Detroit Horse Power: Empowering Urban Youth Through Horsemanship

Detroit Horse Power's Mission

• 💡 Detroit Horse Power (DHP) is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to increasing opportunities for youth in Detroit by teaching valuable life lessons through horsemanship.
• 🎯 The organization focuses on developing confidence, perseverance, and leadership in urban youth, proving horses' impact extends beyond traditional equestrian settings.

Youth Programs and Development

• 🐴 DHP offers free summer horse camps and a year-round after-school program, currently transporting students to partner barns outside the city.
• 🚀 Summer camps are week-long day programs introducing around 100 students annually to horses, fostering dramatic transformations from shyness to confidence.
• 🧠 The after-school program, though classroom-based, helps translate life skills learned from horses into everyday situations, with advanced students becoming junior counselors.

The PERCS Character Framework

• ✅ DHP's curriculum emphasizes five core character traits, forming the acronym PERCS: Perseverance, Empathy, Responsible Risk-taking, Confidence, and Self-control.
• 🌟 These traits are fundamental for personal growth, leadership, and success in school and life, directly learned through interactions with horses.

Vision for an Urban Equestrian Center

• 🏗️ A major future development is the construction of a 14-acre urban equestrian center on Detroit's west side, transforming vacant land into a vibrant community asset.
• 📅 Groundbreaking is set for October 2024, with the center expected to open by early 2026, dramatically expanding DHP's capacity and impact.
• 📈 The new facility will allow for daily access to horses, scaling up to 500 summer campers per month and thousands of annual field trip participants.

Community Impact and Support

• 🏡 The center will feature stables for up to 17 horses, indoor/outdoor riding spaces, classrooms, and community spaces for neighborhood events and activities.
• 🤝 DHP actively partners with the community, ensuring the project is developed with residents, not just for them, and encourages economic development.
• 💰 Support for DHP comes from an annual gala, benefit rides, and donations, which are crucial for providing free programs to Detroit's youth.