2008 Woodie Awards
Equestrian Center a major plus for SRU
Kelly's Korner
By Amy Kelly
Rocket News Editor
Issue date: 2/24/06 Section: Opinion
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The Equestrian Center has been up and running for some time now and from my personal experience it seems to be a great place. The main goal of the Equestrian Center is to provide lessons on horseback for the handicapped. There are regular lessons and they provide instructions and all the needs of the riders to be successful. Seeing the smile on some of their faces is very rewarding at the end of the day.
Not only is it great what Storm Harbor is accomplishing but it also is a beautiful facility. It contains a classroom, offices, kitchen and an indoor riding arena. The facility can hold 12 horses but is only housing seven at the moment. All the horses are very well mannered. Being ridden by college students who have worked around horses all their life, before the lessons begin, helps the horses maintain their good "character". They also have tons of pasture space so that they get to be in their true environment.
There are also a few college classes being held up at Storm Harbor. These classes give the physical therapy majors a hands-on experience with the animals and how they interact with the riders. However, not only do the college students help with the classes; they also help with the barn work. Cleaning stalls, brushing horses, cleaning the barn and regular riding lessons are all in a day's work.
The Equestrian Center also has many opportunities for the college students to volunteer. Many education majors like to become part of the atmosphere at the barn because of the teaching experience they are observing. Sophomore Jamie Mech enjoys volunteering not only for the recorded hours but just because it is a nice little "getaway" from typical college life.
I think that every student should visit Storm Harbor at least once to see how the facility works. For all the college students who work there, being able to see how much you can change someone's life by just introducing them to something new is amazing. If more people get involved with this program it will evolve into something that other universities will want as well.
