HOOVERSVILLE — Carefully sweeping walkways between horse stalls at her barn, Elizabeth Wyandt said she has loved horses since she started riding at age 5.
“They have always been my best friend,” she said. “They are the only animal that is truly forgiving.”
Horses’ gentle nature also may be part of the allure of Best of Friends, a therapeutic horse riding effort offered through the Cambria County Cooperative Extension 4-H.
The 25-year effort has been growing and now will be available both in Cambria County and at Curtitsy Acres Inc., Wyandt’s Hooversville ranch. After being housed for years at Rose Hill Stables near Mineral Point, the program is relocating to Saddle Rock Ranch in Portage and Curtitsy.
“I feel really privileged to have this here,” Wyandt said.
Last year, 36 students participated in the program for the physically and mentally handicapped.
Riding exercises students’ muscles and offers an exciting and stress relieving experience, said Veronica Vansco, the horse/rider coordinator and instructor.
“The students are always thrilled with it,” she said. “We have a lot of autistic students who can’t communicate much. But they get on the horses and smile because they are able to do something special.”
Vansco and others, such as volunteer coordinator Sandy Robertson, work year-round to prepare for the summer sessions. This year, they may start in April because of increased interest.
The group is looking for more volunteers and has room for more students: 243-0599.
Next up, Best of Friends may expand to include adult disabled students.
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John Rucosky
Discussion
Therapeutic horseback riding program grows
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Boil-water notice issued in Upper Yoder Township
A boil-water notice has been issued for a portion of Upper Yoder Township as crews work to repair a leak along Route 271. -
No NDIC jobs to stay in city
After years of political clashes and fiscal uncertainty, these are the facts of the National Drug Intelligence Center’s final days:
• 87: The number of employees losing their jobs as NDIC operations wind down this year.
• 57: The number of staffers, aside from those 87, who will be offered jobs in Washington, D.C.
• Zero: The number of NDIC-related jobs that will remain in Johnstown. -
Blogging with heart
I had a couple of interesting interviews over the past 24 hours. The first was with an ambitious Forest Hills High School junior who organized a Red Out across the district today in support of American Heart Association. Like many of those involved in Heart Association benefits, Spencer Ivock was inspired by his own family members' experience with heart disease.
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Forest Hills junior puts his heart into Red Out
Forest Hills junior Spencer Ivock is “redding out” the schools today for his senior project.
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Local pair accused of robbing home twice
A Johnstown couple has been charged with breaking into a Lower Yoder Township home twice in a four-month period – and then selling, for $103, some of the thousands of dollars in goods they alleged swiped.
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Steel firm considers coal mine near Que
Cambria Somerset Authority officials plan to meet this week with representatives of an Ohio-based steel company about a plan that could put a coal mine south of the Quemahoning Reservoir.
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In brief: Somerset motorist dies in crash
A 28-year-old Somerset man was killed Thursday morning when his vehicle left the road, hit a drainage ditch and rolled over.
- Births 02/03/2012
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[VIDEO] Party in Punxsutawney: Groundhog Day is about more than seeing shadows
For the thousands who show up at Gobbler's Knob as early as 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, Groundhog Day is about more than whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow: It's an excuse to party.
The Tribune-Democrat's Justin Dennis spent the night among the masses and captured all of the festivities on film. -
[VIDEO] Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction
More than 18,000 people – some representing states as far away as Arkansas and Oregon – crammed into the outdoor amphitheatre of Gobbler’s Knob on Thursday for the annual weather party known as Groundhog Day.
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