Testimonials

I love riding at Pride Stables because it makes me happy. It makes me feel independent and when I’m having a bad day my horse makes me feel better.

– From a young adult rider with mobility challenges

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Thank you so much to the team at Pride Stables. Everyone is enthusiastic and so patient. My son said that riding a horse made him feel strong and powerful! 

– From young rider/camper T and his mom

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I like horseback riding. Horseback riding is fun! I like trotting on my horse. Ryder and the other horses go on trail walks near the barn. We go up and down hills and lean forwards and backwards. The teachers are very friendly. I love going every Saturday. The end.

– From rider Nathan

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We are so thrilled for Philip’s improvement in language communication and physical mobility after he attended the camp. He was not very verbal until we introduced the idea of horse riding and it seemed his world has lit up. He began talking all about horses and learned about “how to communicate” with horses (there is a book on that). A big thank you to your riding program. It changes many kids’ lives.

– From mother of rider Philip

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Peter has been riding since he was three years old. We used to live in New Mexico and when we returned to Canada, he started riding at Pride Stables.

Peter has cerebral palsy. It affects mainly his leg muscles, left arm, balance and speech. Incredibly, he often sits better on the horse than he does in his wheelchair!

The heat and movement of the horse allows a fantastic stretch of Peter’s inner thighs in a way that you can’t duplicate with passive physical therapy. A weekly hour on a horse seems equal to a daily stretching regime that would be boring and painful. We’ve done that. We stretch while trying to maintain Peter’s interest and good spirits. We sing, count in various languages, tell jokes and stories, and listen to music. It sure is a lot of work in comparison to an enjoyable, fun ride on “his” horse. The day after he rides, I can “feel” the difference in the tightness of his muscles. Riding loosens up his stiffness.

The volunteers are so friendly and personable that Peter anticipates his riding lessons and looks forward to chatting with the volunteers. He finds out all about them and shares his personality with them every week. They are one of the best things about the program. The volunteers and organization of this riding program are wonderful. The consistency of volunteer support for riders like Peter is crucial. Pride Stables is super at retaining volunteers over many sessions.

For a child like Peter, whose speech is difficult to understand until you are familiar with him, this is valuable. He can look forward to interacting socially with his “favourite” volunteers every week. As well, they get to know him well enough to see beyond his disability and speech to his optimistic and fun-loving personality.

I hesitate to name any specific volunteers because we have had so many wonderful people working with Peter over the years. I don’t want to miss any one of them. The bottom line is that Peter loves riding mostly because of his wonderful volunteers.

– From Peter and his mom Peggy