On an Even Keel
OAKLAND TWP — It might be too cold to ride, but it's never too cold for the work that needs doing around the Elliott Acres Therapeutic Riding Center, 135 Center Drive.
There are stalls to be mucked out, the center's seven horses to be fed, groomed and exercised and saddles and bridles to be repaired and cleaned.
And, as with nearly everything else at the center, the work is being done by a core group of about 30 volunteers.
Even the horses were donated, said owner Deb Elliott, who has overseen the center for 11 years.
“People donated all of them really,” said Elliott, adding that a white pony named Molly has seniority in the barn, being at Elliott Acres for 10 years.
Molly and her fellow horses provide therapeutic riding sessions to children and adults who have a wide range of physical, mental and emotional conditions including autism, multiple sclerosis and developmental delays.
“We take all ages,” said Elliott. “We have Alzheimer's patients, people who have had knee replacements, amputees, stroke victims.”
Once in the saddle, each rider is accompanied by two side walkers and third person who leads the horse.
“They learn horsemanship skills,” said Elliott. “They use their hands on the reins, so they're learning motor skills. We use verbal commands to talk to the horse.”“There's more physical benefit just from the movement of the horse,” said Courtney Gramlich, director of the Safe Harbor Equestrian Center at Slippery Rock University.Safe Harbor's 12 horses provide therapeutic riding to 80 clients a week.“The horse's movement mimics how the human body moves in a walking gait,” Gramlich said, in addition to “the social and emotional benefits of working with the horse.”“We have somebody on each side of them when they're riding,” said Elliott. “So they can interact with the individuals and learn social skills.”“It's unusually calming,” Melanie Holzwarth said of horse riding. The Butler woman is a board member of the nonprofit center.“It's a whole different state of mind once you are on the saddle,” said Joe Holzwarth, her husband and fellow board member. “You just have to make sure you know what the horse is doing.”“I think it is their spirit. I think they sense when a rider needs some special attention,” Elliott said of the Elliott Acres mounts, adding all the horses are very calm, gentle animals.Elliott said the center hosted 111 riders last year.Mostly, individual parents bring their children, most of whom suffer from emotional, mental or physical disabilities, to Elliott.
Elliott said most of her clients are referred to the center by word of mouth.“Parents tell other parents in other organizations,” she said.“The individual riding sessions are a little more intense,” said Elliott. “The group sessions are not nearly as advantageous. You are spreading your attention around a little more.”“My kids ride here. My son started in June, and then my daughter decided she wanted to ride, too,” said Melanie Holzwarth, adding her son has Asperger's syndrome, which is the name for a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of the ability to socialize with others, to communicate and to use imagination.While most clients ride, Elliott said some volunteer to work around the barn or groom the horses.Which is good because she is always looking for more hands around the nonprofit riding center.“Community projects for seniors in high school, community service workers, church groups have been in,” Elliott said. “We've had Boy Scouts working on Eagle Scout badges.''Elliott said volunteers during the United Way Day of Caring in 2012 came out and worked on the sheds; Hannahstown Lutheran Church workers, put down a brick floor in the fall last year and Target employees have donated time and effort.
In addition, the Butler Rotary Club made a donation toward the care of the horses, Elliott said.Volunteers like Megan Wilbert, who plans to attend Slippery Rock University in the fall and major in therapeutic recreation, gain experience. Wilbert said she may work with the university's own horse program, Safe Harbor.The Slippery Rock High graduate is even thinking about getting a master's degree in occupational therapy.Elliott said this year, the center is planning an open barn and quilt raffle event on May 19 and a June 9 golf outing at Aubrey's Dubbs Dred Golf Course to raise awareness and donations.“We are tying to raise funds for an indoor arena. We would be able to have rides all year round,” said Elliott. They have started a fund but it's not very big.Elliott said the riding season is “April through the end of November or until the weather doesn't cooperate and we freeze.”Elliott also has worked as an instructor for more than 10 years for Riding for the Handicapped of Western Pa. in North ParkElliott said she is certified by Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, an organization founded to promote safe and effective therapeutic horseback riding, and the state organization, the Pennsylvania Council on Therapeutic Horsemanship.
This is the 11th year of operation for Elliott Acres.Elliott said she started Elliott Acres after her husband, Cliff, was killed in a tractor accident.“I had the horses and I started the program in 2003,” she said.“It's been therapeutic. It's good for grief. It's a good way to get through a bad situation. The horses are always there for you.”<B>ELLIOTT ACRESWHAT:</B> Elliott Acres Therapeutic Riding Center is for adults and children with physical, mental and emotional challenges<B>WHEN: </B>Riding begins in April and lasts until late fall<B>WHERE: </B>Oakland Township<B>CONTACT: </B>Call 724-283-0947 or 724-991-2477 or send e-mail to dehorsesr1@zoominternet.net for availability and fees
