Augusta County: Ride with Pride looking for sponsors, and a new home

Ride With Pride, an Augusta County-based therapeutic and adaptive horseback riding program that has traditionally served more than 160 people per year, has been without a home since the summer.

The for the moment homeless nonprofit had to cancel its summer and fall classes, which has had a negative impact on its clientele – individuals with disabilities and other special needs.

“MJ has been in the program for about two years,” said Jenn Morrison, the vice president of the Ride With Pride board, who came into contact with the program through her son, who has endured … a lot … in his short lifetime: NICU for six months at birth, life going forward with cerebral palsy, ataxia and other diagnoses.

MJ, upon his introduction to the Ride With Pride program, bonded with his horse, Eddy, “immediately, no fear,” Morrison said.

That’s how Ride With Pride works – the connection between the horse and the rider is, as Ride With Pride spells it out on its website, “a step toward overcoming obstacles and achieving milestones in a supportive and inclusive community.”

MJ went from needing a lead and two sidewalkers to hold him in the saddle for his rides to needing just the leader, and the gains: “he’d started navigating the courses on his own, and his ortho doctor said his spine is straightening.”

“The doctor said in written conditions post-visit: continue horseback riding,” Morrison said.

But since the program went on hiatus after losing its home:

“He’s falling again, and his balance is really off,” Morrison said.

Ride With Pride was launched in 1989, and it’s had this kind of impact on the community for a couple of generations now.

The organization has held an annual fall fundraiser for many years now, but none with the stakes that this year’s fundraiser, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, at The Granary in Weyers Cave, have never been higher.

“We need to raise $30,000 to cover operating expenses, because we had no program income in the summer and fall, and the biggest thing, we need find a new home. If someone wanted to donate their land for a tax break, that would be huge,” Morrison said.