CHATSWORTH : Disabled to Compete in Horseback Riding

A bullet damaged the brain of Gilberto Hernandez, 18, of Mission Hills. Car accidents caused brain injuries to Dawn Rader, 22, of Canoga Park, and Lloyd Anderson, 24, of North Hills, both of whom must now use walkers to get around.

But through a Chatsworth-based horsemanship program for the disabled, all three--and many other riders--receive steady physical exercise and the kind of effective, fun therapy that usually doesn’t come cheap.

And following months of training, Hernandez, Rader, Anderson, and two other members of Gloria Hamblin’s Ride On program--Allen Bruissard, 10, of Encino, and Rasa Paplauskas, 16, of Tujunga--will compete this weekend in the eighth annual California State Championships for Disabled Riders in Rancho Cucamonga.

“It’s the only sport that many of our riders can compete in,” said Hamblin, who founded the nonprofit organization in March, 1994.

Using one of her own horses and four borrowed horses, Hamblin and volunteers teach a group of 18 disabled riders the basics of dressage, jumping, driving, vaulting, costume and other categories judged at horse shows.

Ride On programs, which take place twice weekly at Broken Tree Ranch in Chatsworth, is partly funded by the Los Angeles County Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, and partly by donations. Some pay part of the cost of lessons themselves, Hamblin said.

The championships, which take place on Saturday and Sunday, are the “highlight of the year” for some of the more experienced, accomplished riders in the group, Hamblin said.

“They stay in a hotel overnight, hang out with horses all day, go to parties in the evening, and have a banquet with awards on Sunday. They get to know people. To win a blue ribbon, it’s a big deal. For some, it’s the first time they’ve ever won anything.”

Admission to the horse show is free. For more information, contact Hamblin at (818) 700-8412.