‘Freedom Ride’ a rewarding experience

What do you get when you combine kids, horses, dogs, warm sunshine, and a barbecue?
Naturally, you have the recipe for a wonderful day in the country, full of lasting memories. But in this case, there was much more.
The Northern Therapeutic Riding Association (NORTRA) held its eighth-annual “Freedom Ride” on Saturday at the Trail’s End Riding Stable north of Devlin.
And when it was over, NORTRA was more than $5,000 richer—thanks to the efforts of the 14 riders who collected pledges over the last few months to make it all possible.
“We depend on this to keep the program going,” said Trail’s End owner Joyce Young. “It’s the only fundraiser of the year for us and out of the proceeds, we buy feed and pay for vet bills for our horses.”
Young has more than 30 horses at the farm and most of them are used in the NORTRA program, which enables disabled children and some adults to experience the power and control of being astride a gentle, sensitive horse.
Young has been holding the “Freedom Ride” for the past eight years—partly to raise much-needed funds and partly to thank the people who work throughout the year to keep NORTRA going.
“I was worried because seven people cancelled on short notice and I didn’t know if we would raise the minimum needed to maintain the program,” a relieved Young said after the final tally came in.
Young needed at least $4,000 and when she found a total of $5,327.27 was raised, she was briefly overcome with tears of joy.
Top fundraiser Kristin Moen of Morson brought in a whopping $1,620.26 and as a result, she will receive a portrait of her and her horse, “Smokey,” by Fort Frances artist Donna Cannon.
The other fundraisers received prizes from a selection of goodies provided by Young.
The afternoon then was filled with games involving people and horses in a kind of relay race, whereby each participant was required to ride the length of a large corral and either pick up or deposit an object before returning to the starting point, where the next rider waited.
The rules, at times, didn’t make much sense, but it was all in good fun.
But the real winners were the disabled children—two of whom were there Saturday—who will continue to benefit from therapeutic riding.
Doreen Roberts, of Zhoda, Man., is president of NORTRA. She pointed to 15-year-old Chris DelRosario of Fort Frances as a prime example of what the program has done for disabled children.
“Before he came to us, Chris was unable to differentiate between left and right. Now look at him,” said Roberts as DelRosario carefully guided “Velvet” between a number of pylons, using his hands and legs to steer the horse left and right.
“The horse gives him an external reference, so he can turn it both ways,” she added.
Little D.J. McKay was one of the first to arrive Saturday and wasted no time mounting up. The five-year-old from Fort Frances, who has Down’s Syndrome, was nothing but smiles in his cowboy hat and boots as he was led around the ring by volunteer Susan Hatfield on “Smokey.”
D.J. also was one of the top fundraisers, bringing in $967.01 for NORTRA.
“It’s people like him [McKay] that makes this all worthwhile,” Young said as she watched the little boy and big horse walk around the paddock. “How do you put a price on that?
“I can’t begin to thank the volunteers and sponsors enough,” she added. “Now I know the horses will be fed and cared for another year so we can continue doing this.”
If you wish to volunteer, donate, or just want more information on NORTRA, contact Trail’s End Riding Stable at 486-3378. Some very special people will thank you.
(Fort Frances Times)