ineteen-year-old Kelly Anne, daughter
of Erie’s Judge Libby Kelly and Charlie
Witchcoff, has been a client of Therapeutic
Riding Equestrian Center (TREC) in
Fairview since she was 6. Her walker, Beth
Racine, a 33-year volunteer, has been
working with her for 11 years and loves the relationship Kelly
enjoys with Dixie.
TREC has been serving the community at this facility for the
past 37 years by providing safe, assisted equestrian therapy for
children and adults with emotional, social, intellectual and physical
disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or
learning disabilities.
Students are grouped according to ability, explains Kimberly
Danylko, program director, instructor and one of the founders of
this program in 1980.
“Because Kelly has advanced to the degree that she is able to
steer a horse by herself, we place her with more advanced riders so
she has the opportunity to progress,” Danylko explains.
Kelly Anne is so advanced that she has participated at the
Pennsylvania Special Olympics in State College for the past three
summers riding English in pleasure classes.
“She rides down on a bus and stays in the dorms,” her mom
explains, “with chaperones who will guide the athletes through the
various schedules of the games.
Tonight, Kelly Anne’s lesson includes circling a triangle of cones
to place a ring, stepping over ground poles and trail riding with her
group outside the barn. Her smile is radiant as she sits tall and
straight and proud in her English saddle.
“Our riders develop skill in the areas of balance, motor
skills and following instruction. They also develop self-
esteem and social interaction,” said Betty Rositer, executive
director. She attributes this success in horsemanship to the
five instructors who have undergone extensive training to be
certified by PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic
Horsemanship). After a year of class and computer training,
each must do 25 hours of training in the class, followed by
a 4-day workshop coordinated by PATH, and then pass an
intense certification test.
The equine program began at TREC 36 years ago as a
fledgling initiative that provided three classes one day a
week serving about 21 people. Today, more than 55 clients
participate in one or more of the 11 classes offered weekly.
Annually, TREC works with more than 150 unique individuals
in weekly and one-day sessions. Because of the special
accommodations added to the program over the years, such as
a horse-mounting wheelchair ramp and a rider lift that places
paralyzed riders into the saddle, greater rider access is possible.
Riders pay for these lessons if they can. For those who
can’t, funds are made available through scholarships, grants,
fundraising and sponsorships. Rositer also spearheads
fundraising efforts and is so appreciative of community
organizations that financially support TREC, including Erie
Insurance Exchange, Erie Community Foundation, and Pizza
Continued next page
“Our riders develop skill
in the areas of balance,
motor skills and following
instruction. They also
develop self-esteem and
social interaction.”
West County | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 13