Ukrainian evacuees treated to riding camp experience

By Lethbridge Herald on August 17, 2023.

Volunteers and staff work with youth as part of a group of evacuees from Ukraine taking part in a riding camp Wednesday at the Lethbridge Therapeutic Riding Association facility east of the city. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge Therapeutic Riding Association (LTRA) in partnership with the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, has given 14 young evacuees from Ukraine an opportunity to take part of a three-day camp. 

LRTA executive director Kale Hayes said Wednesday it was thanks to the community support that they were able to provide a three-day camp to the Ukrainian children. 

“We’re able to offer these camps because of the overwhelming community support that we get from other groups,” said Hayes. 

He said they wanted to do a summer camp for newly landed Ukrainian children who might not have the connections or ability to get out there for a standard summer camp, so they partnered with the Lethbridge Rotary club who helped them arrange transportation services, for the children. 

“We thought it would be a great way to give back to community, in particular to a group that we’re not actively reaching, and just thought we have the ability, and we have the infrastructure to do something for our community,” said Hayes. 

He said the children in the camp ranged from seven to 17 years old. When coming up with the idea of offering the camp, organizers thought about the possible language barriers and how to solve them, when the older children attending camp stepped up and volunteered to translate. 

“A couple of the older kids in this camp volunteered to take that leadership role, so they’re working alongside us to make the camp go and it’s been an absolutely awesome experience,” said Hayes. 

He said the camp consisted of six hours of riding instruction, with each child getting paired with a horse by a coach, to get to know it and engage in some riding in the arena and once ready they would ride outdoors.

“The camp also includes a bunch of other activities like slipping slides and different stuff. Our goal here was just to make a really fun experience for kids that wouldn’t have it otherwise,” said Hayes. 

Rotary Club member Dennis Chinner said Hayes reached out to him to see if there was a way to engage with Ukrainian evacuees as they had some spots available for a three-day camp at their facility. 

Chinner said that thanks to the relationship established between the Rotary Club and Lethbridge Family Services, they had been in contact with 61 Ukrainian families, and he reached out to a few families who met the criteria for the camp to help their children take advantage of the opportunity. 

“The coolest part of this initiative is the Ukrainian kids that have unfortunately seen and experienced things in their lives that kids should not have seen and experienced, are receiving much needed mental and physical therapy by attending the camp and interacting with each other and the horses, and they don’t realize they are receiving therapy,” said Chinner. 

He said this camp was not only helpful for the children’s well-being, but also for the parents as some of the children there came from families that would not otherwise be able to provide their children the opportunity to take advantage of therapeutic riding. 

“It’s pretty well proven that equine therapy is some of the best therapy you can ever get, and it was clear to me that most of these families are in a situation where they could never afford to pay to have them attend these camps, and I think the kids benefit immensely from it,” said Chinner. 

Hayes and Chinner both agreed that events like the camp would not be possible without the support from the community and each wanted to remind the community of their upcoming events. 

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge will be able to continue supporting Ukrainian evacuees with proceeds from their upcoming Ribfest 2023 this weekend, while LRTA gets ready to host their 40th annual Joanne Perlich Ride for Dreams fundraising on Sept. 15.