Fun Horse show at Centaur Stride with our horses at each end of the arena for team games, volunteers as needed for leaders and side-walkers as 14 needed for this event. Various games were held on horseback

This is the year of the Fire Horse, time to pull out all stops and make the most of life.

This column gives us a chance to make others aware of all we have done before, what worked and didn’t work, maybe the why’s, and with community support, try again.

Fundraisers are always key to making things possible. Today, costs have quadrupled and volunteer help is a fraction of what it was. More staff is needed to assure that programs continue. COVID, minimum wage increases and inflation have been a great challenge.

I will always remember one Saturday morning when the phone rang at the barn. It was about 8:40 and our first riders were to arrive at 9 a.m. One of those riders had a 45-minute drive one way so we knew they were already on their way. Cell phones were rare at that time. She required three helpers to ride. Jean answered the phone. She came back out to where we were still getting horses ready and said, “We have a problem. Two of our volunteers that came together had just cancelled due to car trouble. Now what do we do?”

Often, parents will be sidewalkers for their child. But sometimes parents cannot physically do that job. The role of caregiver can be overwhelming. Many have bad backs, and rarely is there time or energy to just take care of themselves.

Jean was not only our barn manager, but she did the scheduling for riders and volunteers, made sure horses and riders were well matched, no duplication of horses for that time slot, and called volunteers to find enough or confirm their commitments. Sometimes only one rider could be scheduled. Sometimes we would have enough help and then a rider would cancel or worse, no show. Then volunteers were not needed. That was always the biggest threat to keeping volunteers. Sometimes we would allow volunteers to ride during those times, but it depended on how able they were to get the horse ready independently.

In answer to Jean’s question, I said, “Jean, we have done everything we possibly could to make things work. The rest is up to God. Worst case scenario, we will have to explain to that mom what happened and cancel the lesson when they get here.” Parents of people with disabilities are usually very patient and understanding. Jean breathed a sigh of relief.

The phone rang again a few seconds later, the others all around us hearing the entire conversation. Savannah, our other instructor, went in to answer the phone. She came out with a look of combined disbelief and awe, and said, “That was the rider’s mom. They just canceled, apologizing for not calling sooner, but said she was up all night with a sick child and overslept.”

I had a chill. We were giving our all to make things work. It was a sign I needed to keep going.

With that confirmation, we endeavored to continue to do all that we could for the riders with disabilities and their families. The desire to strive, to improve, to measure progress, is still considered a natural stimulus to the evolution of growth and development, not just for the riders, but for everyone involved. We added the element of competition to our lessons, extending to offsite horse shows.

Through trial and error, we learned that kids with special needs often thrive better in non-conventional ways. Instead of standard competitions, Centaur Stride created on-site “fun shows.” Riders drew horse partners randomly. Teams were assigned by lottery draw. Awards were not limited to first place. “Ability” was replaced with random luck of the draw. It was more of a social fun event instead of “award for the best”.

Tickets, earned for participation, effort, teamwork, and luck were given for various categories. They were exchanged for refurbished toys donated by Toys for Tots. It was like “a Christmas morning meets county fair.”

The spirit was festive, thrilling, inclusive, and equalized. It was labor intensive, requiring 14 volunteers for the event. No fees were charged. Everyone left with a chosen prize.

The horses seemed to enjoy it just as much. One horse in particular exuded theatrical playfulness.

Seralyn, an Arabian, born and raised at our farm, was spirited and energetic, not yet a therapy horse. She had enthusiasm in abundance.

When teams needed one more rider to even the number, my son would ride Seralyn. (Only experienced riders or my son was allowed to ride her).

Seralyn had her own agenda. She won every time, bringing the riders and audience to feats of laughter with her antics, as my son tried his best to keep her from winning.

Centaur Stride’s purpose is about creating spaces where ability is not ranked, where effort matters more than outcome and where inclusion outweighs comparison.

Fundraisers and volunteers are vital to make this happen and to try to recreate some of our past successes. Call the barn at (716) 326-4318 to volunteer or schedule a lesson. Online linktr.ee/centaurstride.

Our next fundraisers are March 4, takeout at Wanderlust, pre-order only, Centaur Stride receives 25% of sales. April 12, walk-a-thon at Centaur Stride. May 8, Glow Bingo. Details online. Thank you for your support.

Claudia Monroe is president and founder of Centaur Stride.