Memorial Page

Whiskey

Whiskey was born 6/8/85 and was one of the original horses when Centaur Stride started in 1993. This special red roan Appaloosa helped make Centaur Stride what it is today. He had a unique sense of his riders’ abilities or lack of and would behave accordingly. If the rider was experienced, he could be a bit of a rascal. But then he would be oh so careful with therapy or timid riders. He was mostly used in the arena for all types of lessons as the light on the trails would surprise his Appy eyes. Whiskey was the herd boss till the day he passed. When Dusty joined our herd, they became best buddies. He was tremendously missed when he passed on November 11, 2016.

Rosie

Rosie was a cute pony mule mare born about 1996. She was purchased at an auction on October 7, 2006. Rosie was very smart. One of the hardest things to teach her was to get up close to the rider lift. She was like, “No way am I getting close to that thing that moves!” We finally taught her to walk over it when it was down. After that, getting close was no problem. Rosie gave many riders their first ride and also carried many riders who needed 2 sidewalkers and a lot of patience! She was the perfect height too. She passed at the age of 32.

Dusty

Dusty was a beautiful red dun Quarter Horse gelding. He was born 5/5/85 and was donated November 3, 2007 by Kathy Jones. We were hesitant to take a 22 yr. old horse, but Dusty was awesome and fit in our program almost immediately. He became our babysitter carefully carrying new riders or those struggling to learn with great patience. He did it all, trails, canter, whatever, he was up for it. He developed a strong friendship with Whiskey. He passed in February 2016.

Janasula

Janasula was one of the original lesson horses. She was a purebred Arabian mare born on May 15, 1981. She preferred quiet riders and served faithfully till her passing July 24, 2012. Jani was a puddle jumper; she did not like getting her feet wet! Otherwise, she was a great trail horse and did W-T-C lessons as well as therapy riders.

Merrisue

Merrisue was a tall bay Morgan mare born April 13, 1989. She was donated by Helen Lynn in May of 2001. Merrisue LOVED trails. She was also a favorite of our independent riders as she liked to go and wasn’t lazy like certain other lesson horses! She had a beautiful canter and a very kind heart. She was retired and returned to her donator in 2015 at the age of 26.

Maple

(In front) Maple came in 2003. A fluffy small Shetland pony, he was great to give hugs to. Many children started riding on his back. He loved being with Dyeak and would squeal like a pig if he felt ‘threatened’ by any other horse. (It worked too!)

Dude

He was donated by Ed Pace in May 2009 and easily passed his entry exam and specialized training. He was very attentive to his rider, gentle and eager to please, making him a great lesson horse. He was a friend to all the other horses and loved the attention of all the visitors.

Eli

Eli was a gelding purchased in 2003 with a grant from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. He was calm and strong and gentle enough to work with even our most physically disabled clients.

Saigon

Saigon was donated by Emily Overend in July on 2012. He was a quiet Thoroughbred gelding who came to us with great training. His willing personality made him the best choice for our more advanced riders, although he was equally capable of giving rides to the less experienced.

Gypsie

Gypsie was donated by Caitlin Ballerstein in 2005. She was a steady trail horse, did walk, trot, canter lessons, and was also used for therapy lessons.

Nikki

Nikki was donated in 1996 by Sandi Landrich and was a great therapy horse.

Gigi

Gigi was donated in 2017 by Jan Curcio. Despite her tall height, she was a gentle giant in the barn community, being a perfect fit for our taller disabled riders, along with our more advanced riders.