Chatsworth nonprofit helps kids and adults with disabilities learn to ride

The 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles may be five years away but its programs are already at work in different parts of the city.

The non-profit group Ride On offers therapeutic riding to adults and children with disabilities thanks to the PlayLA program, an initiative funded by the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the International Olympic Committee, which have invested millions of dollars to make sports more accessible to youth at local neighborhood recreation centers.

The participants come with all kinds of disabilities and disorders, including patients who experienced brain injury, stroke, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.

“The benefits that we see with some of those patients are increased strength, mobility and gross motor skills,” said Sara Jones, CEO of Chatsworth-based Ride On. “We see lots of physical benefits.”

At traditional rehabilitation centers, physical therapists use machines and equipment to help patients with disabilities, Jones said. But therapists at Ride On use the horse’s movement to improve their patients’ abilities.

“The horse movement is providing all sorts of great input for the patient — so they are working on balance, tone, muscle strength and motor skills,” she said.  

Ride On is one of the partners of the City of Los Angeles, offering equestrian classes at locations in Chatsworth, Pasadena and Thousand Oaks through the PlayLA program, which offers sports programs for youth ages five to 17.

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games announced in 2021 that it would invest $9.6 million to fund youth sports ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. The vast investment helped subsidize fees that are charged to the public to participate in leagues, classes and clinics for sports including tennis, golf, basketball and horseback riding.

“We have specially trained certified instructors who use their knowledge of disabilities to teach horsemanship skills and ride at varying ability levels,” Jones said.

All ages can join the program. The oldest patient is over 80 and the youngest is less than a year old.

Angela Landeros moved to the San Fernando Valley in 2001, and at 13 she started volunteering to help with therapeutic riding. Soon she became an instructor for Ride On.

But in 2013, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She made the full circle from being an instructor to becoming a patient at Ride On.

“I knew that their facility is top-notch and their education is fantastic, and how they treat their animals is fantastic, and I returned to them as a student,” Landeros said.

Today Landeros, who lives in West Hills, is stable and can walk normally although she needs a cane for long-distance strolls. She said her condition significantly improved due to her diet, exercise — and horseback riding.

Jones said the secret behind the success of Ride On is that being around horses is healing for humans.

“You would normally be able to get physical therapy in the office, but you could get outdoors on a horse,” Jones said. “Kids love it.”