December 12th, 2011
New Holiday Riding Session at EQUI-KIDS Therapeutic Riding Program
EQUI-KIDS Therapeutic Riding Program, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Virginia Beach, VA, is holding its first ever Holiday Riding Session for its riders. The three-week lesson session is being offered to give riders a chance to participate in riding between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Forty riders are signed up for the Holiday Session that began November 28 and will run through this week.
Harold Barkley, father of Harold “Bubby” Barkley said of his son riding, “Bubby really enjoys coming over here. He thinks that Sadie is his horse. Just this morning he told me we need to move so we live close to
EQUI-KIDS, and that way he can see her. He really loves this place and he can’t wait for Thursdays to come so he can come out and ride his Sadie. ”
“We wanted to offer an opportunity for our riders to continue lessons during the downtime between Fall and Winter Lessons,” said Kathy Chitwood, Program Director at EQUI-KIDS. “The three week lesson session will have Holiday music and Holiday themed games—and allows us to continue offering our therapeutic services and still have some quiet, restful time for our horses. After the three week session, the horses will have a couple of weeks to train in preparation for our Winter Lesson Session that begins at the start of the year.”
EQUI-KIDS offered Winter Lessons last year for the first time after completion of the Indoor Riding Arena. The Holiday Session is a continuation of EQUI-KIDS expanding its services to the community. After having a waiting list of 350 individuals, the program no longer has a wait list and looks for ways to further its mission of providing equine assisted activities to those with disabilities.
