Fundraising is underway for an $8.1 million, 14-acre Detroit Horse Power equestrian center in northwest Detroit to serve hundreds of the city’s youths. The organization officials says they plan to break ground in the next year.
Funding was jumpstarted by a $500,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation, $400,000 from an anonymous donor, $1.8 million from the state of Michigan, and anticipated New Market Tax Credits.
The organization currently serves about 100 youths ages 11-18 annually through schoolyear and summer programs that ferry them to supportive stables as far away as Davisburg and East Lansing, while using classroom and administrative space on the Marygrove campus.
By having its own 20-horse stable and eliminating the travel times, Detroit Horse Power says it will be able to serve 100 youth a year in a highly focused program while giving some horse time to 10 times that number and enroll 500 in summer programs.
The organization currently maintains an extensive waiting list. Making more horses more accessible is key to meeting this growing demand.
“There is a growing body of research showing that for young people, animal-assisted activities like working with horses have physical and mental benefits, including growth of social-emotional skills,” says David Silver, executive director of Detroit Horse Power. “And we know that students with greater social-emotional competencies are more likely to graduate from high school, graduate from college and persist in their chosen career paths.
“Eventually, we will be able to ensure that every Detroit Public School student has some exposure to horses over the course of their education.”
The Detroit equestrian center — modeled on similar facilities and programs in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, but larger — will be built on vacant land leased from DPSCD at the site of the former Paul Robeson Academy, which was demolished more than a decade ago following a fire.
The site is near Fenkell and Linwood, and the Focus: HOPE campus in the Hope Village neighborhood.
Silver emphasized that the difference in having a dedicated facility goes beyond the number of youths to be served and the elimination of long travel times.
“Having consistent exposure to the same horses and greater involvement with their care takes the rider-horse bonds and their benefits to an all-together higher level,” says Silver.
The center will include classrooms, administrative spaces, an indoor arena with bleachers, multiple outdoor riding areas, and paddocks for horses to graze.
“Opening this new facility will mean horses play a far greater role in our students’ lives, at a space our students can count on and where they can take ownership,” Silver says. “We are building an asset for the community and a launching pad for students to have successful futures.”
The potential of the site’s proximity to the Joe Louis Greenway isn’t lost on Detroit Horse Power.
“The Greenway will be just steps from our site, and we expect this confluence of investments in quality of life for Detroiters, easily accessible and just off the Lodge Freeway, to become a regional recreational destination,” Silver says. “The synergies are even more fitting because Joe Louis was a barrier-breaking Black equestrian himself.
“We have significant fundraising yet to do, but we have momentum now,” Silver says “We invite any individuals or organizations who want to contribute to youth opportunity and community revitalization to join us.”
For more information and to contribute, visit detroithorsepower.org.
