Standing Tall in the Saddle : Charity: A Moorpark ranch owner hosts a fund-raiser for a program that teaches disabled people how to ride horses.

Pete Peters first smiled at the friend who greeted him, then glared and told him to “go spend plenty of money.”

Peters, who was hoping to make at least $10,000 for handicapped equestrians by the end of the day Sunday, was thrilled at seeing several hundred people invade his Moorpark ranch for the cause.

The annual fund-raiser is the primary income source for Peters’ Handicapped Equestrian Learning Program, which teaches disabled people how to ride horses. “A $50 donation here and a $100 donation there isn’t possibly something that can keep the program alive,” organizer Salli Robinson said. “It costs $100 a month just to feed a horse.”

Peters’ fund-raiser featured a country-Western band, pony rides, hayrides, a barbecue and a horse show by Special Olympic athletes. Volunteers, dressed in Western costumes, also performed a stunt show for patrons.

The fund-raiser netted $10,000 last year, and Peters hoped to make the same Sunday.

Peters, a Moorpark mayoral candidate who helped found the Special Olympics in Ventura County, started the equestrian program in 1986. The year-round program, which now has about 35 people in it, is run out of his ranch on Walnut Canyon Road.

People who are physically or mentally disabled are eligible for the program, Peters said.

Down’s Syndrome patients are particularly good students, he said.

“When the kids get on the horse, they’re the ones in control. A lot of them are not in control of their lives,” said Lynn Saxey, whose son, Ned, has Down’s Syndrome and has been in the program for four years.

Learning equestrian skills has also helped Ned listen more attentively and follow directions, Saxey said. Ned, wearing traditional English-style riding gear, participated in the exhibition show Sunday. The 14-year-old has competed in equestrian events in the Special Olympics.

Sue Blackburn, whose 15-year-old son, Norman, also has Down’s Syndrome, said the boy has gained a lot of self-confidence since he entered the program about a year and a half ago.

In addition to riding and learning how to groom horses, Norman has begun to interact with other people, she said.

“He’s not very social, but when he comes here, he shakes hands with the coaches and smiles,” Blackburn said.

The children are not the only ones who learn from the program, said Bob Dellaert, a volunteer riding instructor.

Dellaert, who said he had a fear of handicapped people before getting involved with the program about a year and a half ago, has changed his feelings.

“You see someone who doesn’t look quite right, and you’re embarrassed or afraid,” Dellaert said. “Once you get to know them, they’re no different from regular people.”