In-Stride offers more than horse therapy
Dana Flaherty leads a group therapeutic riding lesson Sunday inside the barn along Valley View Road in Eight Four. Flaherty founded the nonprofit In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding in 2006 to share the benefits of horseback riding with the community.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Edyn Breiding, left, and Alyssa Maize, far right, look forward to their weekly riding sessions at In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding. Dana Flaherty, center, and her volunteer staff lead the classes every Sunday morning.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Abby Zirngibl takes Cowboy for a spin around the barn on a recent Sunday. Therapy riding has helped Zirngibl, who has a learning disability, gain confidence and focus.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Dana Flaherty sneaks a moment during an In-Stride riding lesson to pet her pup, Lila. Lila and Teddy are staples at the barn, and riders look forward to patting the big dogs before and after Sunday lessons.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Jed Cox leads rider Alyssa Maize and horse Cinders through beams of sunlight during a lesson on a recent winter morning. Research shows therapeutic riding offers a host of benefits, including increased balance and mobility.
In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding is more than horse therapy.
Since 2006, the nonprofit, located along Valley View Road in Eighty Four, has provided those with developmental and physical disabilities a place for personal development and socialization.
“I was riding long before I had MS,” said Erin Jackson, of Crafton, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis several years ago. “When I got diagnosed, I was like, I’m not going to stop riding. I found this place; I found Dana. This place is awesome. I love being here.”
Dana Flaherty founded In-Stride 15 years ago, after attending Equine Affaire in Ohio. While waiting for a seminar to begin, Flaherty popped into a brief presentation on therapeutic riding.
“I didn’t even know that was a thing,” she said.
Flaherty, herself a lifelong rider, mentioned therapy riding to the stable owner at Coventry Equestrian Center in Hickory. The owner, Kristin Hermann, encouraged Flaherty to teach therapeutic riding and offered Coventry as In-Stride’s home base.
“We’ve been building ever since,” Flaherty said, noting In-Stride moved to its current location in Eighty Four in 2012.
Research shows therapeutic riding increases balance and reflexes, builds muscle and increases range of motion, making it great exercise for those with physical disabilities.
For those with developmental disabilities, like autism, therapeutic riding provides sensory input, helps with spatial perception and builds sequencing and motor planning skills. Individuals with a history of abuse or mental illness, including depression and anxiety, gain confidence while riding.
Therapeutic riding affords riders of all backgrounds the opportunity to set and achieve goals, learn responsibility and socialize – with the horse, instructors and other riders.
“The kids really enjoy it,” said Flaherty, a paraeducator. “We work in every single student’s ability level. We help them build at their own pace.”
In addition to private and group therapy classes, In-Stride hosts an annual summer camp, where riders learn advanced horse skills and care, and a job skills program (on hiatus due to COVID-19) that teaches participants ages 14 and older job structure, responsibility and expectations.
“We don’t have an exit age,” Flaherty explained, noting most programs phase attendees out at age 21.
Flaherty keeps cats and bunnies in the barn for riders to bond with. She kept In-Stride running while battling breast cancer and leads cancer victims and their families through therapeutic riding.
In-Stride is also affiliated with Horses for Heroes, which offers free riding to veterans.
“This is just a way for me to share something that I love with people that are benefitting from it,” said Flaherty. “It’s something that I’m very passionate about. I’m able to take that and help other people. It’s just amazing.”
Like any nonprofit, Flaherty said, In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding needs volunteers (especially riding instructors) and monetary donations.
Participation at fundraisers – a clay shoot at Seven Springs is scheduled for May – is another way you can support the nonprofit. And, Flaherty said, liking and following In-Stride on Facebook and Instagram (@in_stride.riding) is always helpful.
“Just watching our Facebook page, offering us support. Keep spreading the word,” she said.
In-Stride is accepting new riders, and Flaherty hopes to see new faces at the barn this winter. Therapy sessions are held every Sunday, but lesson days may be added as needed.
To learn more about In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding, or to donate, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Horseback-Riding-Center/In-Stride-wTherapeutic-Riding-Inc-227188419473/.