Building Community

Young people ages seven to 18 residing in communities of concentrated poverty in Philadelphia are learning to play polo – and so much more – through Work to Ride (WTR) at Chamounix Equestrian Center in Fairmount Park. Through participation in evidence-informed programs, they are working early mornings and after school for the opportunity to learn to ride horses and play polo while they acquire life skills such as responsibility, decision-making, and leadership. They are also learning that the life limitations they see all around them in their local neighborhoods may not have to be so limiting after all. 

WTR participants and graduates are surpassing expectations, competing in and winning interscholastic and intercollegiate polo competitions. To build on this success and expand our impact, we need to build improved facilities and offer programs and services to enable more young people to participate in this unique, urban equestrian community. The WTR Board of Directors has launched a capital campaign to raise $8 million to support and sustain the WTR mission, construct a fully enclosed, multipurpose equestrian facility within Chamounix Equestrian Center, renovate the current stabling and pastures, and seed an endowment to ensure sustainable growth. 

Expanding Horizons

WTR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit prevention program that provides urban youth with positive alternatives to the inner city’s underground economy. Through barn work, groundwork, and riding exercises, WTR promotes discipline, self-esteem, social development, life skills, and physical fitness while also offering vocational and educational guidance for participants. Although various riding disciplines are taught, polo has proven to be a perennial favorite of WTR youth. Exposure to the sport of polo has provided exceptional physical and mental challenges as well as scholarship, travel, and employment opportunities for WTR graduates. 

The WTR barn is a home away from home for young people from under-resourced communities in Philadelphia. Our site is an oasis of calm located on 3.5 bucolic acres in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park – a mere 15-minute drive from many dense urban communities. Here, young people ages seven to 18 learn about themselves, the natural environment, and life’s possibilities through a progressive curriculum of interrelated programs that focuses on riding and caring for horses, academic supports, social development, and leadership training. 

In founding Work to Ride, Executive Director Lezlie Hiner combined her love of horses and horsemanship with her passion for supporting at-risk, urban youth. For over 25 years, Work to Ride has offered horseback riding as a reward for self-discipline and positive achievement. Participants arrive around dawn to clean the barn and groom horses. To ride the horses and participate in polo practice, students must commit annually to the WTR program and maintain a C-average throughout the year. To help students keep their grades up, Hiner and community members offer tutoring and homework assistance at the barn. 

Transforming Lives

WTR is one of only a handful of programs throughout the country that use equine sports to improve the life prospects and outcomes of urban youth. Like humans, horses are social creatures with unique personalities and variable moods. They require their handlers to possess emotional sensitivity and the ability to read and respond to nonverbal cues. Horses are large, powerful animals capable of unpredictable behavior, so learning to interact with, manage, and care for them offers opportunities for young people to overcome fear, develop confidence, and practice decision-making in real-time. Research shows that equine-assisted learning has proven results and positive measurable outcomes, including increasing confidence, social competence, and self-awareness, and lowering stress. 

All WTR activities are grounded in evidence-informed practices of sports-based youth development, i.e., sports as the vehicle for youth development outside of the typical school day and environment. This includes caring adults who have received instruction in modeling and encouraging supportive relationships and positive social norms; intentional programming with developmentally appropriate curricula with a focus on inclusive and engaging instruction, skill development, and mastery; emphasis on community building, interpersonal skills, and open communication; and programming that addresses the child as a whole and connects to family, school, community, and culture. 

Many WTR participants have transformed their lives – through their own effort, sweat, and determination – and have dramatically expanded their horizons. They have done this, but they have not done it alone. Their partners have been their peers in the program, including older participants who serve as role models; WTR staff and program volunteers; members of the Board of Directors of WTR; and generous donors who have supported the kids, the program, the horses, and the facilities of WTR. 

Recent WTR success stories include 2015 Polo Training Foundation Male Intercollegiate Polo Player of The Year Kareem Rosser, whose 2021 memoir, Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport that Changed Their Lives Forever, told the remarkable story of his polo journey; 2016 graduate Shariah Harris, who received a scholarship to Cornell University and in 2017 became the first African American female to play 20-goal polo; and Daymar Rosser, who with his teammates at Roger Williams University won the 2017 USPA National Intercollegiate Polo Championship. We know there will be many more WTR success stories.  Beyond serving the youth of Philadelphia, our dream is that our demonstration program will inspire others to provide similar offerings so that one day, every city will have its own Work to Ride program. 

The Capital Campaign for Work to Ride

WTR leaders are committed to raising $15 million to expand and improve WTR facilities and resources to extend the reach of the program and services to additional youth who could benefit from the experience. The campaign components include $13 million for a new, 44,000 square foot indoor riding facility; $1 million for upgrades to our existing facility and expansion of our pastures; and $1 million for a capital reserve to ensure the future growth and sustainability of WTR. While the size and basic layout of the barn will not change, the spaces inside will be improved and modernized to make it more functional for the participants, the staff, and especially the horses. We hope to expand the pastures from 3.5 to 5.5 acres that are secured for the safety of our horses and riders. 

Making it Happen

It will take the dedicated support of many donors to achieve the bold goal set by the WTR campaign leadership through which we can sustain and expand our life-changing youth programs. In recognition of the gifts that make these transformations possible, the WTR Capital Campaign will provide naming opportunities at gift levels ranging from $10,000 through $3,000,000 and will visibly recognize and thank all donors of $500 or more within the building. For information about the campaign and naming opportunities, please go to our website (www.worktoride.net) or contact Kareem Rosser (215-800-8550; Krosser@reathco.com) or Lezlie Hiner (215-877-4419; Lezlie@worktoride.net).