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My name is Raeshell Sorensen. I'm the Equestrian Program Manager, here at the National Ability
Center. I want to talk a little bit about the people who can, and may not be able to
ride with us. We do have a couple of limitations, because we are working with live animals,
so we do have a weight limit. Generally, it is two hundred pounds, but depending on the
height or the disability of the rider, it could go down from there. We generally don't
have people with quadriplegia ride, but that doesn't mean they can’t. It depends on the
level of paralysis, as well as their athleticism, and ability to hold up their upper body. Our
side walkers are trained to support upper body to a certain extent, but a large adult
who can't support their upper body, would make for a safety concern, in a riding lesson.
Our side walkers and our instructors also have to be able to pull somebody off in an
emergency, so we will make certain limitations to riders, if they might be too heavy to be
able to take off safely, in order to keep the rider, the side walkers, instructor, and
the horses, as safe as possible.