“People always ask where our hippo is,” says Whitney Gearin, Assistant Director of Ridgebury Farm and Stables. To be clear, there are no hippos on this idyllic 56 acres of farm tucked away on Ridgebury Road. Instead, Ridgebury Farm is one of the area’s only horse farms that doubles as a medical facility where physical, occupational, and speech therapists are accredited to use Hippotherapy as a powerful tool in their practice. Coming from the Greek word for horse, hippotherapy is not to be confused with equine therapy, its more casual cousin that does not incorporate clinical practices. Also, no hippos.
Ridgebury Farm excels at its dual purpose. With a sprawling property that includes lush meadows, private trails, an antique barn, outdoor and indoor riding rings (with a dust-free floor for those with sensory issues), the farm exudes a welcoming sense of peace, even with the flurry of things happening on the grounds. As Executive Director Katy Schermann says, “We offer excellent therapy and excellent riding lessons.”
There is a lot of ground to cover here, both literally and figuratively, but let’s start with the transformative - but little known - therapy that inspired this farm. Originating in Germany in the 1960s, hippotherapy started as an adjunct to physical therapy. Today in order to be accredited by the American Hippotherapy Association, you must be licensed in one of three areas - physical, occupational, or speech therapy. Ridgebury Farm and Stables sees people of all abilities dealing with a variety of challenges, including those who may not be able to get around on their own. At the farm, they can leave the wheelchair outside the barn and feel the freeing movement of the horse.
“One of the most incredible things is for individuals specifically with gait issues that require a walker is - because the horse’s pelvic movement is the same as ours, they are literally building the muscle memory on the horse without walking,” explains Gearin. “So then without the horse, there is a marked transformation. It’s mind-blowing.” Anyone who needs traditional occupational, physical, or speech therapy can benefit from hippotherapy. And as the passionate staff at Ridgebury Farm points out - it’s a fun break from being in an office setting.
Schermann explains that when doing hippotherapy, individuals are not usually in a typical saddle with reins. “They are on a bareback pad, because the key component of this is the movement of the horse; the gait of the horse is the same as a human’s gait, which is why, scientifically speaking, the synapses in the brain and the neural pathways are triggered much differently when an individual is mounted on horseback than when they are on a ball or some of the other modalities a therapist would use.”
Another thing that differs from what you would traditionally think of when up on a horse is that individuals aren’t always facing forward. “Most of them sit backwards, and ride backwards, which is why we have a side-walker for everybody,” says Schermann. “Even if the person is able-bodied, the things we have them doing are not typical. So you start forward, you ride backward, you ride forward, you ride sideways.”
Sometimes, a person might not be on the horse at all. The farm also offers psychotherapy with Judith Liu, a licensed clinical social worker who is certified in Animal Assisted Psychotherapy (AAT). Working with Liu, either as an individual or a family, is a one-on-one experience for privacy reasons. Sessions are often centered around talk therapy while working with the horses by grooming them, feeding them, and just being with them, which is in itself a calming experience.
The staff at Ridgebury Farm is warm, friendly, and passionate about their work. The main building, complete with a charming front porch and antique detail throughout, is a former tavern transformed into a general store in 1858, before it became a horse farm in 1947. If you walk up the steps someone will happily show you “Nacho” the bunny in one area, and all the baby bunnies in another. Outside the window is a view of “Farmer Phil’s Barnyard,” home to mini goats, sheep, and chickens happily roaming.
They refer to this peaceful enclave as a Holistic Wellness Farm, and it is apparent everywhere you look. That’s because so much of the experience at Ridgebury Farm And Stables is focused on the wellness of the entire family. While kids and adults with special needs get the therapy they need, every detail of the experience is thoughtfully considered. “Everything around here has intention,” Schermann says. For example, the Mercantile - a space in the main house complete with Wi-Fi, coffee, and bathrooms, where siblings, parents, or companions can sit if it’s too hot or too cold outside. Clients and siblings can enjoy the big swing, the (indoor and clean) Corn Pit, or the Mud Kitchen, where play and stress relief double as additional sensory stimulation. The idea is everyone gets what they need, with the least amount of running around. “Our families are dealing with a lot,” Schermann tells us.
You might call it kismet that the farm ended up in Ridgefield, a community wired to be supportive of those with special needs, smack in the middle of horse country. With all the equine properties in the area, none of them incorporate hippotherapy because everything that comes with owning a medical facility and a farm is infrastructure-heavy. “It’s expensive and it takes the right team, and after three years we have a rock-solid team that’s able to deliver those components.” It takes a village of 20 staff and a roster of over 65 volunteers to make this magic happen.
“Ridgefield is so closely connected with the special needs population and it’s just a really core element of the community here, and that’s one thing that we love about it,” says Schermann. “And not only is everyone super kind, but it’s just already so adaptive and inclusive.”
While Ridgebury Farm is indeed a medical facility where transformative therapies take place, it is also a unique destination in that it also offers something for everyone. Casual riders can find excellent lessons from renowned instructors, families can take advantage of tractor rides through private trails strung with twinkling lights, and anyone can join in events like “Hooves and Happy Hour,” which includes a group riding lesson followed by drinks, cheese and mingling. Supporters can also look forward to signing up for the official “Ridgebury Riders Membership Program,” available late summer.
The Spruce Ridge Barn, known among staff as “The Antique,” is a gorgeous structure built in the 1850s that has just recently been renovated into a magical event space. An enormous, glass garage door dominates a side wall, while chandeliers twinkle up in the original rafters. The reservations for weddings have already started rolling in, with the first one slated to take place in October.
Before that, however, adults can join in the Third Annual Farm Fete on Saturday, September 28, and families should check out the farm’s Second Annual Fall Festival on Friday, October 25. See if you can find the one hippo on the farm (hint: its house is dust-free).
“We offer excellent therapy and excellent riding lessons.”
"Everything around here has intention."
