by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

April 28, 2009

A $50,000 grant from the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County will ensure that a therapeutic riding program for children with developmental disabilities will continue to flourish.

Special Strides, a nonprofit group that provides riding and nature therapy for special-needs children from ages two to 16, will officially receive the grant May 14. The ceremony will take place at the Special Strides’ location, the Congress Hill Farm, a 200-acre equestrian training center in Monroe. The program’s $450,000 budget comes from grants, donations, sponsorships, fund-raising efforts, and tuition.

The $50,000 grant is made up of donations and funds from the federation’s budget. It will provide scholarships for Jewish children enrolled in the Special Strides programs, said federation executive director Howard Gases.

The grant will establish a “partnership” with Special Strides and represents the federation’s growing interest in the needs of developmentally challenged children, said Gases, adding that the federation will explore other ways to partner with Special Strides.

“It’s important to deal with the issues of special-needs children,” he said. “The federation is glad and proud to be a part of this.”

The program is run by Laurie Landy, who lives on the site, and Susie Rehr of Marlboro; both have served as co-executive directors since Special Strides was founded in 1998. Landy’s family — including her husband, Samuel, and in-laws, Gloria and Eugene Landy of Rumson — owns the farm.

Seventy-two children, 20 of them from Monmouth County, are enrolled in Special Strides, which offers therapeutic horseback riding, carriage driving, and hippotherapy (use of equine movement to encourage speech, improve motor control, and motivate sensory processing). All therapies are provided by highly skilled and certified instructors.

Nine horses are housed at the facility, which has indoor and outdoor riding arenas and wooded trails with such sensory equipment as trampolines, balance beams, and swings. Also at the site are vegetable gardens, trails for therapeutic carriage driving, an indoor playroom, and a variety of farm animals — including rabbits, goats, sheep, chickens, and an alpaca.

“I know our programs make a difference in the children’s lives,” said Rehr, a physical therapist and member of Temple Beth Shalom in Manalapan. “They sit up longer, hold their heads higher, walk a little further, and laugh a little louder.”

And the children have a profound impact on her own life, she said. “They make me want to be the best therapist possible so I can lead them to new milestones, new skills, and new discoveries.”

A touch of magic

Many of the outcomes include a touch of magic, said Laurie Landy, an occupational therapist and member of Congregation Sons of Israel in Manalapan.

“A severely physically and mentally impaired little girl was in the riding program,” she recalled. “She didn’t speak, but when she got on the horse, she smiled and began to sing. Her potential was unlocked.”

Another child who suffered from Tourette syndrome exhibited no symptoms while on horseback, and a boy with cerebral palsy was able to walk without assistance devices after participating in therapeutic riding, said Rehr. Because horses help the children to balance on a moving surface, she said, the potential for independent ambulation is much greater.

“The movement of the horses takes away the distractions that impair the nervous systems of special-needs children and helps them focus,” she said. “The sensory impact is an empowering experience for kids who often have no control; they find they can control a 1,000-pound animal with their words and actions.”

Therapeutic carriage driving, added last year, is Special Strides’ newest program; it provides an equine-assisted activity for riders unable to mount a horse, Landy said.

“It provides a recreational experience, the kids have a sense of accomplishment, and their cognitive skills improve,” she said. “It also offers another opportunity to develop relationships — equine and human.”

The spirit of tikun olam has guided all program endeavors, Landy added.

“Special Strides has helped make the world a better place for the children,” she said. “I always knew God wanted me to do something special with the farm, and now it’s a place of friendship, courage, happiness, inspiration, and hope. There is acceptance without judgment.”

Additional information about Special Strides is available at www.specialstrides.com.

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