Seaside Therapeutic Riding is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping Disabled Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injures or Amputation become participants in life. We began working with people with disabilities in 2004.
At JAMAICA BAY RIDING ACADEMY
Located on 300 Acres of "Gateway National Recreation Area and
Wildlife Preserve
- Olympic-size Indoor Arena: Newly Resurfaced
- Spacious Outdoor Arena
- Miles of wooded trails
- Wheelchair accessible restaurant with view of indoor arena
- Wheelchair accessible rest rooms
Seaside Therapeutic Riding is open all year. We offer both indoor and outdoor riding for Disabled Veterans. In addition to ring riding we also offer trail riding to our veterans.
Disabled Veterans with special needs can participate in life and enjoy all its excitement.
Dear Veteran:
We invite you to experience the joys of horseback riding at SEASIDE RIDING “Horses for Heroes” program. This program is generously funded by area donors, business, and local Veterans originations and Veterans Administration chapter. This program will be provided FREE OF CHARGE to all Disabled Veterans referred by the V.A. Hospital
Seaside Therapeutic Riding is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to teaching equestrian skills to veterans challenged with a variety of special needs, our organization is fully accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), and brings together a team of skilled horses, NARHA certified instructors, and dedicated volunteers to teach you the foundations of horseback riding, horsemanship and equine behavior. Seaside Riding is located at the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy in Brooklyn, NY on the Belt Parkway. We provide free transportation to and from the riding barn from the Brooklyn V.A. Hospital.
Five years ago NARHA, working in concert with Walter Reed Army Medical Center and with the Wounded Warriors Project first launched this program with great success at the 1st. Battalion, 3d United States Infantry (The Old Guard), Fort Myer, Virginia. Seaside Therapeutic Riding is now expanding its Therapeutic Riding program to bring the benefits of interacting with horses to area military disabled veterans. Our newly developed Seaside Horses for Heroes program, the first of its kind in the metropolitan area, is offering free equestrian instruction to veterans challenged with injuries sustained while protecting the freedom of our nation.
Through this “Horses for Heroes” program, our (NARHA) certified instructors, assisted by military personnel, will help you learn a variety of equestrian skills, including grooming, tacking, mounting, riding, and caring for your horse. We offer basic, intermediate and advanced horsemanship skills levels.
The VA is also helping us to arrange transportation from the Brooklyn VA hospital to our facility, to allow all area veterans the opportunity to join us. Your only responsibility is to come to the barn, work hard, and have fun with our equine friends.
Please consider experiencing the benefits of Horseback Riding at the Seaside Therapeutic Riding center. This is a groundbreaking program, and will undoubtedly become as popular in our area as its sister program has proved to be at Fort. Myers / Arlington, VA. Please contact the program’s director, Daniel Cutler at (718) 812 – 8466 for more information. We look forward to seeing you at the barn!
Best to All,
Daniel Cutler
Executive Director
Veterans Find Comfort on Horses
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, July 17th 2008,
Iraq war vet Pamela O’Donnell, 28, a Queens Marine, gets a lesson at Seaside Therapeutic Riding
New York veterans are getting back in the saddle thanks to a FREE horseback-riding program that helps them overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Brooklyn-based Seaside Therapeutic Riding (718) 490-2413 is providing the free horseback-riding lessons to several area veterans hoping to take their minds off the terrors of war.
"The therapy comes from the horse, not from us," said Daniel Cutler, a Disabled Veteran who runs the program out of the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy. "When you are riding a horse, you're not thinking about your problems, you’re just thinking; please don’t let me fall off." Six veterans have joined the eight-week program so far, and there's a waiting list to sign up. But funds are scarce because Cutler relies solely on donations and volunteers. The veterans said the program has been a helpful - if unexpected - part of their therapy. "It helps you release the anxiety you get from being in a war zone," said Pamela O'Donnell, a 28-year-old Iraq war veteran from Middle Village, Queens, who served with the Marines in Anbar Province in 2004 during some of the heaviest fighting there. " When you ride a horse, you have to let go of your fear," she said. Cutler, who has been riding for about 50 years, said horses are natural therapists. The veterans are given horseback riding lessons and are also taught how to groom and saddle up their horses. Several U.S.Army soldiers from Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn have volunteered help out by spotting the veterans while they ride. Cutler said he hopes to expand the program to include disabled veterans who are amputees. The biggest challenge is finding the funding to pay for the lessons and equipment. For now, the horses are helping ease the minds of brave men and women who are coping with the aftermath of war. "It's relaxing," said Amedeo Stefanelli, a 60-year-old Vietnam veteran from Staten Island. "It's just a man and his horse." Stefanelli said Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often misunderstood. Even though he hasn't been in combat in 40 years, the memories and the pain linger. "It's very sneaky," he said. "It can come back with a scent, with a sight, with a sound." Army veteran Robert Palmer, 54, of Flatbush, Brooklyn, said he was apprehensive about the therapy at first - he had never ridden a horse before. "As soon as I got here, I felt better," he said. "The calmness that they give me, it's so peaceful."
