When Justin Kahn reached adulthood, he could no longer mount and dismount a horse.
Riding High Farm Program Director Robyn Struz (l-r) assists rider Jeff Belpanno, of Hightstown, onto a horse with the help of Ann Kkas and the new SureHands Lift at the farm in Allentown on Dec. 20. JEFF GRANIT staff The 27-year-old had to give up the therapeutic riding lessons that had been helping him cope with cerebral palsy since the age of 2. Kahn wasn’t the only disabled rider to have to stop attending lessons at Riding High Farm in Allentown. Over the years, many of the disabled children who took riding lessons at the farm reached a point in their lives when they could no longer get on a horse safely.
Now, the farm has the ability to welcome many of these riders back for recreational and therapeutic lessons. As a result of a partnership between the farm and Project Freedom, a Hamilton-based nonprofit that develops and operates barrier-free housing to enable individuals with disabilities to live independently, these riders have access to a SureHands lift. Project Freedom has been bringing groups of disabled adults to Riding High Farm for over two decades.
Rider Jeff Belpanno, of Hightstown, gets ready to mount a horse with the help of the new SureHands Lift at Riding High Farm in Allentown on Dec. 20. “This project is a two-year effort of both organizations to provide for our disabled riders who could not mount or dismount independently or safely with the assistance of volunteers for their therapeutic and recreational riding lessons,” said Riding High Farm Executive Director Dennis Kahn. “Because of the effort of both our organizations, riders who were no longer able to continue participating in therapeutic riding due to their growth in size as they approached adulthood… can now continue therapeutic riding throughout their lives.”
The partnership project, which also includes a stable addition that houses wheelchair ramps to provide access to the lift, will also create opportunities for new riders who never participated in therapeutic riding due to their physical disability, according to Kahn.
“This opens up a whole new way of improving the lives of disabled people,” Kahn said.
Kahn and his wife said they are thrilled their son will get to continue riding as a result of the lift. Horseback riding has provided him with numerous benefits.
“It’s a form of physical therapy,” Kahn said. “The movement of a horse is good for balance and encourages walking. He can walk short distances.”
Project Freedom Executive Director Tim Doherty, whose daughter Jen, 36, has cerebral palsy, said she participated in the therapeutic riding program until she could no longer mount a horse safely. “She had been riding for three or four years before she had to stop,” he said. “We’re definitely going to bring her back. She loved it. We all did. We did it together as a family.”
Doherty said horseback riding is beneficial for anyone who uses a wheelchair as it helps develop trunk control. Those with cerebral palsy whose legs tend to scissor also benefit from riding, which encourages the legs to open up, he said.
Doherty said Project Freedom takes its residents to the farm two times each week during the spring and the fall.
“This lift is really great for us because we can bring more people out to get exercise,” he said.
Riding High Farm Program Director Robyn Struz said she hopes that the project will enable the farm to expand its ridership and its Horses for Heroes program for returning wounded soldiers.
Riding High Farm board member Regina King said adult riders won’t be the only ones to benefit from the lift.
“I think it’s fabulous for all of the younger riders that will start aging and will need the lift. It’s not just for adults but for teenagers too.”
Struz demonstrated the SureHands lift with the help of rider Jeff Belpanno, of Hightstown, and the horse Magic on Dec. 20. She said the lift will help farm staff get wheelchair-bound riders that they otherwise couldn’t physically lift safely onto a horse for riding lessons. The farm recently received two large horses to accommodate the riders who will use the lift. Both horses are rescues, with Magic coming to the farm from the Standardbred Retirement Foundation in Hamilton and Blue coming from Helping Hearts Equine Rescue in Millstone.
For more information about the Riding High Farm therapeutic horseback riding program, visit www.ridinghighfarm.org or call 609-259-3884.