By DONNA CHIU, Staff Writer
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Tucked away down a gravel path in Crownsville, 11 horses trained to work with special-needs riders will soon have a "stable" home to call their own.

After 10 years of serving nearly 200 children and adults, Maryland Therapeutic Riding will buy its 25-acre farm this summer with the help of a recent $250,000 grant from the France-Merrick Foundation.

"A permanent home is important for any organization," said Robert Schaefer, executive director of the foundation, which awards grants primarily in the greater Baltimore region for education and community development. "This organization does a great job that changes people's lives."

The grant sets in motion the final stages of a four-year endeavor to stop leasing the land and ensure the center's permanence, said Betsy Kimrey, development director for Maryland Therapeutic Riding.

"A lot of people don't know about us," Mrs. Kimrey said. "Having a permanent home really puts us on the map. It ensures we'll be here in the future."

The nationally certified center, one of eight premier accredited sites in Maryland, offers treatment through horseback riding for people with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, spina bifida, brain injuries and neuromuscular disorders.

The looming ownership of the property is just the latest step in the organization's growth from one woman's vision and a single horse to a center with 100 active volunteers and 12 stables.

"The opportunity to make it permanent is a life achievement," said Naomi Parry, executive director and founder of Maryland Therapeutic Riding. "The grant really made it possible. It made it within grasp."

The land will be purchased by the end of the summer from Koch Homes, which recently bought the entire 100-acre property at Arden Farms, Mrs. Kimrey said. The price wasn't available.

Although Maryland Therapeutic Riding has been slowly building a fund for the purchase through private donations, the $250,000 grant made the dream possible for the nonprofit organization with an operating budget of $400,000 to $500,000, Mrs. Kimrey said.

"(The grant) is a big chunk of money," Mrs. Kimrey said. "If we had to raise that piecemeal, it'd be much, much harder."

Mrs. Parry said she hopes the grant will encourage other donors, who will now know their "investment is secure," as well as "open the door to other family foundations that would help with the bricks-and-mortar type of project."

Ownership of the property will also launch the riding center's "Flying Higher Project," phase one of which will entail building an indoor arena so riders can engage in therapy day and night year-round.

Joyce Miller, who has multiple sclerosis, has been riding at Maryland Therapeutic Riding for a year to help relax her spastic leg muscles.

"When I'm in the wheelchair, it's a visible sign that I'm handicapped," Ms. Miller said. "But here, I'm one with the horse and I'm normal. It's very freeing."

Ms. Miller usually rides two times per week, but she reduces her therapy to once a week during the summer because "with MS, heat is my enemy," she said.

The indoor arena, which Mrs. Kimrey said is in the midst of a county permit process and is expected to be up this winter, will help.

"You know you can ride all year long," Ms. Miller said. "There'll be no interruption in your therapy and what you're trying to accomplish with your body."

David Weisman, 8, has a mild form of cerebral palsy and has the opposite problem of Ms. Miller. His muscles tighten up in cold weather, so he takes a break from riding in the winter.

"We'd be happy to ride all year," said his mother, Loren Weisman. "(David) enjoys being out in the fresh air and doing something that's not obviously therapy."

Even with an indoor arena, the center will continue to operate outside whenever possible, Mrs. Kimrey said. The beauty and peace of the landscape is an integral part of therapy for riders and visitors alike.

"The hospital-type setting reminds you how depressing life can get," said Stephanie Pippen, whose 5-year-old son, Maxwell, rides to treat a rare genetic disorder and epilepsy. "But when you come out here, you don't think about it. Where else do you find a chunk of land like this? It's like God's country in the middle of the city."

Donations can be sent to Maryland Therapeutic Riding, P.O. Box 6477 Annapolis, MD 21401, or for more information, call 410-923-6800, e-mail betsy@mtrinc.org or visit www.horsesthatheal.org.

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Published 06/21/06, Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.