Nonprofit Aims to Help People With Disabilities Fill Void Left by Former Program Closure

A new equine therapy program could be coming to Connecticut. Flying Free Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc. is being started by the former director of another program that shut down unexpectedly last fall.

Horses lend us wings, a feeling Ryan Newman knows well.

“My favorite is riding the trail,” he said.

The 18-year-old with cerebral palsy started therapeutic riding when he was just 3 years old.

“When he first started riding, he didn't want to touch the horse,” Dawn Noonan, Ryan’s mom, said. “After a year or two, we actually have a picture of him face-to-face, like nose-to-nose with the horse, actually it makes like a little heart. So many miracles happen at this barn.”

Nowadays, Ryan has no fear on a horse.

“I like trotting fast and feeding the horse,” he said.

Four-year-old Noah’s passion is also being out on the trail.

“He went on to do things like riding backwards, and standing up, and trotting,” Jeff Batulevitz, Noah’s dad, said. “Having him turn around and ride backwards was amazing.”

When Noah was 2, his parents discovered he was on the autism spectrum. They started equine therapy to help meet his needs.

“Riding for Noah really has helped with his focus,” Melissa Batulevitz, Noah’s mom, said.

Noah and Ryan first connected with horses at Camp Care, Inc. in Columbia, but that therapeutic riding program unexpectedly shut down in September.

“It's been a hard transition,” Jeff said. “We drove by the old site, and he covered up his face, and he actually started crying.”

Camp Care did not respond to NBC Connecticut’s inquiries about why the therapeutic riding program ended last year.

“We kind of suddenly were told that our former program was ending, full program with a waitlist, and we were just kind of surprised by it all,” Kirsten Robbie, Flying Free CEO, director and PATH instructor, said.

Now Robbie, former director of the Camp Care program, is trying to help riders get back on the horse, launching her own nonprofit called Flying Free Therapeutic Riding Center.

“We are a nonprofit that supports people with special needs,” she said. “We have clients that are waiting to resume activities with us.”

The five horses and ponies that are part of the program are specifically trained to work with people with disabilities. Right now, there are 32 people waiting to ride with them again.

The horses are staying in two barns in Hebron temporarily. Two of the horses will need to leave one of those locations on Monday.

“The big missing piece to all of this is the farm,” Robbie said.

Flying Free is looking for a small barn with an outdoor arena. Until then, the program cannot get up and running.

Robbie said they have raised $40,000 since last September, but they will need a total of $75,000 before they can launch.

“By summertime, July 1, we really need to make a hard decision as to whether or not we're going to keep pushing for this or you know, call it a really good try, which I really hope we don't have to,” Robbie said.

Mary Latour, Flying Free vice chair who also volunteered with Camp Care’s equine therapy program for two decades, is fundraising alongside Robbie. She hopes not only to get the program off the ground, but ultimately expand, too.

“There is such a need for this,” Latour said. “We also were thinking about a Veterans Program. There's nothing like the healing power of horses.”

Ryan and Noah have not been able to ride for about six months now. Their parents said the time in equine therapy is crucial to their development.

“Right before we left, he was riding independently,” Noonan said about Ryan. “We're still trying at home to work on his trunk support and keep him maintain where he was, but it's been difficult.”

They hope to return soon, knowing a good horse can change your life.

“We really want to see this up and running,” Jeff said. “We're incredibly passionate about it, and we just know that it's going to be an amazing thing, not only for Noah, but for everyone else in the community as well.”

Robbie says once Flying Free is running, it will cost $150,000 to run annually. Participants pay privately or receive outside scholarships to ride in the 10-week programs.

To get started, they hope to lease a farm in northeast Connecticut, somewhere near Columbia and Hebron or spanning toward South Windsor. That is to keep the program accessible to their clients. Robbie said they want to eventually buy the farm.

While an outdoor arena is necessary, she hopes to ultimately also have an indoor arena to keep the program running year-round. If the farm does not already have one, the 501(c) (3) non-profit will need to fundraise roughly $200,000 to build one.

Flying Free is hosting a fundraising gala to try to reach its goal of raising a total of $75,000 by the summer. That formal dinner event is happening on Saturday, May 6 at The Barn at Roseland.

Tickets are available online, by calling 959-255-3405, or emailing FlyingFreeTRC@gmail.com. More information is on the Facebook page for Flying Free Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc.

The nonprofit is also accepting donations through PayPal and checks via mail: Flying Free TRC, Inc, PO Box 63, Woodstock, CT 06281.