Saddle Up: This Rockland County Non-Profit is Changing Lives One Ride at a Time

COPS Barn, which stands for Children of Promise Barn, is utilizing riding therapy to change the lives of special needs children and adults right here in Rockland.

Derek Drobenak, the program director at COPS Barn, has been riding horses since he was seven years old. He displays an obvious love for each of the horses at the stable – laughing at the antics of the five therapy horses, feeding them hay and carrots while managing to respond to interview questions with ease.

Therapeutic horseriding was not always on Drobenak’s radar. Once it was, however, he couldn’t help but fall in love. Watching withdrawn children come out of their shell is quite the rewarding experience Drobenak told the RCT, as he recalled watching a child who had rejected a litany of therapeutic activities come alive when placed on horseback, shouting “Look at me! Look at me!”. The participant’s family member began to get emotional, as they had finally found an activity their child was excited to engage in. “And that’s why we do it,” shared Drobenack. “I know how tough it is for families to try to find something for their child.”

Previous to his work at COPS Barn, Drobenak worked at a multidisciplinary barn, where therapeutic riding lessons and non-therapeutic lessons took place concurrently. He felt that this was not the best scenario for the therapeutic riders. It did not allow for the serene atmosphere he has now crafted at COPS. 

There are five trusty steeds at COPS Barn, all of varying sizes to accommodate the 40 year age range of participants at the barn. Amigo is the smallest, then in ascending order comes Reeses, Major, Tomahawk and Little Joe. Many of the horses are retired lesson horses who now need a lighter workload. Each potential horse undergoes a vetting process before becoming a therapy horse at COPS Barn. 

Drobenak brings the horses to the barn, and either himself or another adult recreates scenarios that the horses may experience while working with children with disabilities. “Obviously the kids don’t come to the barn in a perfect mood everyday,” said Drobenak. “So we need to make sure that all the horses are going to tolerate [the behaviors].” If the horses demonstrate an ability to respond calmly and remain mellow during heightened situations, then Drobenak knows they have found a potential therapy horse. 

COPS Barn has several different avenues for participants to get engaged in therapeutic riding. They offer an outdoor riding area, a large indoor barn utilized during bad weather, and a shaded Sensory Trail. This variety allows for riders to participate all year long. The barn divides up their calendar into multiweek sessions, allowing families to decide how long they want to ride for and enables them with the freedom to engage in other activities throughout the year. Some families choose to ride for a few weeks, and some choose to ride all year long.

The indoor barn is spacious and filled with an assortment of games and activities to keep riders engaged. Drobenak explained that gamifying the activities with supplements such as a basketball hoop or a dart board with Velcro darts aids in enticing wary riders to engage their muscles and minds in novel ways. The team at COPS changes these obstacles weekly to keep their riders interested. The barn has large doors that, depending on how the cooperation of the weather can be raised or lowered to enclose the space. These doors also help to make the space more sensory-friendly to riders who may have noise sensitivities or could be distracted by other people. 

When the weather is warm, the barn also utilizes their Sensory Trail. This wood-chipped trail winds throughout the wooded area at the edge of the property and allows for riders to experience an entirely different set of sensory input. There are stations along the path that riders can choose to engage with such as a musical chime station, a mailbox with surprises inside, and an aromatherapy station. The foliage allows for natural protection from the sun and wind, and provides a completely fresh experience for riders. For many students, this time allows them a space free from the rigors of everyday life, and a chance to enjoy a beautiful ride on a beautiful day.

On average, the barn works with around 50 participants a week. COPS is also involved with the Nanuet School District, where special education students from a local elementary and high school are bussed in to be involved at the barn. The students are split up into small groups, with one group taking a riding lesson, another group learning how to groom the horses, and another working with crafts or in the garden on premises. 

Drobenak believes that the biggest benefit he sees for the participants is an increase in their confidence. “They can come here, they can participate in their own thing that has nothing to do with anybody else, and [engage] in a skill that most, if not any, of their family members know about,” stated Drobenak. Learning unique skills such as steering a horse through cones or grooming endows the participants with a certain level of confidence in themselves and their abilities to learn a new skill. 

A physical side effect of therapeutic riding is a development of core strength. “Even if we were to just put a kid on the horse and walk around, they’re benefitting just by sitting up on the horse and learning how to sit up and control their body while the horse is moving,” said Drobenak.

One of the misconceptions around the services COPS Barn provides is what the actual therapy is. There are two main avenues for equine therapy – hippotherapy and therapeutic riding. Hippotherapy is when a participant rides on the back of a horse while undergoing a speech, occupational, or physical therapy session. It focuses less on the riding aspect and more on that specific therapy’s lesson, utilizing the horse as a conduit. Therapeutic riding is done with a riding instructor and is more focused on developing riding skills. COPS Barn offers therapeutic riding. 

COPS Barn is always looking for volunteers to help at the barn. Volunteers participate by grooming the horses, saddling them and getting them ready for their lessons. “It’s a very calming environment. It’s a nice place to go to get away,” shared Drobenak. 

Some of the more advanced volunteers will lead the horse during lessons or work as a side walker. A side walker helps to provide additional support to participants who need assistance with balance, as well as assisting the participants with the games. Drobenack shared that they will often have volunteers work at a similar day and time so they are working with the same participant. This way, the volunteer has the opportunity to watch as the child progresses in their skills. During the darker seasons, weekday lessons begin at 3:00 or 3:45 and go until 5:45. On the weekends, lessons run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteers are welcome to come for an hour or more to the barn. Those interested in volunteering or learning more about the program can go to copsbarn.org or call 845-623-2677.