The annual Horses Changing Lives Benefit for CTREE at Sebonack Golf Club returns Thursday, August 26, from 6 to 9 PM. Held at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, the fundraiser supports the Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End, a life-changing riding program for children, adults, seniors, and veterans with special needs. The event, chaired by board members Amalie Bandelier and Chris Ritchey, treats guests to an art-deco, 1920s-inspired evening of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, plus a silent auction.
“I am delighted to co-chair CTREE’s 10th Anniversary Benefit with Chris Ritchey,” said Amalie Bandelier. “This is our biggest fundraiser of this year for our incredible program and we are so pleased to be able to have it back in person in such a beautiful setting.”
The CTREE stables, where the program operates, are located at Twin Oaks Farm in Sagaponack. When they moved there during the pandemic, they had the support of the community where local contractors banded together to fix up the barn for them for free. Along with their regular lessons they have just started a summer camp. There is nothing better than the excited faces of the rider who arrives for a lesson, except the joy of their caretakers, who visibly relax, knowing the value of their loved one’s time on a horse.
CTREE Executive Director Karen Bocksel has seen first-hand how the participants have benefitted from the program physically and emotionally.
“I started working with one young rider when CTREE first began who has Asperger’s and he went on to show and won his division in the therapeutic riding class at the Hampton Classic and we were all incredibly proud,” she said. “He continued riding through high school and now is attending college at Adelphi University and this summer he has a job as an assistant camp counselor and barn assistant here at CTREE. It is so amazing to see his journey come full circle. Having a sport when he was younger and having the ability to spend time with the horse and learn independence and caring for an animal has made him the incredible person he is today.”
The way it works physically is that the horse’s movement has a dynamic effect on the rider’s body. The motion of the horse stimulates the rider’s pelvis and trunk in a manner that closely resembles the normal gait of a human walking. This input can produce specific physical changes in the rider’s body, including normalization of muscle tone, increased endurance, and improvements in core strength, posture, balance, and coordination.
Bocksel shares an example. “A little rider we have been working with came to us two years ago with low muscle tone. He didn’t have great sitting balance. At first, he could only ride three minutes and now can sit up independently for a full half hour lesson. What the horse has done for him with the three-dimensional movement is help strengthen his core. As a result, he improved his walking gate and he is now running. He comes in, grabs my hand and takes off for the mounting ramp.”
The horses in the program are specially trained and come from different backgrounds, one rescued from a kill pen and another a retired show horse. Bocksel also points out another key part of the program is the volunteers. “Our volunteers are very invested in our riders — they are part of each one’s success story.” There can be as many as five volunteers for one lesson taking care of both the rider and the horse. CTREE is always looking for more volunteers; horsemanship experience not necessary.
This year’s event partners include Hermes Americana Manhasset, Sebonack Golf Club and media sponsor James Lane Post. They also have an ongoing raffle for two Hermes bags.
For more information on the program, raffle, and the event, visit www.ctreeny.org.
