Kiwanians helping make the Fall Festival a success
Bill Wright
On the morning of October 15, members of the Kiwanis Club of Robson Ranch directed the parking of vehicles for the many people attending the Fall Festival hosted by the New Hope Equine Assisted Therapy Center in Argyle. In addition to horseback riding, other activities for the participants included pumpkin bowling, apple bobbing, cake walk, petting zoo and face painting. As an added and unexpected duty, Grady Petty captured an escaped goat and returned it to the Petting Zoo!
New Hope Center provides therapeutic horseback riding and un-mounted activities to special needs children and adults. They believe horses can provide therapeutic “magic.” Therapeutic riding uses the natural movement of the horse and the unique connection between horse and rider to promote well-being and strengthening to people with physical and mental disabilities, emotional and behavioral issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Over the past three years the Kiwanis Club has performed other service projects at the New Hope Center including construction of a ramp to enable children in wheelchairs to mount the horses and construction of various activity stations such as a bell ringing station and a drum station along the sensory riding trail.