News

Foreign Students Learn About Horses and Therapy

Rachel McGrath, Ventura County Star, July 20, 2010.
Teens from France, Italy, Belgium and India visited a Ventura County therapeutic riding program recently to learn more about volunteering and nonprofit organizations as part of their foreign exchange experience.

Fourteen students who are staying with families in east Ventura County through the nonprofit Cultural Homestay International spent an afternoon at the Special Equestrian Riding Therapy program at the Classic Equestrian Center on Tierra Rejada Road in Moorpark.

“They are learning how to care for horses, and they’re also learning about what volunteering is and how our organization can only operate with the help of volunteers,” said Connie Gilly, SERT program director.

Sarah, a SERT volunteer, shows two international students how to care for a horse's feet.

Julien Moeremans, 16, of Belgium had never been close to a horse before. “He’s doing great,” said SERT instructor Deb Arthur as she showed Moeremans basic grooming techniques on therapy horse Rojo.

“It blows my mind because I’ve been around horses most of my life and this is the first time he’s been near a horse,” Arthur said, “so it’s really fun to be able to expose him to it. I think it’s great that he gets this experience.”

Edoardo Amprino, 17, who lives in Turin, Italy, had no experience with horses either.

“It feels very good,” he said as he stood in a stall with therapy horse Bonnie. “I’ve been brushing her and petting her.”

“It’s kind of nice that we can show people from other countries how we do things and what we do,” said Brianna Marquez, 14, a SERT volunteer.

The visit to SERT was the idea of Amy Hawkins, a teacher coordinator for Cultural Homestay International in Ventura County. Hawkins organized the students’ monthlong visit and supervises their English lessons and cultural activities during the day.

“We have a few hours in the morning of English integration and then our afternoons are filled with outings,” said Hawkins, who lives in Simi Valley.

Friedel Crombez, 15, of Belgium said she knew about similar riding therapy programs in her own country.

“It’s a good thing, but I am a little bit afraid of horses so I am sitting on the side,” she said as she waited in the shade near the horse arena.

Nina Duyver, 18, also of Belgium, said she was really happy that she had decided to spend a part of her summer in Southern California.

“I wanted to know the culture and the way of life and to experience the nice weather, of course,” she said. “It’s going really well and it’s really fun.”

So what has surprised her the most about being here?

“Everything is really big,” she said, “and there are a lot of fast-food restaurants.”

For more information about SERT or Cultural Homestay International, visit http://www.sert.org or http://www.chinet.org. 

Students with special needs learn old-fashioned horse sense

From a story by Alicia Doyle that appeared in the Ventura County STAR on December 03, 2008.

For those involved in Special Equestrian Riding Therapy, "all successes are big," said Program Director Connie Gilly. "With each accomplishment, the rider gains power, confidence and skills to help serve his or her daily needs," said Gilly of Thousand Oaks. "Riders come from as far away as Pacific Palisades to experience this life-changing program that has been serving Los Angeles and Ventura Counties for over 21 years."

Also known as SERT, the program moved in July [2008] from Chatsworth to the Equestrian Performance Center now Classic Equestrian Center in Moorpark, where riders engage at their own pace in individual lessons designed to meet their specific needs.

The more than 30 SERT clients, who range in age from 4 to 60, have a variety of challenges, including attention deficit disorder, autism, impaired vision, head or brain trauma, Williams Syndrome and global delay. Most come once or twice a week, and lessons typically include learning basic riding skills, trail riding, games on horseback and horse care.

"We provide physically, mentally and emotionally challenged individuals an opportunity for growth through horsemanship," Gilly said.

Located on 24 acres, surrounded by rolling hills off Tierra Rejada Road, the program site is home to eight horses and five instructors certified by NAHRA, and volunteers .

During a lesson, each rider has his or her own instructor joined by a handful of volunteers who remain in close proximity to the rider and horse the entire time.

"As a result, riders gain poise, posture, strength, flexibility, coordination, faster reflexes and even language and math skills," Gilly said.

"Focus improves. They learn cooperation. They learn to listen to directions, assimilate information, perform tasks and solve problems," she said. "They learn that they can control the horse, and that they can control their bodies. These skills benefit them in all aspects of their daily lives."

On horseback, those with severe physical disabilities, like multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy, find themselves moving without relying on their canes or wheelchairs.

"Instead of staring at belt buckles, they are head and shoulders above everyone else," Gilly said.

The horses undergo a rigorous training program to ensure they are suitable to carry a person with special needs, said Tawnya Woolf of Sylmar, a SERT trainer for seven years.