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Enid Elks build awning to make riding more accessible at Bennie's Barn

Enid News & Eagle - 4/20/2019

April 19-- Apr. 19--Enid Elks Lodge 2104 recently constructed a metal awning at Bennie's Barn Equine Therapy and Riding Facility, a volunteer effort aimed at making horse therapy sessions safer and more comfortable for people with disabilities.

Elks Lodge volunteers, with a grant from the Elks National Foundation and two days of volunteer labor, built a 21-by-24-foot awning over a ramp area where disabled clients are helped onto their horses for therapy sessions.

Bennie's Barn executive director Chip Baker said inclement weather often would preclude getting disabled clients onto the horses, due to comfort and safety concerns on the outdoor loading ramp.

"Imagine, being wheelchair-bound and looking forward to your horse riding lessons all week, just to find out it's raining," Baker said. "It's a bummer. Horse lessons may be the only times these clients feel free of the confines of their chairs, they have legs under them to walk in the dirt, to go places their chair otherwise would prohibit them to be. It's a freedom so lively. Now, consider a little rain depleting your chances to ride that day, to feel free, if just for an hour.

"That's no longer a consideration we have to endure," Baker said. "Our clients are now able to load and unload from our ramp, free from the elements."

On the surface, the tin awning over the loading area doesn't look that impressive, but Baker said it has a lot more significance than meets the eye.

"At first sight, sure, it's an old red barn with an awning," Baker said. "What does it mean to me, to the riders who had to once load in the elements that Oklahoma so unapologetically brings? It means to us that we aren't alone in our fight to help others. It means to us that this community is so rich in resources for help and even richer in their hearts because they never had to help."

Randy Breitenkamp, with Enid Elks Lodge 2104, said helping Bennie's Barn clients be able to continue their sessions during rainy days was the motivation for the awning project.

"To see the sincere joy on the faces of these kids now getting their therapy sessions rain or shine, leaves no doubt that this was indeed a truly worthy Elks project," Breitenkamp said.

The awning was not the first Elks project at Bennie's Barn. In June 2018, the Enid Elks, with help from the Elks National Foundation, donated a large cooler fan to Bennie's Barn to improve the riders' experience inside the barn on hot summer days.

Baker said help from the Elks and other local volunteers and civic organizations is crucial to keep the nonprofit equine therapy program going.

"We are humbled by the work Enid Elks Lodge put into this awning," Baker said. "It's so much more than the sweat equity. It shows the true nature of the people of this town. It's a wonderful town with strong giving roots, just as Bennie would have loved to see."

That support will be needed, Baker said, as Bennie's Barn looks to expand to meet a growing regional demand for its services.

"Since the inception of Bennie's Barn, this program has quadrupled in the amount of people we serve," Baker said. "We are so excited about the growth, given our community now has this resource that most communities do not have."

He said Bennie's Barn now is serving clients from not only the Enid area, but also from as far away as Alva and Oklahoma City.

To meet the growing demand, Baker said the nonprofit is considering construction of a second barn to expand lessons and therapy sessions.

"It's a problem both good and bad," Baker said, "but expansion is necessary."

To donate, or to learn more about Bennie's Barn, visit benniesbarnenid.org, visit Bennie's Barn Horse Therapy on Facebook or contact Chip Baker at (580) 548-7259 or email benniesbarnenid@gmail.com.

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(c)2019 the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.)

Visit the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) at www.enidnews.com

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