A 14-acre urban equestrian center is slated to open by January on Detroit's west side.
The $13-million, 26,395 square-foot center at Fenkell and Linwood in Detroit’s Hope Village neighborhood will be the new home of nonprofit Detroit Horse Power for after-school programming, summer camps, field trips and more for Detroit's youth — for free. Detroit Horse Power aims to give kids between ages 11-18 years old an opportunity to ride and care for horses.
The center is slated to hold stables for 17 horses, an indoor riding arena, outdoor riding spaces, paddocks for the horses to graze, and classrooms and community space. The after-school program will start with 250 students and eventually grow to 500 students, said David Silver, founder and executive
director of Detroit Horse Power.
Silver gave Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield a peek at Detroit Horse Power's new space, what he expects to be "largest urban equestrian center in the whole country."
"It's in the neighborhoods and it's for our young people, and that's what it's all about. Detroit youth deserve the very best, they deserve the opportunity to have exposure to different ways that will improve their social and emotional skills, which is a critical part in being a leader," Sheffield said. "I'm very, very pleased, and very excited for what this means for our young people."
Silver, who was a teacher at Burns Elementary-Middle School, said horses were "powerful" during his formative years.
"But kids ordinarily don't access the benefits of horses, so I decided to leave my job and start this organization," Silver said. "This is gonna be a space our students can own and have long-term responsibilities and relationships with the same horses, and accessible in the community so that kids could get dropped off or take the bus, or take the Joe Louis Greenway and get right here and access the benefits of horses."
The organization has been providing programming since 2015, and has served more than 1,000 kids at equestrian facilities across the region.
Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Hope Village Revitalization, and a board member of Detroit Horse Power, said the new center is a "full circle" moment for him after watching the property sit underutilized.
"Our kids and our grandkids are gonna be the ones that really benefit from it. I couldn't be prouder," Jones said.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Horse Power offers a sneak peek at equestrian center
