Pictured is a rider at left during a school field trip. At right are Equine Assisted Social-Emotional Growth Program participants.

As a columnist and writer, I have the privilege of sharing my own experiences and perspectives. Each week, our writers’ group at the Lake Shore Center for the Arts is given a prompt — an optional exercise meant to spark creativity. This week’s prompt was simple: “Doors Open.”

At first, the ideas came easily. Welcome. Entry. Acceptance. Freedom. Letting the outside in. Opportunity arriving at just the right moment.

But then, just as quickly, my thoughts shifted.

What about doors closed?

That felt far more familiar. Far more personal.

For much of my life, it seemed that for every step forward, something pushed me two steps back. Progress felt fragile, temporary. I often found myself searching for answers, wondering why things never seemed easy.

Recently, I came across a passage in one of my favorite books that reframed this feeling. It suggested that when all doors seem closed, it may be a message — that you are being redirected. And when you are aligned with what you are meant to do, doors begin to open. You feel a sense of movement, of clarity, even if you’re not truly in control.

Looking back, I can see the moment when the doors finally opened for me.

It happened when I agreed to build Centaur Stride Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center.

Ironically, I was led there not through ease, but through all other aspirations blocked, through frustration, and through a sudden feeling of all broken pieces finally fitting together to make something beautiful and whole, and all while witnessing just how many doors remained closed for people with disabilities. Limited access. Limited opportunities. Limited understanding. Limited therapies. Unlimited barriers. Those closed doors became a call to action.

And in answering that call, something shifted.

At Centaur Stride, “doors open” is more than a metaphor — it is a lived experience. From the moment you arrive, there is a sense of welcome that is impossible to miss. The barn carries the familiar, grounding scent of animals and hay. Horses call out with soft whinnies, as if acknowledging each new arrival. It is a place that feels alive with possibility.

More importantly, it is a place built on inclusion.

The facility is fully accessible, thoughtfully designed so that individuals of all abilities can participate.

With the help of adaptive equipment such as hydraulic lifts and Sure Hands lifts, even those who cannot stand are given the opportunity to mount a horse. Especially for someone who spends much of their life in a wheelchair, that moment — sitting tall in the saddle, feeling the rhythmic movement of the horse — is nothing short of transformative.

It is freedom. It is independence. It is dignity.

And then there are the horses themselves.

There is something almost magical about them. They wait patiently, each one seemingly aware that the perfect match will come along — chosen especially as their partner. In that moment, something unspoken passes between horse and rider: trust, understanding, and acceptance without judgment.

In a world where doors can so often feel closed — especially for individuals with disabilities–places like Centaur Stride remind us of what is possible when we choose to open them instead.

Because sometimes, the doors that matter most are not the ones that open for us.

They are the ones we open for others.

And in doing so, we may just find that doors can swing both ways, and while we open them for others, they are also opening for us.

The prompt “doors open” was from a flyer on the Glow Bingo Fundraiser for Centaur Stride on Friday, May 8 at the Sherman Fire Hall. Doors open at 5:30 and games start at 6:30. The prizes are amazing. Please join us. Admission is $35 pre-sale or $40 at the door. Your support helps us to keep the doors open. Visit us online at linktr.ee/centaurstride or call the barn at (716)326-4318 or contact Holly at info@centaurstride.org.

Claudia Monroe is founder and president of Centaur Stride.