With USU equine specialist and veterinary professor Dr. Karl Hoopes.
Ride Utah! is an extension program that allows military personnel, both active and retired, to have a trail-ride experience with a guest of their choice. The program relies on outreach from local communities and offices to sustain it.
Hoopes is here to tell us about the program and how individuals can support it.
Wynter Varner
Thank you for joining us, Dr. Hoopes.
Karl Hoopes
Thank you, I'm glad to be here.
Wynter Varner
What's your history with horseback riding?
Karl Hoopes
Well, I grew up in western Wyoming, not too far from here in Star Valley.
I grew up riding the trails in the hills and in the woods behind and around Star Valley. I began riding when I was 2 years old, and I have been on the back of a horse ever since then.
My professional experience as a veterinarian includes looking at horse lameness and other problems that can come up with horses.
But more importantly, I've been in the back hills and in the back trails of northern Utah, eastern Idaho, and western Wyoming quite a bit.
Wynter Varner
What does a trail experience with ride Utah look like?
Karl Hoopes
Well, we hold Ride Utah! all over the state of Utah. Mostly, we're here in northern Utah. We're pretty fortunate, because Utah has a lot of real, beautiful landscapes, and the experience of being out on a horse in these landscapes is pretty amazing.
So what Ride Utah! does is, generally, I have veterans sign up to join the ride, and I have a sign-up page where they can request an individual to bring with them, whether that's a husband, a wife, a spouse, a significant other, a child, any of those things. I do have a 12-year-old age minimum that they have to fit in.
They then meet me at a location. We get on the horses, and we go up in the mountains.
Generally, we do a two hour trail-ride on beginner trails. These are not difficult trails. I have ridden the trails previous to the ride to make sure that they are safe, there's no surprises, and that the horses can handle the trail on a pretty easy level.
All of the horses that we use on Ride Utah! have been looked at, evaluated, and signed off by myself or one of the interns that I have.
Then, we go on a two hour trail-ride. I enjoy it because it gets us away from the hustle and bustle of our life here. Often, we're out of cell phone range so we don't have to worry about them ringing and getting in the way of the experience.
After the ride, we always have a meal. Ride Utah! provides the meal for the veterans and their guests.
Then we have a discussion. It can be any kind of a discussion, but generally it centers around the experience that we've had, the enjoyment that we have with it, how horses really impact our lives, and how we feel as we're around horses.
A lot of times, the discussion centers around military life and the challenges that these people have. They're able to visit with each other and help each other.
Wynter Varner
How have you seen this experience benefit the people who go on it?
Karl Hoopes
Winston Churchill is credited with a quote: "There's something about the outside of a horse that's good for the inside of a man." I truly believe that I know how I feel as I'm able to ride horses.
I know the peace, the joy, the relaxation that I feel is very important, and it's one of those benefits that we see. I'm not a mental health professional. We've done a few studies with the VA, though, where we've taken people out and they talk about the benefits that we see.
We definitely see a decrease in anxiety. We see an increase in positive feelings. We see a decrease in negative feelings, and we've even seen a decrease in the craving score for people with addictions.
Wynter Varner
How can people at home support the program?
Karl Hoopes
We need a lot of help from the community. There's, obviously, the number one thing, which is financial support. There's ways that people at home can provide financial support.
It's not easy taking care of horses, and it's not cheap. We have several individuals within the community that have horses that are very good for trail rides.
We have a lot of people that are donating horses. We have a lot of people that donate their expertise and come and help on the rides.
We also have a lot of other expenses, such as the meals and the trucks and trailers that we need to transport the horses to the trail sites.
Wynter Varner
Thank you again, Dr. Hoopes, for joining us today and telling us about the Ride Utah! program.
Karl Hoopes
All right, well thank you very much.
Wynter Varner
This has been Wynter Varner with the USU Extension Education Highlights. Thank you for tuning in.
