Communications Pro Blog

On the last Sunday of each month equestrians from area stables gather at the Valley Green Inn in Fairmount Park to catch up with to interact with each other and park visitors – particularly children.

The Horses in the Park (HIP) program was started in the summer of 2008 by Cynthia Turecki, who rides Sonny out of Courtesy Stables in Roxborough. Turecki, 50, grew up in the Wissahickon section of the city and she has childhood memories of seeing horses in the park.

“I was the youngest of 6 children, and my aunt would take us to the lower end of Forbidden Drive by Ridge Avenue to collect horse manure for her garden. I remember looking up one day to see a horse go by and thought, ‘someday I’ll ride my own horse in this park”, said the current Roxborough native, who works by day as a Communications Analyst. When her parents died, she decided she needed something to fill her time and started riding with the Philadelphia Saddle Club out of Monastery Stables in Mount Airy. She then shared a horse with someone, before buying Sonny, her own chestnut Kentucky Mountain Horse in 2005.

“Horses in the Park is my way of giving back and trying to continue the tradition of horsemanship in the park. When I hear a child scream ‘horses, mommy, horses!’ it brings a smile to my face.”

Indeed there were many smiling faces on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, an unusually balmy late November day. Perhaps the biggest smile came from Aimara Scharf-Simon who recently came to live in the area from Berlin. Still sporting a German accent, the six-year-old squealed with excitement upon learning that her name had been picked to receive a complimentary riding lesson. Scharf, who now lives in West Philadelphia with her parents and brother shared her knowledge of horses.

“I sort of know how to ride. If you push more into their sides they go faster, and if you pull on their reins they slow down,” she said, beaming as a group of onlookers listened to her impromptu lecture.

Diane Garvey, who took up riding in her late 40s and became a member of the Philadelphia Saddle Club had encouraged the young girl to fill out the raffle ticket.

“I’m really glad she won. She has a great spirit and I hope she continues to ride,” said Garvey, who, with other HIP members developed the backside of the entry ticket that reads:

5 Reasons to Leash Your Dog which spells out LEASH:

Laws- PA and Philadelphia require dogs to be on a leash
Equines may be startled, endangering the rider
Anxiety – of a lost dog
Safety of all park users, including dogs
Habitat – and wildlife protection

Other young horse enthusiasts were able to pet the horses and learn a bit more about these four-legged creatures. Luca Brown, 3, of Montclair, New Jersey, “liked the horses big brown eyes.”

Bella, 5, and Aquinnah Silverman , 8, of West Mount Airy liked how soft the horse Hot Shot was. Walt Sasse, Barn Manager at Courtesy Stables is a former mounted police officer and introduced Hot Shot to the young onlookers.

“It’s neat. You get down off of your horse and actually get to interact with the people. The little one’s crack me up, like this one,” he said as Josie Bullen approached the horses with absolutely no fear. The three-year-old was wearing a pink ballet tutu over her denim jeans and created quite the fashion statement.

“She is obsessed with horses,” said her mother, Amber Bulllen. “She’s also obsessed with wearing that outfit,” she said, rolling her eyes skyward.

Turecki credits Garvey, and longtime rider Carmella Clark, who has been riding for many years out of Monastery Stables, for helping to form and sustain the monthly interactive sessions between horses, riders and park visitors.

Dr. Thomas A. Fitzpatrick, President of the Philadelphia Saddle Club supports the whole idea. “Anytime you can do some good community relations with bikers, hikers and visitors to the park, that is an hour a month well spent,” he said.

The Horses in the Park program is held on the last Sunday of each month from 1 to 2 pm. near the Valley Green Inn, weather permitting. The next HIP gathering will be December 27th.

Barbara Sherf is a freelance writer and publicist who co-authored with her father, “A Cowboy Mission: The Best Sermons are Lived…Not Preached.” The book is about riding with her father in the Wissahickon Valley and his remembrances of life on the farm and in local rodeos. You can reach her at www.CommunicationsPro.com.

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