The Rural We: Laura Corsun
In 2011, Laura Corsun founded the High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding and Driving Center located on 50 acres in Ghent, New York. Formerly a dance teacher and movement analyst, she got interested in therapeutic riding when her kids got involved in a riding program in Westchester. She always had a love for horses, but was drawn to the field and became certified by PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship). High & Mighty has a robust lineup of programs that provide equine-assisted activities for people with special needs in an all-inclusive environment. While COVID brought the programs to a halt for a few months, the center is back up and running and with plans for socially distanced fundraising events.
When I moved here, I thought I’d start a small program with a couple of horses, but I realized there was quite a need and demand for more. We became a nonprofit and grew substantially. We now operate six days a week, have 13 horses — three are minis — and offer a variety of equine-assisted activities, including therapeutic riding, carriage driving and ground work.
We are all inclusive, and many of our people have special needs. Whether cognitively, emotionally or physically, these challenges for us are opportunities. Many people just want to groom horses or learn about them. Our horses are trained and ready for all of our activities. Think about what it takes to move a thousand-pound animal — it’s a confidence-building exercise! We also have a carriage driving program, and one of the carriages has a ramp that you can maneuver a wheel chair onto, making it really accessible.
People often get involved with us as volunteers to start. It’s a wonderful way to learn more about the animals and about yourself. We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers.
COVID-19 certainly affected our programming. We were closed for a couple of months, but were fortunate to be able to open during the first phase. We turned a large overhang off the indoor arena into our barn area for tacking and grooming. We can be outdoors and social distance. It’s been different, but it’s been very good. Unfortunately, none of our large groups can come to the center, and we haven’t been able to go out to people in nursing and residential homes, where we bring in the mini horses as therapeutic animals. We hope to get to the nursing homes outdoors in a parade spirt.
COVID has also affected our bottom line. We weren’t able to hold two of our major fundraisers, so we’re trying to have some smaller events, keeping in mind safety protocols. We have a grant out to get internet and wi-fi in our barn so we can do more streaming and be more accessible.
When we were closed, it was coming out of winter, when we normally have smaller programs — it’s kind of the horses’ down time. The horses weren’t getting the attention and grooming they usually would in the spring. I think they did notice a difference. We tried to do some different kinds of things with them to keep them engaged, and remind them they do have a job. I think they were glad when people started coming back.
We’re proud of how we serve our community. Our core values are really about promoting diversity, opportunity and compassion. It’s not just about riding a horse. We are all here to grow and learn together. To be able to offer what we do is such a gift and we couldn’t do it without the support of our community.
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