PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Deep in Fairmount Park near the end of Chamounix drive, you’ll find serene green pastures, lots of trees, birds and a barn filled with horse stables.
On a nice day, the Chamounix Equestrian Center, home to the Work to Ride program, is filled with kids taking horseback riding lessons, as well as dozens of cats, dogs and a billie goat named Yoda.
The one-of-a-kind program in the country gives kids of color a shot at mastering horses on the polo field. And recently, they’ve gained a lot of attention, as one of its students, Alyssa Perren, is Harvard-bound to play polo.
The nonprofit, founded by Lezlie Hiner, has long been changing the lives of underserved kids by providing equestrian training, community, consistency and opportunities to travel and enjoy cultural enrichment that they wouldn't otherwise experience.
“Part of what we do within the program is we travel a lot,” Hiner said. “So through high school sports, you know, and the Polo and all the things we do, we traveled to places that the kids may not necessarily have the opportunity to explore, you know, given their normal daily lives.”
Which is why they play polo at Harvard and Cornell, as well as up and down the East Coast.
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“That gives the kids an opportunity to number one, do a lot of networking with kids outside their socio-economic background, but it also gives them an idea of things that they can do, what other kids are doing, and what's attainable if they want,” she said.
“... The kids that are in the program, it's a community. So they form, you know, lasting bonds with the kids that are here. So it's our own little private community.”
Jada Corbin, 13, is one of the kids involved in the program. She lives in East Oak Lane with her grandparents and her 2-year-old sister and says taking care of her horse, Squid, has taught her responsibility, while riding and learning tricks has given her courage.
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“I've grown in riding and not being that scared of anything anymore,” she explained. “Like out in the real world, I guess, because it kind of just takes away your fear, like falling off and, like, getting back on, it just takes away that fear of doing everything else.”
Last year, Hiner organized Philadelphia’s first polo tournament, the Polo Classic. She said it was a major success for the city and the Work to Ride community and it’s set to return this fall. Hiner is hoping the Polo Classic will raise money for the center's new indoor horse riding facility and expansion of the nonprofit to help more kids.
The Work to Ride program is accepting applications for new riders, but spots are limited.