Queen of Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center aims to improve the lives of individuals with mental, physical and emotional disabilities through the power of the horse. Riding and working with horses can have a beneficial effect on a variety of diagnoses, including cerebral palsy, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, intellectual disabilities, sight impairment and hearing impairment according to Robin Kilcoyne, the organization’s founder and executive director.
“Through counselling and learning to care for the horses, clients learn to find their value,” Kilcoyne said. “They find their purpose, self-worth and compassion for themselves as well as for others.”
The three-dimensional movement a horse makes when it walks moves the rider’s pelvis into a walking position. This helps activate centers in the brain to help riders develop balance and strength, Kilcoyne said. An individual who is not able to walk finds a lot of power being able to sit on the horse and steering. Through therapeutic riding, clients learn to process information faster and develop a faster response system.
Queen of Hearts was briefly shut down at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and when the organization reopened in June 2020, had to scale back the number of clients it served, working with nine rather than 30 each week. Some clients whose health is more fragile have not yet been able to return.
During this time, Queen of Hearts has been able to work with volunteers through its Helping the Equine and Rider Team, or HART, program. People who were out of work were able to volunteer and get out of the house and assist at the ranch to groom horses, work on repairs, and help teach.
“People in the community came forward to help with animals,” Kilcoyne said. “We had some money set aside to help with the horses, but not enough for everything.”
Now that many of the volunteers have gone back to their jobs and many of the organization’s clients are ready to return, Queen of Hearts is looking for staff. The organization needs a riding instructor and office help. To bring in more clients, the organization also needs more volunteers.
Kilcoyne hopes the community will come to the Queen of Hearts open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sept. 19 to learn more about volunteer opportunities and programs available at the ranch. The event lands on “Talk Like a Pirate Day” which will be the theme for the event. There will be a prize for best pirate costume. There will also be a demonstration by Linda Mullin who has polio and will demonstrate what therapeutic riding means to her.
Recently, Queen of Hearts received a grant from the Youth Grantmakers program through the Inland Empire Community Foundation. The grant supports the HART program and opportunities for students and interns to learn to work with individuals with disabilities.
The organization welcomes further support from the community. The organization also requires support to feed horses and provide veterinary care.
More than just helping clients, volunteers also gain confidence, self-worth and often return to the ranch to share their successes.
“These services improve the quality of life for so many people,” Kilcoyne said. “If people could only see what everyday miracles happen here. It’s not just a pony ride, it’s quality of life that helps people thrive not just survive.”
Information: https://www.queenofheartsranch.org/ or 951-734-6300
Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy.
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This Jurupa Valley nonprofit uses horses to help those with disabilities - Press-Enterprise
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