Horse riding therapy program in budgetary peril

A proposed Hillsborough County budget cut could sound the death knell for the Bakas Equestrian Center, which has used horse riding therapy for more than 20 years to treat children and adults with mental or physical disabilities.

"All I can say is we still are on the chopping block," said Beth Harre-Orr, director of the center.

Although the program is a partnership between the county's parks department and the nonprofit Horses for Handicapped, the bulk of the funding comes from Hillsborough taxpayers.

The county's share of the center's budget this year was $740,000, but the county is considering slicing $540,000 of that amount next year, Harre-Orr said.

The cut would all but eliminate the staff, many of whom are certified riding instructors who help about 80 riders a week.

The proposal also has forced the center to do something it has never done in its 23-year history.

"We've started to charge our riders," Harre-Orr said, "and we've never done that before."

The Horses for Handicapped group, through its fundraisers, donates between $70,000 and $80,000 annually, she said.

The county's portion mostly pays for the staff, Harre-Orr said. The proposed budget cuts could mean the end of the program, she said, for which there is a waiting list of 150.

She said the proposed cuts would "leave just $200,000 in the coffers and we can't operate with that. I guess they are hoping the volunteers and the nonprofit will step up and run it."

The staff, which includes the nationally certified therapy riding instructors, is needed to run the program, she said.

Harre-Orr is trying to figure ways to help defray costs.

"We're looking at ways to cut out nonessentials," she said, "but we are pretty bare bones as it is. We can eliminate some of the horses, but that eliminates the number of riders we can serve."

She said parents of children in the program "don't want it to go away."

Amy Chirinos' 17-year-old daughter, Christine, was the victim of a near drowning 10 years ago and now suffers from a delayed development condition. Christine has been part of the equestrian program for about four years and she's shown marked improvement during that time, her mother said.

"My daughter is more outgoing," Chirinos said. "She has improved in verbal skills and communication; she's more active and able to relate with others her age and she's enjoying a fulfilling life."

Chirinos said all that's because of the riding therapy.

"She's made tremendous progress," she said. "She's an independent rider and she's just made the drill team and that's a big accomplishment."

Last summer, when the county was considering cutting the budget to the center, Christine "was able to take the guidelines and to do a two-minute speech before commission," her mother said. "Before she started the program, she would never have been able to do that."

Chirinos said the community, parents and businesses all pitch in to help support the center. "The county doesn't pick up the entire tab," she said.

The center serves riders with disabilities that range from severe and profound to mild. It offers a range of options, from introductory lessons to games on horseback to advanced riding skills. Instructors train riders to compete in Special Olympics. The center has been a host to equestrian Special Olympics.

In 2001, the center received accreditation by the North American Riding for Handicapped Association. The center's riding teachers all are certified by the association.

Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department spokesman John Brill said the recommendation from the department was to pump $718,000 into the center next fiscal year, but that was rejected by the county's administrators.

Instead, the administration proposed giving the equestrian center $200,000.

The proposal still has to go before the county commission, which will hold a series of public hearings through the summer before September's budget vote.