The Ride, A Surprising Sabbath for the Soul

Published: December 16, 2023

Author: Julia Roat-Abla

Equine Program nurtures career and character.

Taylor Weiss ’24, a future special education teacher, uses the training she receives through GU’s Equine Assisted Services program to add another tool to her teaching tool belt. She is discovering how horses can be a powerful way to engage students with disabilities. “There is such a special connection between the horses and students with disabilities. I hope to help my students by exposing them to horses; they can learn so much just by being around them.”

Working with horses changes people. It catalyzes discovery about oneself and others. Liz Bays knows it.

Liz, director of Greenville University's new equine program, describes a horse's strength, beauty, speed, prey intelligence, and social instinct as the doorway to growth for its rider. Awareness and confidence grow. Emotional maturity grows. Leadership, problem-solving, patience, empathy, and responsibility all grow.

Inspiration weaves its way into the picture, too. Says Liz of horses, “Enthusiasts frequently describe their presence as therapeutic and a sabbath for the mind and soul."

GU's equine program is designed to enhance the student experience and offer another context to develop character and serve others. The equine program upholds GU's long-standing tradition of innovative, ahead-of-the-curve thinking coupled with a deep commitment to Christ-like character and service.

Equine Assisted Services (EAS) reflects a growing interest in health and wellness. Health and clinical professionals increasingly use equine therapies to address cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical challenges. Community organizations tap them to serve veterans, foster children, at-risk youth, and even prisoners. As a result, state and federal legislation continues to acknowledge the benefits of therapies that use horses.

Students enrolled in the program participate in clinics where they learn how to conduct riding lessons and learn about using horses for therapy and emotional healing. They can build portfolios toward certification as PATH International Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. In the future, students will conduct riding camps and give private lessons.

Bays champions the equine program as a great fit for GU. “I see character development daily [in] students working with their horses. I see the confidence it brings, the skills it develops, the joy it offers, and the inevitable growth that follows for a person mentally, emotionally, and physically.”

To learn more about GU’s unique equine program, email Liz Bays at elizabeth.bays@greenville.edu.

Published in the Fall 2023: The RECORD RISE UP: A Vision for GU.