Quotes

“Once again, words can’t express how much you’ve helped Matt over the years. We are so thank­ful for all of you and the Mitey Riders Program!”
– Andi & Ron Matysek, Parents of a Mitey Rider

“This pro­gram has been and will con­tinue to be a bright spot in Hailey’s life. She has made great strides and looks for­ward to every Thursday when she can ride her ‘Princess Pony!’”
– Amanda & Rob Gasiewski, Parents of a Mitey Rider

“I can­not tell you how much rid­ing has changed Kai’s life. She is filled with more con­fi­dence than she had four years ago when she first started. And the improve­ments in her body are end­less. Thank you, thank you, thank you a mil­lion times.”
– Tracy Watkins, Parent of a Mitey Rider

“Being able to be around and actu­ally ride horses has had a pro­found effect on Elizabeth. She loves the horses and the peo­ple that have chal­lenged her abil­i­ties and given her encour­age­ment and con­fi­dence. Riding has given her strength in her core, arms and legs … that she might NEVER have got­ten, because noth­ing else holds her atten­tion like this. She doesn’t real­ize the work­out she is get­ting when she rides!!”
– Kathy Leahy, Parent of a Mitey Rider

“I can truly say that Mitey Riders has been a life chang­ing expe­ri­ence for Tristan. In addi­tion to the obvi­ous improve­ment in motor con­trol, coor­di­na­tion and mus­cle strength, the growth that is most evi­dent is his self-confidence and assur­ance of his abil­ity on ‘his’ horse. The inde­pen­dent classes have given Tristan the oppor­tu­nity to bond with his horse and under­stand the care and atten­tion horses require (and deserve)! When Tristan tells peo­ple that he ‘rides horse’ they can’t believe it. He is so proud of the fact that he can do some­thing that the aver­age per­son does not do. Harry and Marilyn had a vision that has served, and con­tin­ues to serve so many fam­i­lies whose chil­dren would never have an oppor­tu­nity to grow from the expe­ri­ence of rid­ing a horse. It is through their ded­i­ca­tion and con­stant work that makes this pro­gram one of the best in the coun­try. Of course with­out the staff, Joy, and those too numer­ous to men­tion, this pro­gram would never exist. Their com­mit­ment and con­stant work with the horses and chil­dren is invalu­able. We are so blessed that we are part of the Mitey Riders fam­ily. Thank you to each and every one at Mitey Riders for the won­der­ful gift you have given Tristan.”
– Lisa Kallander, Parent of a Mitey Rider

“Morgan has been rid­ing for at least 8 years, and although actual rid­ing time is about one hour each time, his thoughts and con­ver­sa­tion through­out the week revolve around this pro­gram. His self worth has soared! His con­ver­sa­tion and ver­bal skills have increased beyond our expec­ta­tions. His bal­ance and core strength have improved 100%. While being asked to per­form sev­eral tasks, he responds to 2 and 3 part com­mands with­out hes­i­ta­tion. He has gained great free­dom and an even big­ger heart through the pro­gram and spe­cial folks he has bonded with. Many thanks for adding this dimen­sion to our lives as a fam­ily.”
– Alice and Riley Grier, Parents of a Mitey Rider

“Mitey Riders has pro­vided an oppor­tu­nity for Emmett to par­tic­i­pate in an activ­ity that would not have oth­er­wise been pos­si­ble. After hear­ing every expert tell our fam­ily we were wast­ing our time on speech ther­apy and other ‘nov­elty’ approaches to attain viable com­mu­ni­ca­tion with our son, Joy put him on a horse – and that was the end of that. His first ses­sion, atop Michael, he watched Joy for 2 min­utes as she instructed him how to steer — and the bond between Emmett, Michael, and Joy was imme­di­ate. I cried tears of joy and dis­be­lief as I watched my lit­tle boy’s world open up in a mat­ter of moments. His sec­ond ses­sion, as he raised his hands and felt the cedars brush over his fin­ger­tips he exclaimed, ‘Tah Dah!’ I knew right then and there this was the door open­ing for Emmett. Days may go by where Emmett seems lost in his own world, but once he is on a horse he is a dif­fer­ent boy. Mitey Riders has given him a place where he can just be. As i sit here in my Mitey Riders sweat­shirt and cap, I can’t help but be amazed at how lucky we are.”
– Heather Lopina, Parent of a Mitey Rider

