Horses get retirement parties, too. At least the luckier ones do.
Early last month the Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End in Bridgehampton threw a retirement party for Pumpkin and Rocket, two of the several horses who work there.
Pumpkin, a medium-size reddish rescue pony in his mid-30s, was with CTREE for seven years. He was a trail pony with his Montauk owner, who went to college after she leased him and is now married with two young children. Pumpkin was the favorite and most loved by all the youngest riders, said Karen Bocksel, CTREE’s managing director and a co-founder. After a session, Pumpkin would turn his head toward the person who had been on his back as if to ask, “Did I do okay?”
Rocket, who is close to 30, was a “pleasure” horse, a chestnut trail horse and show jumper who even won ribbons at the Hampton Classic. A member of the CTREE “herd” since 2016, he was great at teaching riders to become independent, said Ms. Bocksel, perhaps because his “steady, slow gait instilled confidence that helped heal them.”
The Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End got its start in 2009 at the Wolffer Estate in Sagaponack. Ms. Bocksel was a rider who loved horses and started volunteering with therapeutic riding programs in Toronto. When she moved back to Long Island, there was no therapeutic program here, and so she helped to create one.
CTREE, which primarily serves children 4 and up and a few adults with cognitive, emotional, or physical disabilities, is the only center in Suffolk County accredited by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Int’l). Its mission, according to its website, is “transforming lives through the therapeutic power of horses.” It offers not only riding, but also the opportunity for people to connect with horses through working on the grounds, caring for the animals, and studying horse behavior. It runs a summer camp, hosts school field trips, partners with veterans organizations, and during the pandemic has provided a free Horses Heal program to first responders and front-line workers. In the summer the riding is open to those without challenges.
CTREE gives out scholarships and keeps its fees as low as it can, with help from money raised through two annual benefits and open houses.
Ms. Bocksel wants to start sessions for older adults, taking them on field trips and having them groom the horses.
Since early in the pandemic, CTREE has operated out of the sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp’s property in Bridgehampton, leasing the stable and paddocks at a discount. The nonprofit now has 10 part-time staff members and about 30 trained program and camp volunteers who help both with the participants and the horses, which are free-leased from their owners, meaning that once the horses are ready to retire, their owners take them back.
After doing good works, Pumpkin and Rocket are now home with the other humans who love them. Pumpkin is with his owner’s family and Rocket is in Virginia on a farm with lots of fields, near his owner’s sister.
