As one of the most gentle and sweet horses on the farm, Lizzy is a star at the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program in Clifton, Virginia, even though she just moved here in 2017. Her larger Haflinger/draft frame makes her an ideal horse for military riders. (Andrea Scott/Staff)Jimmy Fierro is a helicopter crew chief in the U.S. Army. He spends his week maintaining and flying on Black Hawk helicopters out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, but he spends his Sundays volunteering at the riding program. One of his favorite horses is Teddy, the mini horse. “He’s like a cat,” Fierro says. “You just got to get him to come to you.” (Andrea Scott/Staff)Prince cheeses for the camera one late December 2017 afternoon. He is 22 years old and normally works with children with disabilities, which is a focus of the facility. But he’s also great with veteran riders. Every therapist picks a horse for each client based on the personality and needs of the rider. (Andrea Scott/Staff)Tessa Hassett has been an instructor at NVTRP for three years. She first became involved when her younger sister came to the program for therapeutic riding in 2002. (Andrea Scott/Staff)Loki is the most comfortable in front of the camera, his handlers say. He was out grazing in the back pasture when Fierro came to say goodbye for the evening. (Andrea Scott/Staff)The Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program has more than 200 volunteers on its roster. Volunteers perform duties like combing horses and cleaning hooves, as Fierro does here. Volunteers make the program work, employees say. (Andrea Scott/Staff)Lizzy stands watch over the pastures as the end of a long weekend. Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days at the stable, jam-packed full of riders all day. Winter may be here, but the horses at NVTRP ride outdoors year-round. (Andrea Scott/Staff)
