Working with horses and helping children with disabilities go hand in hand at Riding for the Handicapped of Western Pennsylvania in McCandless, which is holding a volunteer orientation day at 11 a.m. May 2.
The orientation will be held at the riding arena at 9950 Grubbs Road. RHWPA Inc., a therapeutic horseback riding program for children with disabilities, is completely operated by volunteers. For longtime volunteer Ray Abate, there’s nothing more rewarding.
“The amazing thing about this program is the payback, whatever time you put into this program. By working with these children, seeing smiles in their faces, the payback is phenomenal,” said Abate, a Middlesex resident who has been volunteering there for 30 years.
The program is free for children with disabilities as young as 3. Each participant requires three volunteers, including two sidewalkers and a horse leader. The horses are specially trained for the program.
No experience is necessary to be a volunteer, unless as a horse leader, or the person who walks the horse through the arena. Volunteers must be at least 14. High school students can use this program for service hours.
The program runs every Monday and Thursday from mid-May to the end of October.
For those who cannot make the May 2 orientation day, volunteers are accepted throughout the season, Abate said.
New volunteers will be matched with a horse and rider that is a good fit for them as they get acclimated to the program, Abate said.
The RHWPA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is funded exclusively by donations, fundraising and grants. The program is free for riders.
Many of the children who attend the program aren’t involved in other activities, Abate said. But in this program, they can be part of something and “be proud of it.”
The program has been beneficial for many riders, Abate said, including one 6-year-old boy who began the program two years ago. The child had significant challenges with focusing and staying on task and was inclined to wandering away.
“Once he got up on that horse, he was perfectly content. His behavior was completely changed. He did fantastic,” Abate said.
His mother, happy with tears, shared this was the first time she had seen him behave so calmly, Abate said.
Phyllis Brannon of McCandless has been volunteering for 15 years.
“It’s so awesome seeing the kids thrive in the program,” she said.
Riding for the Handicapped of Western PA got its start in 1979 and was one of the first programs of its kind in the U.S. It was based on therapeutic riding programs that evolved in England after 1952 Olympic equestrian Lis Hartel revealed that exercise with a horse helped her to heal following polio, according to a history on rhwpa.org.
For details about the program, call 724-443-4485, email riding@rhwpa.org or follow RHWPA on Facebook.