“Since begin­ning with Mitey Riders at age 5, Lindsey has seen both phys­i­cal and per­sonal ben­e­fits. As a child born with Spina Bifida, she has never walked with­out the aid of orthotics and a walker or crutches. Riding allows her to be equipment-free yet moves her hips and legs in a nat­ural motion oth­er­wise impos­si­ble to expe­ri­ence. Additionally, her sense of bal­ance has been chal­lenged and improved over the years. The pro­gram has given Lindsey con­fi­dence, free­dom, and a sense of accom­plish­ment. The inter­ac­tion with Harry, the staff, vol­un­teers, other rid­ers and their par­ents has com­pleted the sense of com­mu­nity every child needs to feel accepted. Keep up the good work!”
– Mary Good, Parent of a Mitey Rider

“From the moment I entered the gates for the first time, I knew this was a very spe­cial place. It is a place of hope, and one that I am proud to be a part of. I look for­ward to vol­un­teer­ing every week for the sim­ple fact that it takes me out of my life, and allows me to gra­ciously enter the lives of oth­ers that are ben­e­fit­ing from the MR pro­gram.”
– Laurie Schoenfelt, Volunteer

“[Working with Mitey Riders has offered me] ben­e­fits such as the exer­cise, fresh air and nat­ural beauty of the Misty Meadows farm. But the great­est ben­e­fit is get­ting rebal­anced and re-centered. [My favorite aspect of Mitey Riders is] every now and then get­ting to see and share in a mir­a­cle. Getting to know some truly won­der­ful peo­ple. Learning from horses what it means to be gen­tle, sen­si­tive, and hum­ble. Where else can one be so rewarded for doing so lit­tle?”
– Sam Bullard, Volunteer for over ten years

“Volunteering at Mitey Riders has enriched and changed me per­son­ally. Anyone who is involved with this pro­gram is deeply touched by what they see, and it totally changes your per­spec­tive about peo­ple with dis­abil­i­ties. It never ceases to amaze me, when I look at the chil­dren in this pro­gram, I real­ize that their par­ents have a life long com­mit­ment to them and know that they must be their advo­cate for that child’s life. It is a good feel­ing know­ing that every­one involved under­stands that the ‘kids come first’ and every­thing else is sec­ondary.”
– Eileen Kane, Volunteer for over ten years

“Mitey Riders has given me the oppor­tu­nity to use my pro­fes­sional skills along with my knowl­edge of horses to enrich the lives of chil­dren with dis­abil­i­ties. I have seen so much growth in these chil­dren and it really has improved their qual­ity of life. The whole fam­ily changes when a child becomes more inde­pen­dent or improves their com­mu­ni­ca­tion skills all because of Equine Therapy. The look on their faces and the fam­i­lies is price­less. Harry and Molly have hearts larger than any­one else’s to open up their home week after week to help change lives.”
– Lynn Kuhn, Volunteer for over ten years

“Working here has been noth­ing but bless­ings for me, and hope­fully for the rid­ers! I have been able to use a lot of my teach­ing skills, and in sev­eral cases, my knowl­edge of American Sign Language! One of the most won­der­ful things about work­ing here, is estab­lish­ing long last­ing rela­tion­ships with the rid­ers and their fam­i­lies! You also see so much growth — one of ‘mine’ is now rid­ing inde­pen­dently! Seeing the smiles on the faces of the chil­dren is price­less, and the hugs, well, who wouldn’t want those!!!! The pro­gram is full of LOVE!”
– Linda Dowdle, Volunteer for over ten years

Would you like the become part of the Mitey Rider family?

• If you are inter­ested in vol­un­teer­ing, click here.
• If you have a child who would ben­e­fit from Mitey Riders, click here.
• To con­tact us directly, click here.