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The River Valley Riders typically meet every Tuesday from the spring to the fall to allow special needs children to have fun riding horses, interacting with each other and just having a good time in general.

However, on Tuesday, August 11, they met for a slightly different reason. It was still a fun night, but it was at the expense of a few of their volunteers.
The club, which is based out of Afton but has a satellite camp at the Rick-A-Shay Ranch south of Chisago City, ran one of their annual fundraisers a few weeks prior.

Sally Reif-Delgiudice a physical therapist that volunteers to head the program at Rick-A-Shay and Ron Tyrell, a volunteer who has a daughter that rides regularly, came up with a fun and engaging way for the children to meet their fundraising goals.

If they hit a certain number in the short week they had to raise money, both Reif-Delgiudice and Tyrell would take a pie to the face and a bucket of ice water on their heads.

The goal was $1,500 in one week, but the children blew past that mark, raising over $1,800 in the short period of time.

Which meant that at their Tuesday, August 11 gathering, the two had to pay the piper.

Both graciously took a lemon meringue pie to the face, and washed it off with a ice cold bucket of water, all provided by the students.

Some of them even got in on the action when they felt bad for doing it and threw pie on themselves.

It was an exciting and exuberant event for the kids as well as the volunteers.

And the volunteers are what make River Valley Riders such a great atmosphere for these kids.

Reif-Delgiudice has been volunteering for 22 years. She works as a physical therapist and always enjoyed riding horses. In her college years, she heard about therapeutic riding and she knew what her calling was. “It was a dream come true to find the River Valley Riders,” she said.

She was born and raised in White Bear Lake, but now resides in Scandia, which is a perfect location with the satellite ranch nearby.

The other volunteers echoed the sentiment of Reif-Delgiudice, saying their love of horses and their compassion for therapeutic riding led them to the Rick-A-Shay site. There was a wide variety of volunteers on the night. There were pre-teens and teenagers who wanted to help out other kids, there were middle-aged mothers who enjoyed the company, and there were dads out there who wanted to make sure the children had the best time of their week.

On this muggy Tuesday night, upwards of 15 volunteers helped the children mount the horses and proudly ride them around the grounds and interact with them. Reif-Delgiudice fought back tears as she expressed her gratitude for the volunteers. “These people give us so much support and sacrifice so much,” she said. “They could be doing anything else but they put that all aside to come out here and volunteer.”

The program isn’t just about mounting a horse and trotting around. It’s about the exercise for the children, sharpening their social and interaction skills and providing them with a sense of control and responsibility.

“A horse’s gait mimics a human’s gait, so the movement in their hips mimics walking. It helps them gain strength and supports walking. They don’t even realizing they are getting exercise,” Reif-Delgiudice said.  She also noted the horses are very forgiving and provide a great opportunity for the riders to learn and gain valuable experience.

The fundraiser was part of the whole River Valley Riders program based out of Afton. They are slowly raising money to build a state-of-the-art facility in Afton that would allow for more horses, winter riding and better facilities for the children riding.

They also need to pay for the horse equipment that needs to be replaced every so often.

The program is on a first come, first serve basis and they begin taking sign ups in the early spring. Once a rider is signed up, they are eligible for the spring, summer and fall seasons. Reif-Delgiudice did say there was almost always a waiting list, but if any parents are interested in signing their children up, they just need to have a medical diagnosis and can apply at www.rivervalleyriders.org. She said that once they are signed up there, they will receive a mailing with more information.

It’s a fulfilling program and one that’s helped Reif-Delgiudice throughout her life, despite having to say goodbye every fall. “It’s so hard to see the kids move on at the end of the season,” she said. “We make so much progress and you can just see their confidence build. When the season is over, you can tell the physical and psychological change.”

Reif-Delgiudice knows the work is being put in and the kids are better off after riding in the program. “It takes so much to do what these kids are doing,” she said. “It gives you such an appreciation for the hard work they put in with their mind and body.”

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