News

From staff story that appeared in the Western Ventura County STAR on February 14, 2010.

Special Equestrian Riding Therapy of Moorpark has been awarded a $24,500 grant from CVS Caremark Charitable Trust in support of its Front Walker program.

The grant will help the organization provide therapeutic riding to children with special needs in western Ventura County. SERT will create a satellite program that will reduce the travel time for families living in communities from Camarillo to Ojai. It also will provide free first rides to qualified participants.

The 22-year-old nonprofit organization is seeking a site on an existing ranch in western Ventura County for its satellite operation.

SERT President Geri Rivers said the grant will allow the group to provide “twice as many full scholarships as we do today.”

Children with special needs will learn riding skills, trail riding, games on horseback and horse care.

Front Walker will be under the supervision of SERT’s program director and a Certified Instructor with expertise in working with children with special needs and their families. Staff program assistants serve as walkers during rides, as do volunteers who are trained.

SERT was one of five organizations in California and 92 nationwide to receive awards in a national process. The trust distributed $6.3 million in 2009, focusing on programs for children with disabilities and the uninsured.

For more information on the program and to complete a preliminary interest form, go to the Web site at http://www.sert.org.


Workshop focused on special needs

From staff story that appeared in the Ventura County STAR on January 26, 2010.

OXNARD — A workshop designed to give relatives, caregivers and professionals information on how to provide for financial security, therapeutic activities, medical care and lifelong support of children and adults with special needs was held Saturday.

The free workshop was held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Tri-Counties Regional Center, 2451 W. Gonzales Road, Suite 100, Oxnard.

Presenters included Sha Azedi of the Tri-Counties Regional Center; Kevin Staker, a tax and estate planning attorney; and Claire O. Nagy, a financial adviser and financial planning specialist.

Topics included making sure certain people are not excluded from benefits, how to fund a special needs trust and how to deal with state budget cuts.

The workshop was presented by the Special Needs Coalition, a group of nonprofit organizations, attorneys and financial advisers who volunteer their time to help families learn how to plan for members with intellectual, emotional or physical disabilities.

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.