Southern Tier Tuesdays: I Can Ride Inc. awarded $2,000 grant

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- I Can Ride Inc. is this week’s winner of a $2,000 grant from Upstate Shredding through Southern Tier Tuesdays.

I Can Ride Inc. offers special needs, at-risk community members, and veterans with a recreational and therapeutic assisted equine activity. Vice President Beth Parks said I can Ride provides hippotherapy and therapeutic riding programs.

“Hippotherapy uses the movement of the horse to help the child to work on their balance, their posture, their strength, and their endurance,” Parks said. “The movement of the horse is very unique in that it gives the same input as the human pelvis when you walk.”

Parks noted this hippotherapy has benefited children.

“We’ve had many many children that couldn’t sit when they started riding and many that couldn’t walk and through the therapy, we’ve seen great progress with all of their motor skills,” Parks said.

Secretary Owner of Stable Movements Theresa Pedroso said all programs including hippotherapy are offered for free through the I Can Ride Program.

“Right now at Stable Movements we have six horses that we use all of them for our therapy programs, and we have two mini’s that we use for our Ponies To Go program,” Pedroso said.

Pedroso said programs and riding is offered year-round.

I Can Ride Inc. will use this grant money to increase the number of free programs to the community, support and help maintain the mounting lift, and provide scholarships.

“This will give us the opportunity to give some scholarships to some of our therapeutic riding students and our hippotherapy students that probably wouldn’t be able to access this type of therapy,” President Kathy Darrah said.

To get in contact with I Can Ride Inc. you can do so here.

Southern Tier Tuesdays is a philanthropic endeavor of Adam Weitsman, owner of Upstate Shredding, and his daughter, Clover. For more information or to nominate a Southern Tier non-profit go to southerntiertuesdays.com.