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RideAbility from front

The curriculum was mostly written by Newman, who studied equine management. And, for the first 18 years, the RideAbility programs were overseen by a physical therapist. Additionally, for 10 years, physical therapy students studying at Mayo Clinic did a summer project for them. The pre-ride stretching routine developed for RideAbility by these students continues to be used today.

RideAbility touts three instructors who hold certifications through the Professional

Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International and, they have two more instructors in training.

RideAbility opens for four, five-week sessions per year, one in the spring, two in the summer and one in the fall. Two groups are offered each session. Guests attend a one-hour class once a week, 30 to 50 minutes of which is spent riding the horses. The first week is focused on goal setting, the second on safety, the third week is communication, the fourth week is balance and the final week is games.

RideAbility page 3

A sign hangs above the arena on July 3 at RideAbility near Pine Island. RideAbility began as a 4-H project after one of the founders found out her baby had spina bifida.

RideAbility from page 2

“Our goal is to see some benefit,” Michelizzi said. “It could be physical, emotional. Really, what I’m believing is that something in their life is going to improve to the point ... that their caretaker knows that their life is now better than it was before they were riding a horse.”

RideAbility is also open for special events throughout the year including visits for groups, a barn dance fundraiser in June and a picnic in July.

The horses at RideAbility come into the program in three ways. The first is via donation. Michelizzi said the challenge with this is the cost of maintenance. A horse costs a minimum of $1,000 per year to maintain and can cost as much as $5,000 to $6,000. Horses are also sometimes volunteered, especially when RideAbility originally began.

RideAbility’s preferred method is partial donations. These horses spend the RideAbility season at the Michelizzi farm but return to their owners during the offseason, alleviating the cost of overwintering.

Horses go through evaluation before they become therapy horses both at their home and at RideAbility. Some tests include putting a raincoat on them or doing double riding.

“It’s a lot about spookiness,” Michelizzi said. “If they’re just extremely quiet and gentle about all of that when they’ve been taken away from their home