The holiday season finds a dozen teenage girls shoveling manure, trudging through mud and trying to stay warm on a wet Saturday near Griffith Park in the greater Los Angeles area.
Horse power for girls
Horse back riding lessons are provided by Taking the Reins, a nonprofit group that teaches horse care and riding to girls with the esteem-building aim of "empowering girls through horse power," according to the group's slogan.
Soon the girls go from dutifully doing chores to animated excitement because another horse-riding lesson is about to begin and the girls will be very hands-on with their chosen horses.The lessons are provided by Taking the Reins, a nonprofit group that teaches horse care and riding to girls, many from the inner city, with the esteem-building aim of "empowering girls through horse power," according to the group's slogan.
Thanks to funding through Vanguard Charitable Endowment, these inner city girls are able to not only work with horses, but take riding lessons and learn about nutrition and organic gardening along with learning valuable life skills.
According to Janiene Langford, the director of the Taking the Reins program, “The ultimate goal is to get the girls who come through this program to emerge as leaders in their community and beyond.”