The Kingery Family

Michael Tempel, Dr. Lauren Kingery-Tempel, Morgan Tempel, Bill Kingery and Carol Kingery

Carole Adelstein attended our open house and then rode "Moose" just like our equine girls!

Horses and kids … troubled kids

Story after story supports the success of horse therapy in helping troubled teens move toward appropriate social behaviors. Here at Excelsior Youth Center, we’ve got hundreds of anecdotes supporting our tremendously effective equine therapy program.

Excelsior re-named its program the Kingery Equine Therapy Program, in honor of long-time Board member, Bill Kingery. “There is something magical about the connection between girls and horses,” says Bill. “I hope equine therapy will always be available to help the girls become happy and productive citizens.”

After retiring from the cable television industry and buying a ranch as a real estate investment, Bill began riding trails with his daughter, Laurie. From there his interest grew into breeding and then racing (for 15 years he raced Paints and Quarter Horses successfully all over the southwest). “It convinced me that working with horses was therapeutic because patience was never my strong suit but I got a whole lot better when I started working with horses.”

With Bill’s vision, encouragement and enthusiasm, EYC’s equine therapy program has thrived since he and others first started it 13 years ago. Today 100 young girls participate in the wildly popular 10-week sessions conducted on near-by horse ranches at an annual cost of $20,000. Fees for service that cover most of the girls’ needs do not include equine therapy. But Excelsior values the program so much that it continues to provide the therapeutic program at $200 for each girl who participates.

The Kingery Equine Therapy Program is used to achieve physical, psychological and communication skills and it is educational, recreational and therapeutic. “The horses are a very good tool for reflection,” explains an Equine trainer. “I’ve seen these girls grow personally. They learn so much about team work, respect, communication and trust.”

One girl reflects, ”my experience at equine therapy was not great at first. I was scared and it brought up many of my past issues. As the trainer continued to work with me, I started feeling good and I started trusting my horse who helped me by having patience and feeling my fear. She made me feel wanted. The trainers also taught me that giving up is the worst thing that I can do, but for most of my life that’s all I could do. My horse gave me confidence.”

"Horses were something that I had only seen on TV so when I had to come face to face with one, I was so terrified. I couldn’t believe how big they were in person. If it were not for Equine therapy I would still have a fear of horses. I ride by myself now!”

“I’m so comfortable with the horses now,” she continues. “There are many girls who are scared like I was. I encourage them. Equine has helped me to communicate and be comfortable around others, which was a big step for me. It’s not just about the horses.”

See how important this program is for our troubled girls? Thank you for helping us enhance appropriate social behaviors for our troubled girls by funding our therapeutic riding program.