The Halifax Lancers are celebrating 90 years providing horse-riding services to the city. “It is an incredible milestone for any organization, but especially for what we do with the uniqueness of providing services with horses in an urban environment and in a nonprofit model,” says Claire Halstead, the school’s development and engagement director. When they opened in 1936, she says the goal was to bring the joy of horses to people in the city. “We started as an organization for children, making courses accessible to children living in the city. That expanded to adults. We serve children from the age of 5 to 75. There’s no age cap,” says Halstead. She says the impact the school has had on people is unquantifiable. “From children who have attended our pony rides as little toddlers and have now graduated and moved overseas to create their equestrian career. From individuals who started their careers here as riders and now have gone off to be veterinarians,” she says. Emily Jewer has worked with the Halifax Lancers for more than eight years and now serves as their therapeutic riding instructor. “I started at Lancers as an adult rider, but the community was so open, inviting and welcoming, it made me want to spend more time there, not just as a rider, but to be able to give back to the community in another way,” she says. “It’s just been an amazing process to see Lancers reach 90 years. It’s such an amazing program to be in the middle of the city. No one is as accessible in the riding community as Lancers is, and to be here for that long is such an amazing achievement.” As the non-profit celebrates the milestone, they reflect on what can happen when you give back and share the love of horses. “We always joke that horses are unicorns because they’re the closest you get to magic in life,” says Halstead. “For those who have maybe never interacted with the horses, it’s sometimes hard to experience. But once you experience it and how they see us for who we are, they do not judge us on anything except for how we treat them, that is life changing.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
