Empower At-Risk Girls Through Horse Power

Summary

Taking the Reins uses horses as vehicles to empower at-risk girls in the Los Angeles area. Our Riding Program provides teens with the experience of learning to care for and ride a horse.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

The Riding Program offers girls facing the challenges of adolescence in difficult environments a chance to develop life skills through caring for and learning to ride a horse. While working with the horses and each other, girls develop strength, leadership, teamwork and responsibility. In the 10 years since Taking the Reins founding, more than 1000 girls have gone through the Riding Program, gaining the skills and self-confidence they need to succeed.

How will this project solve this problem?

There are many ways to help deserving LA girls acquire life skills through Taking the Reins: send a girl to a Riding Program; help cover the cost of supplies; invest in the ongoing bond between these horses and the girls whose lives they transform.

Potential Long Term Impact

Through the Riding Program, teens gain a positive sense of self by valuing their physical strength and leadership abilities. They also learn to work cooperatively with each other and the horses, understanding and appropriately using their own power.

Project Message

“When I am riding I can feel freedom. Taking the Reins's riding program lets us experience miracles with horses.”
- Maddy, age 14, Riding Program Participant

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources