Photo Courtesy of GallopNYC
GallopNYC on Sunday opened the doors of its Sunrise Stables location in Lindenwood to the general public.
By Michael V. Cusenza
GallopNYC, an organization that offers therapeutic horsemanship programs to children and adults with disabilities and special needs, including military veterans and at-risk youth, hosted its annual open house on Sunday at Sunrise Stables in Lindenwood.
“This is a fantastic program, and it’s my pleasure to support it,” said Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach), who attended last weekend’s event. “The program staff is passionate about what they do, and it shows in the results they get from all different kinds of at-risk and disabled populations. Over 80 percent of their riders receive partial or full scholarships, which is why events where the public can support GallopNYC’s mission are so important. I also got to meet some of the horses, who all have unique personalities! All in all, this was a great day for a great organization. If you’ve never been to GallopNYC, I highly recommend checking it out.”
Earlier this year, GallopNYC opened Sunrise Stables at 80-98 Linden Boulevard, and GallopNYC Forest Hills at the stables on 70th Road near Forest Park, which operated for decades as Lynne’s Riding School. The group serves approximately 500 novice equestrians per week using “therapeutic horsemanship to help riders in NYC with disabilities walk, talk and learn, inspiring them to live their lives as fully, independently and productively as possible,” according to GallopNYC.
“We were pleased and honored that Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato visited Sunrise Stables and our open house, and we look forward to working with her to continue improving the barn and our programs,” added Alicia Kershaw, executive director of GallopNYC. “We welcome volunteers to help with horse care and therapeutic lessons. For more information, we encourage folks to go to volunteer.gallopnyc.org.”
