LIBERTY TWP, Mercer County — For the past 15 years, Donna and Bob Hoskin have given children and adults with special needs the opportunity to ride horses for free.

The Hoskins, married for 34 years, have run Hidden Hope Ranch on their property on Old Quarry Road for the past 12 years.

They open their farm every Thursday from mid-April to the end of October to let special needs children and adults have fun.

“We’re not here to make them go through therapy. They get enough therapy on the horse while they’re having a good time,” Donna Hoskin said.

The couple started offering rides in Cranberry Township. In 2000, they started the ranch there. They have been at their current house, which has about 40 acres, for about 12 years. They had three horses in Cranberry. Today, they have 14 horses.

Hoskin said the idea to do something like this started after she and her husband became practicing Christians and started reading the Bible. Following that, they decided they should serve others.

Bob started inviting a group home of children to test it out. Also, they invited a boy from their church.

When this worked, they decided to officially start the program.

They have about 35 regulars who come almost every Thursday. The participants mostly are local, but there are some people who have come from places like Greensburg, Greenville and Clarion. The riding takes place from 4 to 7 p.m.

The ranch sends out between seven to 14 horses every 45 minutes for the three hours of the program. Riders get a 45 minute ride around the ranch. The ride is not fast.

“This is all walk,” Hoskin said.

The ranch tries to have pairs of horses riding together. She said horses do better in pairs.

The first few weeks of the season they have to have the horses ride on the road rather than the grass, since the grass usually is too wet and mushy at that point.

The ranch does not charge anything. It has safety rules for riding, but she said they try not to be too draconian. She said that three of the children they have are not allowed in other similar programs because they refuse to wear helmets.

“Me, I allow them to ride,” Hoskin said, saying she has the parents sign a release. “We’re very flexible; we have to be.”

The ranch also has a pond. Hoskin’s former boss donated a paddle boat to the ranch to allow the children to go on the pond. The pond has many multicolored koi, which the kids are allowed to feed.

“They have a blast,” Hoskin said.

She said the program is always looking for volunteers to act as spotters for the children. Usually, they have a spotter on the side of the horse.

For some children who have severe disabilities, they have two spotters.

“It’s a lot of spotters I need,” Hoskin said.

Now, they ask the families if they can provide at least one spotter for the ranch.

When not being ridden, the horses live in a barn, but they are permitted to go in and out at will. Hoskin said the only time they really spend in the barn is during the height of summer, when that is the only place they can escape flies.

The ranch has no hired staff. The spotters, who primarily are students, help out with the horses. As a reward, the Hoskins allow them to be in 4-H using the ranch’s horses.

At 7 p.m., when the kids are done, the spotters are allowed to ride the horses.

Bob Hoskin is a financial adviser in Wexford. Donna Hoskin recently retired as a nurse. They are affiliated with Grove City Alliance Church.

Parents who want to get their children involved in the program or anyone who wants to volunteer as a spotter should call the ranch at 724-458-1231.