“Empathetic and Gentle Horses”: Equestrian Association Gallops Into Fall With Charity Car Show

Aldergrove is gearing up for its massive charity car show this weekend. One of North America’s largest car charity events, The Langley Good Times Cruise-In also benefits and highlights Aldergrove’s local equestrian community. In particular, the Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association recognized the support of the popular car show that helped them serve the community for 40 years now. To reciprocate their solidarity and appreciation for their long-term partnership, the VTEA has decided to participate and help out with the Cruise-In event this fall season.

The Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association acknowledged the thousands of dollars they received each year from Cruise-In and felt grateful for being their prioritized recipients. Besides, VTEA benefits the local Aldergrove community by enhancing their quality of life through their therapeutic services, having worked with hundreds of adults and children in the past.

Equestrian Charity joins forces with Cruise-In

This weekend, the Aldergrove community will witness two long-term charity partners come together to support each other. For the past four decades, VTEA has been involved in a number of therapeutic practices, which include horseback riding, hippotherapy, and various medically approved counseling treatments. All these techniques have become quite popular in recent times and are being undertaken by other equestrian centers too. As for VTEA, according to a report by the Aldergrove Star, operations manager Carla Robin said, “Our goal is to enhance our riders’ quality of life by improving their physical, mental, and emotional well-being with the help of our empathetic and gentle horses.” 

Robin also highlighted that an organization like Cruise-In has been crucial for local equestrian charities in Aldergrove since they do not receive much help from the government or from people, in terms of large donations. She also explained that being one of the biggest car shows in North America makes Cruise a great ambassador for the local community. For all these reasons, the Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association will be helping their long-term partner this weekend as tens of thousands of car enthusiasts are expected to visit Langley. This summer season also saw VTEA carry out multiple camps to help kids understand the workings of various therapeutic horses.

VTEA’s summer camps for local kids

With fall around the corner, VTEA had just wrapped up its summer camp services. There were multiple events set up for the local kids of all abilities, with one held in July while the other took place just last month. The primary objective of these camps was to educate them about the kind of work that is undertaken by the Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association. Therefore, Operations Manager Carla Robin also talked about the therapeutic help these “special horses” were trained to offer, in front of the kids aged between 9 to 15 attending the summer camps.

Read more: “Animal-Human Relationship”: Board Chair of Popular Equestrian Therapy Center Goes Candid About the Non-Profit Organization’s Mission

She further added, “They’re gentle, they’re kind, and they’re great ambassadors for what we do,” as she referred to the horses. With the car charity event commencing this weekend, VTEA and the Langley Good Times Cruise-In continue to assist each other and provide much-needed services to their local Aldergrove community through their various initiatives.

Watch this story: 13-Year-Old Equestrian Raises $2,500 for Horse Sanctuary Through Cycling