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In 1988, Ken and his wife, Katy, moved to their home and acreage in River Falls (and current program location). The Giskes started to populate their 20 acres with horses, dogs and cats. Ken, who has a degree in adaptive physical education and athletic training, was employed at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute as the director of aquatics and Katy as a therapeutic recreational specialist in chemical dependency and mental health counselor at the time.Â
With two preschool-aged daughters, she decided to open a home day care. This allowed the couple to turn their âWhat if we tried to create an adaptive riding program?â dream into reality and Walk On Therapeutic Riding Program was established in 2001.Â
Blue Mountain Therapeutic Riding has had to hit the trail with its horses a few times since it started in the Walla Walla Valley in 2013.
But despite challenges from floods and now a pandemic, the help it gets from locals and volunteers has kept it on its feet.
The non-profit organization, which offers adaptive horse riding for children and adults with physical, mental and emotional disabilities, started in Lowden. It then relocated in 2018 to the Mojonnier area southwest of College Place.
Then, said co-founder and Executive Director Mary Murphy, came the late winter flood earlier this year.
âIn February our center was flooded so we had to move,â she said. So staff saddled up for 10-acres it leased near Milton-Freewater and immediately set up for riding classes, with a lot of help from neighbors and others.