After more than thirty years of providing our services to thousands of individuals with special needs at various farms and barns in Connecticut and New York, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding opened our own facility in the fall of 2007 in Brewster, NY.
Set on a grand hillside overlooking picturesque Peach Lake on Route 121, Pegasus Farm is the former location of Dr. Bill Bradley’s New England Equine Practice. Thanks to a very generous anonymous donor who gave us $2.1 million, we were able to purchase the 20-acre property in June 2007, fulfilling our decades-long dream of owning a therapeutic riding facility.
As soon as our boxes were unpacked, we set our sights on accomplishing a number of short-term goals. We transformed the former veterinary facility into a space that better accommodates the needs of our staff and horses, developed an outdoor riding ring, and made great progress on our sensory riding trail system.
Program got up and running quickly at Pegasus Farm, with our first group of riders arriving in the fall of 2007. The positive impact owning our own facility had on our riders was immediate: instructors could run program six days a week, at various times of the day, and for more weeks each season. This enabled us to accommodate more riders and give them the opportunity to ride more often.
Meanwhile, the hardworking horses and ponies at Pegasus Farm have benefited from an expanded pasture area that allows them to enjoy a more natural living environment. Not only do they now have the ability to move freely for extended periods of time, they are also able to disconnect from the taxing job they have as therapy partners and simply be horses.
With our foundation now firmly in place, we are ready to begin working towards our long-term goal of building an indoor riding arena so that we can run our program year-round at Pegasus Farm.
Approval for the first phase of our plan, which includes construction of a covered outdoor arena, installation of a stormwater management system, completion of our barn manager’s onsite apartment, and improvements to our parking areas and shared entrance, was granted in the summer of 2008. Site work began in August just after our summer session ended, and a late fall completion is anticipated.
The covered outdoor arena, coupled with the improved sensory riding trail system, will allow us to offer a greater number of riders a wider range of therapeutic services. Among the many benefits the new arena will offer, program will no longer be affected by inclement weather, and riders, instructors and volunteers will be more comfortable during the summer months. In addition, the horses and ponies will benefit from improved footing and year-round conditioning. Most importantly, the larger ring will enable instructors to expand the scope and variety of their lessons, which will engage both the riders and their equine partners.
The sensory trail system has already engaged many a horse and rider alike as they navigate the peaceful, shady pathways that wind their way around the wooded fringe of our property. Designed to provide visual, auditory and tactile stimulation, the trail system immerses our riders in a completely different environment than a traditional riding ring. The availability of these two contrasting venues allows our instructors to customize lessons even further and keep the riders motivated through the variety of experiences they are now able to introduce.
Meanwhile, our five other chapter locations, Corgi Hollow Farm in Newtown, Connecticut; Fox Hill Farm in Pleasantville, New York; Kelsey Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut; New Canaan Mounted Troop in New Canaan, Connecticut; and Ox Ridge Hunt Club in Darien, Connecticut; continue to thrive, serving our riders who are local to those areas.
