn equestrian skills such as riding, hippology, and judging. The girls also tend to the onsite garden through the Seed-to-Skillet program and interact with other farm animals as a part of the animal husbandry program. Taking the Reins offers all their programs on a sliding scale fee so that everyone can participate. To see even more of the great work Taking the Reins is doing for the Los Angeles community, visit their website at https://takingthereins.org/.
Solid Strides
Solid Strides is an organization in Eugene, Oregon, which gives historically underrepresented populations access to equine programs. While the original focus of Solid Strides was to match rescue horses with potential adoptees, they shifted in 2019 to offer historically excluded youth the opportunity to learn about and interact with horses. They offer day camps, weeklong summer camps, and regular lessons, with scholarships and discounts for those who need them. Solid Strides is committed to providing a safe space for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA+, and other historically underrepresented populations to experience the joy of horsemanship! Learn more about their work at https://solidstrides.org/.
Maryland Therapeutic Riding
Since its inception in 1996, Maryland Therapeutic Riding provides children, adults, active military, and veterans with special needs with the opportunity to benefit from the human-horse connection. Their team of licensed therapists and certified instructors provide individuals with professional instruction in therapeutic riding, equine-assisted psychotherapy, and more. Their Equine Services for Heroes, which supports injured military members and first responders, is provided at no cost. Maryland Therapeutic Riding is located in Crownsville, Maryland, about 45 minutes outside Washington, D.C. Visit their website at https://www.horsesthatheal.org/ to learn more or get involved.
OC Equestrian Vaulting
Completely volunteer-run, OC Equestrian Vaulting provides equine programs for youth in Orange County, California. They offer recreational classes for beginner vaulters, as well as competitive club classes and riding/horsemanship classes. Vaulting is the only truly team equestrian sport, and combines horsemanship, dance, and gymnastics. OC Equestrian Vaulting is committed to serving all socially, racially, economically underserved communities, through a variety of low-cost or free programming for youth in the community. Their website, https://ocvaulting.com/, has even more information about their mission and programs.
Heartland Therapeutic Riding
Heartland Therapeutic Riding in Overland Park, Kansas provides the community with adaptive riding lessons, ground horsemanship classes, and occupational therapy utilizing hippotherapy for individuals with special needs. The facility, covering 78 acres, was built specifically for therapeutic riding and provides its services with the help of over 100 volunteers and 16 specially trained horses. All classes are offered below-cost thanks to donations, and riders will never be turned away due to an inability to pay. To learn more about the plethora of opportunities available at Heartland Therapeutic Riding, visit their website at https://htrkc.org/.
Thanks to the work of these incredible organizations and others like them, equestrian activities are more accessible than ever to historically underserved communities!
