Red River Riders give therapy through horses

The Red River Riders recently held an open house at its facility on Cherry Road in the Town of Richmond that highlighted not only its impressive facilities and riding demonstrations by students, but also the many volunteers who make it a unique therapeutic horseback riding venue.

Open house attendees were treated to demonstrations by volunteers assisting students through the paces of a typical class.

“We work with them on exercise. We play games. We try a little trotting,” said Chris Baldwin, executive director. “Classes are an hour long, and incorporate mounting the horses, doing some walking and limbering up.”

Baldwin founded the program in 1985 after networking with similar organizations in Wisconsin.

“This is only our second open house,” Baldwin said. “We had one in 2019, but with COVID, this is our first chance to do it again.”

“We’ve been lucky to have great volunteers. We’ve had to cut back (on classes) because there are not enough volunteers. If we had more volunteers, we could expand to at least three days a week. Right now, we have four riders per class and have requests from more potential participants.”

Explaining the requirements for volunteers, Baldwin said that most volunteers come without horse experience.

“The horses go through our rigorous screening,” she said. “They are very calm and quiet, easy to manage, enjoy people and have a sixth sense about the people that are around. It’s a good place for someone to learn about horses for themselves, but also to help other people.”

Linda Grignon started as a volunteer about four years ago. She volunteers once a week, and one of things she enjoys is “getting out and smelling horses.”

“I have a lot of friends who do therapeutic horse activities,” Grignon said. “When I retired, I knew that I wanted to give that a shot, and I found Red River Riders. I called, and they were having a volunteer meeting that night, so I came over.”

Kara Muthig is the mother of Gavin, 20, and Grant, 17, who are both students with Red River Riders.

“Gavin has been doing this since he was about 7,” Muthig said. “He loves it and looks forward to it. It’s one of the most exciting parts of his week. My younger son, Grant, definitely likes the movement of the horses. He gets very relaxed when he’s here. Both of my boys have autism. Grant used to need more side-walkers. Now he’s become more independent with just one. You can just tell he’s comfortable up there.”

Being able to witness the students’ improvements is mentioned frequently by the volunteers at Red River Riders.

Carrie Barribeau has volunteered on and off since the start of Red River Riders, being at the Tuesday and Wendesday night classes and serving on the board for the program.

“Watching the students’ progress — some start out pretty timid, then watching them gain confidence learning they can trust the horse and how it helps them physically,” Barribeau said. “When they start out, there might be some stiffness, for example, depending on what their challenges may be. Then, after they ride, they are looser. They can move, and there’s their interactions with what I call our equine therapists. Their interaction with the horses is what’s really important and a joy to see.”

Debbie Towler has volunteered for about four years, starting out as a way to get involved in the community.

“I had a horse many years ago, and this was the best of both worlds for me,” Towler said. “I usually lead a horse and occasionally side-walk. The horses are very well commanded verbally. I come out once a week and do two sessions. For me, the greatest pleasure is watching the development of a particular rider from one season to the next, or to the next year.”

The only paid employee is Jennifer Keller, herd manager and head instructor, who started volunteering as a teenager. She went for certifications for being an instructor.

“It’s very fulfilling work; it’s fun. The riders come and get better,” said Keller.

Baldwin said some students may only come for one six-week session, while others come for all three sessions. Even year to year, she and the other helpers see improvements.

“Balance, muscle strength, core strength, interactions between riders and volunteers, sitting up straight, learning to follow directions and think a problem through, there are so many aspects of it that are aiding and helping riders, and we make as many adaptions as we need in order for us to help each person get what they particularly need,” Baldwin said.

The work of the Red River Riders is through the help of some benevolent organizations. One of the bigger contributors is Doc’s Harley Davidson and the HOG Chapter, which has a benefit motorcycle ride every year that helped to provide an indoor arena.

“We get a lot of help through United Way, local area community foundations — such as the Crawford, the Bleser and the Mielke family foundations,” Baldwin said.