Silver Buckle Youth Equestrian Center

Silver Buckle Youth Equestrian Center is dedicated to empowering hope and positively impact lives through equine assisted activities in a suburban environment. Our programs strive to improve the quality of life for the youth in our community by providing behavioral and social healing through equine programs that foster building confidence, communication skills, and emotional coping tools through their relationships built with caring humans and heart connecting horses. Our goal is to facilitate learning and development of important life skills such as respect, responsibility, trust, citizenship, and compassion.

Silver Buckle provides a place where the youth learn responsibility and with that comes a sense of pride. I’ve seen the youth come and learn how to work together; proving to themselves, in fact, that they have what it takes to thrive in the world. They take that back home with them, that positive self worth. Silver Buckle is like a searchlight, shining on the youth, presenting “life” and saying, “You CAN do this.” - Client Testimonial

It is no secret that all youth struggle in various degrees to overcome challenges such as fear, anger, self-esteem, confidence, and understanding right from wrong. At the Center, program participants learn life and career skills through horses. By investing in youth and families, Silver Buckle makes a positive and lasting impact in the community while offering hands-on education.

Kids see horses as fun, but they are also amazing teachers who require special accommodations and ongoing expensive care. We rely on donors, like yourselves, to fulfill our mission. Your gift can make all the difference in the life of a young person. Please consider making as generous a gift as you can. 

SBYEC does not discriminate based on age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion or disability. As a practice, we are accepting of differences and take the time to openly discuss whether or not we can make special accommodations for people who might require it. We have students that might have general muscle weakness, learning disabilities, anxiety/depression, and Downs Syndrome among other disabilities. 

    Because we have a flexible program with good general-use (non-discipline specialized) horses, we can work with some disabilities. Many specialized lesson programs (hunter/jumpers, gaming, etc.) cannot accommodate special needs because the horses are too specialized/sensitive in their training. While we have some of these horses for upper level riders, we also have several horses who are easy-going and can manage the erratic movements that can come with disabilities. Our instructors are patient and work to make sure each of the students can progress at his or her own pace. If a student cannot progress and is only there for enrichment, our program accommodates that as well. For example, we have one student who is progressing at a slower pace. We have specifically scheduled another trainer to work with him during lessons so he can still be a part of the group and everyone can progress. We also have one student with Downs Syndrome who we cannot put on a horse safely, so we have created opportunities for her to work with the horses on the ground to gain motor skills and enrichment. 

In general, SBYEC is very accommodating, and we work to be as inclusive as possible in our program.