RideFest, Equest therapy’s annual event, took place on Saturday. The event focuses on celebrating the center’s clients and raises support for the therapy horses that provide important physical, cognitive, emotional, and social improvements that help change the lives of the center’s clients.
But RideFest is more than that. It is an event where entire families from many different backgrounds come together to create a community that supports veterans, children, and adults with disabilities.
“This place is amazing, the staff is amazing, and the way that they treat the clients here is amazing, and we all have our different stories,” said Jeniva Munoz Gonzalez, a parent speaking to The Dallas Express.
“The way that they work with the children, and some are not children, some are adults, and just helping them develop mentally, physically, it’s amazing. My daughter was very closed off and before she was stuck to me like glue, and now she’s like ‘I can do anything I like,’ [and] is running around,” he continued.
RideFest allows Equest, the therapeutic equestrian center that utilizes horses to provide natural therapeutic services, to raise much-needed funds for things like purchasing more horses so its clients can continue to receive the help they need.
“Equest will always be in our hearts, and I’m always thankful for them every day for what they’ve done, and it’s not just for Stacy, they do it for all their clients,” said Marth Johnson, whose been working for Equest for 17 years.
Johnson’s daughter has been coming to Equest since she was 12.
“And the parents, you know you need other parents to talk to, you learn from other parents, the comradery is really good,” said Johnson.
Clients who attended RideFest were greeted with smiles from both volunteers and staff and had plenty of games, slides, and a jungle maze to entertain them, Lili Kellogg, chief executive officer, told The Dallas Express.
For more information on how to support Equest, please click here.
