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LASD Mounted Horse Deputies Provide Riding Lessons & Confidence Building to Parks Bureau Mona Park Compton YAL Kids

When the Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail (MED) by the television cameras during the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, the kids of the Parks Bureau Youth Activities League center at Mona Park will recognize some new friends they’ve made: The deputies and their horses.

“The kids got a kick out of knowing these horses will be in the Rose Parade,” said Deputy Karen Velasquez, supervisor of the Parks Bureau YAL center, who worked with the Sheriff's Mounted Enforcement team to arrange a special day of horseback riding lessons in late August for the kids from the Mona Park YAL, one of 17 Sheriff’s Youth Foundation YAL centers in Los Angeles County.

The Mona Park Sheriff's Youth Activities League (YAL) is located at 2291 East 121 Street, Compton, and operated by the Parks Bureau (www.Parks.lasd.org) of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (www.lasd.org)


“It was a great day for the kids, not only meeting the deputies and their horses, but also learning how to ride, and learning how to care for the horses,” Velasquez said. “They really took a lot of pride in it after they got up the courage to climb up on the horses.”

She added: “The neat thing about it was our captain, Steve Smith, who is horse trained and has been riding horses for years, showed up and rode with the kids as well.” Velasquez said the special event was spearheaded by Deputy Hilbrand Goedhart of the Sheriff’s mounted programs.

The Mounted Enforcement Detail (MED) includes full-time deputies as well as reserve deputies who train in addition to their regular work week, and provide the Sheriff’s Department with a well-trained equestrian unit capable of being utilized in a variety of situations, including crowd management, crime suppression, and equine and livestock evacuation in the event of fires or other disasters.

Velasquez said seven MED deputies brought their horses to the Industry Hills Expo Center, where they often train, and met 13 kids from the YAL. “The horses are very therapeutic for kids,” Velasquez said, adding that the riding lesson was especially rewarding for "A," a 9-year-old girl who was born without a forearm, and is often reluctant to participate in physical activities with the other kids at the YAL.

“Just to see her face when she got up there on that horse, it just brought her so much confidence,” Velasquez said. “That was a very special moment.”

Arley said her favorite part of the experience was “when he let me ride the horse around in circles,” and she’s glad that she and her friends from the YAL got the chance to not only meet the horses, but also try something they had never done before.

“At first I was scared,” she said. “I was scared because I only have one hand, but I challenged myself to get on it — and then I realized it’s not scary to get on the horse, even if you only have one hand.”

About the Sheriff’s Youth Foundation
The Sheriff’s Youth Foundation of Los Angeles County utilizes seven individual programs that work with at-risk youth in Los Angeles County, helping children and teens pursue happy, productive lives — and steer clear of crime, drugs and other issues that can damage young lives.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing them with safe facilities, planned programs, and the vital tools they need to thrive and succeed in life.

The programs include the Foundation’s 17 Youth Activities League centers, as well as:

Success Through Awareness and Resistance (STAR);

Vital Intervention Directional Alternative (VIDA);

Sheriffs Teaching At-Risk Teens (START);

Bicycle Education and Registration (BEAR);

999 for Kids; and

Stop Hate and Respect Everyone (SHARE Tolerance).

For more information visit

www.SheriffsYouthFoundation.org
https://www.facebook.com/SheriffsYouthFoundation
https://twitter.com/sheriffyouth


or call (323) 526-5120 or email [email protected]

Photo Caption:
The Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail recently gave a hands-on lesson in horseback riding to kids from the Parks Bureau Youth Activities League center at Mona Park, one of 17 Sheriff’s Youth Foundation YAL centers throughout Los Angeles County.

Written by:
Sergeant AJ Rotella
Sheriff’s Youth Foundation
4700 Ramona Blvd., 4th floor
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(323) 526-5120
[email protected]
www.SheriffsYouthFoundation.org
https://www.facebook.com/SheriffsYouthFoundation
https://twitter.com/sheriffyouth



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Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

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