10 foster children experience horse riding for first time

Teens in foster care get outdoors, enjoy riding in Parkland

By Kathy Bushouse | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

July 21, 2008

Samantha Galindo, 11, of Parkland, looks back at one of the riders from the Henderson Group Home on Sunday at Hunetr's Run Equestrian Center in Parkland. Galindo, a student at the stables, volunteered to help teach the kids from the group home to ride. (Sun-Sentinel/Joe Cavaretta / July 20, 2008)

On most Sunday afternoons, they'd be indoors — at church, at home playing video games, watching television or doing laundry and other chores to prepare for the week ahead.

But this weekend, the 10 teenage boys from group homes in Margate and Lauderhill were outside their comfort zones and on horseback, many of them riding for the first time during an outing at the Hunter's Run Equestrian Center, on Northwest 82nd Terrace in Parkland.

The center donated the afternoon with the horses to the boys, all foster children from two Henderson Mental Health Center group homes. The center's trainers offered their time and expertise to help the boys enjoy the ride.

Initially, it was a tough sell to pull them away from their air-conditioned homes and out into the summer heat. "They were a little reluctant until they got out here," said Roscoe Morey, house parent at the Henderson House in Lauderhill.

Once they mounted the steeds, there was no hesitation. Though they started out with volunteers guiding them, after an hour, the boys got the hang of the equestrian experience and wanted to be on their own. And go faster."It was incredible," said one of the boys, whose names could not be used because they are in foster care. "I was kind of worried at first, but I learned to adapt to it fairly quickly."

The boys' biggest fears: losing control and falling off. "That's a big drop, too," noted another boy.

Sunday's ride was an opportunity to expose the group to a new social experience, plus get them outside, said Steven Ronik, chief executive officer of Henderson Mental Health Center. "Now they're asking, 'When can we come again?'" Ronik said.

For the volunteers, Sunday's event was a time to share their love and knowledge of horses with others. Samantha Galindo, 11, said she thought it would be fun to teach the group how to treat the horses and show off their different personalities.

"They can be sweet. They can be silly," said Galindo, who in August will enter sixth grade at Westglades Middle School in Parkland. "They can have different moods, just like people."

Hunter's Run Equestrian Center owner Gwen Dvorkin said she spotted some natural talent, with some of the first-timers riding just as well as those who have taken a year's worth of lessons at the center.

She plans to invite the group back again soon. "I think we're going to keep it going, because they want to come back," Dvorkin said. "It's making them happy, so I'm happy to do it."

Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4556.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbhorses0721sbjul21,0,7810588.story