Clients partake of halfhour lessons once a week in nine-week blocks. Wanyu Shie, of Taiwan, who has spinal muscular atrophy, had just finished her last lesson and was heading home. It was also the same day for her mount, Avalon. Wanyu stopped for a moment to say that riding that horse helped her with balance.
equine programs and is a noted speaker on such topics as equine-assisted therapy, urban equine facilities, and youth development through animals. The organization’s Junior Mounted Patrol (JMP) needs some volunteers. If you’re male and would like to be a role model to inspire preteen boys and teenage young men (and are available Sundays), visit www.ebonyhorsewomen.us to learn about the program.
funds to fight breast cancer in Connecticut. Did you know that our state has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the United States, and that this year more than 3,000 of us will receive this diagnosis? Every dollar raised by the ride makes a lasting impact in the local fight against breast cancer. Money raised
n Karena Garrity
be available for review at registration on the day of the ride. There is a minimum donation of $200 and a suggested $10 parking donation at the gate. • Registration and parking open at 8 A.M. • Riders start the course between 8:30 and 11:30 A.M. For more information and to register, please visit www.komenct.org. Questions? Contact a member of the ride committee, at rfccommittee@yahoo.com.
n Sally L. Feuerberg
Welcoming a New Resident
Camp Care Therapeutic Riding Program, located on Route 66 in Columbia, is looking for great, quiet horses and ponies to lease for its program. On July 28, Avalon, a seven-year-old draft-cross mare, went home to owners when her lease was up. Avalon, a “naturally quiet and lazy horse,” as assistant director and head instructor Allie Leonard puts it, worked wonderfully for many clients with disabilities, ranging from mental disorders to physical ailments. Stephen and Laureen Moran, both physical therapists, began the program, in 2003, with two horses. It now serves more than 65 riders annually, and is able to house up to seven horses. The facility boasts both indoor and outdoor riding arenas as well as a sensory trail. “Riding horses can do a lot for people with disabilities,” says Allie. “The movement of the horse when [a client] rides it is the closest thing to what [humans] do to walk. All the input from the horse’s body travels up through the rider’s nervous system and does some really incredible things. It takes a lot of core strength, balance — those kinds of things. For someone on, say, the autism spectrum, riding is a really good sensory input.”
All the Kings Horses Equine Rescue, in Northford, welcomes a new resident to the herd: meet Jazz. This 25-yearold Morgan mare, an owner surrender who stands about 14.3 hands, is getting used to her surroundings and in the process of making friends. The hope is that Jazz will soon find that perfect forever home, just the way Freya did. Freya and her new owner, Rose Cappiello, of Branford, recently participated in her first combined test, at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Gales Ferry — and the pair took home a red. Freya, an off-the-track Thoroughbred, was a Camelot-auction graduate and then an owner surrender to All the Kings Horses. Another horse who was recently adopted is Jake, who left the rescue for his new forever home in Killingworth. There he’ll share his hay and grain with a rescue mare named Fancy and a rescue Miniature Horse named Belle, both of whom also came from All the Kings Horses. If you’re considering adopting a rescue, please visit www.allthekingshorses equinerescue.com.
Christine Church
Quiet Horses and Ponies Wanted
Wanyu Shie, of Taiwan, riding Avalon while tossing a ball on the sensory trail at Camp Care Therapeutic, in Columbia.
Program horses must be calm and bombproof and able to carry riders of many sizes. They need to be willing to be kicked on the sides (some clients just aren’t aware that they’re kicking a horse), go easily and quietly through obstacles, and remain placid with people all around them as they walk, back, and even at a trot. If you have the perfect horse for Camp Care, please call (860) 228-8843 or email campcareriding@gmail.com. Thank you!
n Christine Church
Newtown’s First Susan G. Komen Connecticut Ride for the Cure The Susan G. Komen Connecticut Ride for the Cure will be held on Sunday, October 24 (rain or shine), at the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard, Newtown. Spend a beautiful autumn day riding to raise
will help save the lives of Connecticut women. Following are some ride details. Note: ASTM/SEIapproved helmets are mandatory for all riders. Riders 12 to 17 years of age must ride with an adult, and no one under the age of 12 will be allowed on the course. • Riders who register by noon on October 17 and meet the $250 fund-raising minimum are eligible for awards. • Guest lunches are $10 each and must be ordered and paid for during registration or by check before October 17. No guest lunches will be sold at the door. Rider lunches are provided at no additional cost. • Every rider needs a completed online or paper registration as well as a signed waiver and release-of-claims form. Updated Coggins and rabies documentation must
n Karena Garrity
Connecticut Horse
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