Preschoolers learn about horses at Chris Ryder Stable

Chesterfield, NJ — The Chris Ryder Stable welcomed more than two dozen preschoolers from Fantazja Przedszkole, a bilingual daycare center for Polish-American and Ukrainian children located in Trenton, to Winners Training Center to meet and learn about Standardbred harness racing horses last week.

Harry Ryder, the son of Patrick Ryder and Nadia Tarnawa, attends the daycare.

Patrick Ryder did a presentation with 4-year-old female pacer Lisa Lane, teaching the children about horses and horse care before putting on the mare’s harness and jogging her. He also took children for rides around the farm in a Gator while Nadia brought children through the barn so children could brush the horses and feed them horse snacks.

In addition, the children were treated to snacks and activities that included a bounce house and games.

The children, who had no prior knowledge of horses and spent two hours at the farm, all left with a USTA Standardbred coloring book, Hambletonian stuffed pony, and other items.

Patrick and Nadia believe it is never too early to start introducing new generations to Standardbred horses and harness racing.

“Before I met Patrick and his family, I had no prior experience or knowledge about harness racing,” Nadia said. “The entire industry seemed extremely intimidating. Now that I work for the Hambletonian Society (as staking manager) and am more involved in the sport, Patrick and I want to introduce new people/children to the sport who might feel like this is out of their reach. Hopefully, we will be able to create more of these kinds of events in the future.”

To scroll through more photos, visit Nadia’s Facebook page.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA