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Program Offers Horsemanship To People With Special Needs

Tiffany Eckert

Horse lovers everywhere know the healing comfort of riding and just being with these majestic animals.  A non-profit outside of Eugene--called RideAble-- brings people with special needs together with their equine friends.

It’s mid-day snack time at the RideAble horse barn—and the residents know it.

(Horses whinny and nah)

“This is Mae. This is Blue. Lakota is a sweet boy. He’s actually the only boy we have here.”

Sandi Treadaway is the newly hired director of RideAble. She has decades of experience as a therapeutic rider and feels honored to be become a part of this 20 year-old program.

Treadaway: “It is riding lessons, we work really hard to get everybody who gets on a horse as independent as possible. You know for some of them, it’s their only shot at independent movement. Somebody who’s is in a wheelchair ---but they can get on a horse and they can walk away from you where they can’t in their wheelchair.”

Treadaway says therapeutic riding can be stressful for the horse because many of the riders have physical or mental disabilities that can cause them to rock from side to side.

“The horse’s job is to take care of that rider to help them balance when they need to balance. To keep them safe at all times.”

There are 9 horses at RideAble. Most are leased in return for care and board.

“This building we’re in. It’s a pretty big barn.”

“It’s a beautiful facilty. Gorgeous arena. These wonderful stalls that are, very healthy for the horses – nice and big and open and airy. They can see their friends and get fresh air even when they’re inside which is very important.  It’s a very safe facility. I love that. Everything is built with the horse in mind here.”

RideAble provides horsemanship to people with special needs ages 3 and up. As with most non-profits, volunteers make this program possible.

Credit Tiffany Eckert
Anna Myrand takes care of the horses at RideAble.

20 year old Anna Myrand is the herd manager. She takes care of the horses’ health. Myrand started as a volunteer when she was a sophomore in high school and remembers a youngster with multiple sclerosis.  

Myrand: “This little girl for her first lesson, couldn’t even hold herself up. There were five of us holding her on. Back a year later and she’s just about trotting by herself. Just a year’s difference and there’s just so much benefit to her from just riding a horse.”

Credit Tiffany Eckert
Joshua Van Amburgh rides with the help of instructors and volunteers at RideAble.

Mike Van Amburgh has been bringing his son here for 9 years. Joshua was born with microcephaly.

Mike: “Josh can’t communicate. He communicates with body language. Laughing and excitement like that. He normally rides a horse called Big Blue. They just seem to get along together. They just have a lot of fun.”

Mike has seen how horseback riding helps his son’s balance. He calls the staff and volunteers here “awesome.”

Mike: “They just have a way to get these children and adults familiar with horses. Some of them have never been near a horse before and they’re very patient. But boy I’d say come out and try.”

With that, Joshua rides up on Big Blue. An instructor leads and two volunteers hold him steady on either side as they call out pointers.

“Turn those feet in. Use your stomach! Where’s your core muscles? Come on, sit up. I saw that smile!”

(Joshua laughs)

Those who can not ride are able to practice horsemanship at RideAble horse barn.

As a non-profit, RideAble depends upon donations. They are holding a fundraiser Saturday night at the Unitarian Church in Eugene. It’s called A Night At the Races.

Tiffany joined the KLCC News team in 2007. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and worked in a variety of media including television, technical writing, photography and daily print news before moving to the Pacific Northwest.