Since its inception in 2015, Detroit Horse Power has served the city’s youth, ages 11-18, with riding and other equine-related programming that helps its young participants develop social and emotional skills. For those nine years, the organization has operated on borrowed horses, equipment and facilities, transporting students from the urban center to participating barns outside of Detroit. 

Now, Detroit Horse Power has 14 acres to call its own, right in the heart of the city. On Oct. 21, shovels broke ground on the program’s future facility in northwest Detroit, which will be the largest urban equestrian center in the U.S. once completed in 2026. Fundraising totaling $8 million allowed the organization to envision ideal equestrian facilities, including stabling for 17 horses, an indoor and outdoor arena, bridle trails, seven acres of grazing paddocks, and 10,000 square feet dedicated to youth program classrooms, nonprofit offices and community gathering spaces. 

Founder and executive director David Silver is most excited that the new space will allow the program to accept more students and introduce more Detroit youth to horses. 

“Right now, we have around 100 students in our summer camps, and we have 40 students in our after-school programs, and those numbers are going to significantly increase,” said Silver. “We’re expecting that between 500 to 1,000 students will come to summer camp each year, and our after-school program will have 100 students year-round, on top of a new field trip program that we expect will introduce 1,000 students to horses on an annual basis.” 

The new grounds are located on the former site of the Paul Robeson School, which was destroyed by a fire in 2011. After the damaged buildings were demolished, the 14-acre property sat vacant for more than a decade. Since 2016, Detroit Horse Power has been in conversation with neighbors with regular updates and open forums fielding concerns and questions about what horse facilities would bring to their community, Hope Village. 

“[The land] has been overgrown and blighted and a real weight on the community,” Silver said. “The community support for adding horses to their neighborhood has been absolutely essential to making this successful, and it really rounded out the wide coalition of folks that believe in adding horses to Detroit’s future.” 

At the groundbreaking event, the nonprofit celebrated the upcoming build with about 300 community members, and speakers including community leaders and program alumni. Le’Airra Jones, 18, is a program alum who first became involved with the organization in fourth grade, and she spoke to attendees about her transformative experience with Detroit Horse Power. 

“I think that we’re all super excited to see this unfold,” Jones said. “The way that Detroit Horse Power has helped us all grow as individual people is just game-changing.” 

Jones believes that having access to their own facility will bring an important sense of ownership to young riders. For the first time in its nearly decade-long history, the program will be able to purchase its own horses. 

“It’s very hard for us to have the space to ride horses, because we’re on borrowed time, borrowed equipment, borrowed spaces,” Jones said of the current system. “It’s so hard for us to take the kids to different places all over Michigan, to transport them door-to-door, pick them up from Detroit, and take them to different cities to ride horses.” 

While grateful to barns that have donated their horses and space, Silver is also excited to see how students benefit from having access to program-owned horses. He believes it will both improve their horsemanship and deepen their relationships with the animals. 

“Our students have never had a home of their own,” he said. “They generally don’t ride the same horse twice, and that’s really affected their ability to develop their skills in the saddle and on the ground. More so, [we’re looking forward] for them just to have a homebase and those consistent relationships with incredible horse partners, and the kinds of ownership and responsibility that comes from having your own space to take care of that you can count on.” 

At the groundbreaking, Detroit Horse Power also announced the launch of its Stable Future Fund, a $2 million campaign that, when met, would create a runway for the first 18 months of operations in the new facilities and support free youth programming. 

“This is a dream come true for our students,” Silver said. “The biggest feedback that we get from residents these days, especially because we’ve been talking with neighbors about this for so many years, is basically saying, ‘Finally, this is happening! We’ve been on board for a long time, and we’re so excited to see what has been a negative in our community turned into something so incredibly positive.’ ” 

Jones, who graduated from high school last spring, looks forward to continuing her journey with Detroit Horse Power into this next chapter. 

“I can’t wait to see the smiles on the kids’ faces when they realize how amazing the facility is going to be,” Jones said. “There are so many opportunities that Detroit Horse Power is going to bring to new kids, and I’m super excited to see how it goes.” 

To learn more about Detroit Horse Power, visit its website.

A this article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Untacked. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.