S2: Detroit Horse Power#48

Detroit Horse Power founder and equestrian, David Silver, is interviewed by Romy. Learn about the passion for children behind the vision and the expansive potential impact of this great social enterprise!   Full transcript Romy: Let’s get started. David, will you first tell us about Detroit Horse Power? Then, we’ll dive back into the history. David: Sure. Detroit Horse Power is a nonprofit I started to expand opportunities for kids who live in the City of Detroit by teaching them valuable life lessons through riding and caring for horses. Our long-term goal is to combine this powerful youth development opportunity with vacant land revitalization by building a new urban riding center on some of Detroit’s vacant land, the unused space in the city. We’ve experienced significant population decline over many decades, and it’s left a real burden on communities and turning that burden into a community asset. It’s a really exciting opportunity for our long-term plans. Romy: That’s good. Right out of the gate, we got two really cool social missions. Here we go, the youth development with caring for horses and rehabbing the vacant land. I know you’ve got a background in horses because we’ve talked a lot. Will you take us back to how this evolved? David: I grew up as a competitive horseback rider in Westchester, New York. The sport I grew up riding in is called Three-Day Eventing which is actually an Olympics sport. I was fortunate to have a supportive family and a horse of my own. We were able to get a lot of training, traveling, and competing, and setting goals, and working hard to achieve them. It wasn’t until later, I ended up taking a bit of a break from horses to make the most of my college experience. I went to Dartmouth. Then, I moved to Detroit in 2012 through Teach for America. As I was seeing the tremendous needs for our kids in the City of Detroit who have so many obstacles stacked against them whether it’s unstable neighborhoods or families moving around a lot or not able to meet kids’ needs, I saw a real important need for more safe and enriching space outside of school that are giving kids skills that set them up for future success. All of this was going on while space I had from my childhood experience with horses allowed me to reflect on the powerful ways horses have shaped who I am today. Things like the confidence that comes with riding, responsibility for another living being, and perseverance to not give up when things get hard. There’re so many powerful life lessons that horses can teach us. It became a natural next step for me to combine this powerful background in my story with my passion for expanding opportunity for Detroit to use. Romy: That’s good. Before we go further into the social mission, what made you think about staying in Detroit to do it because there’re not horses walking around the city? David: It’s a unique opportunity. First of all, I feel very fortunate to have been placed in Detroit. I didn’t know very much about the city, and I don’t have any family in Michigan, but I feel a very strong connection with the City of Detroit and the hardworking people who are doing incredible things to build a strong future for residents. What became the most compelling opportunity, in my mind, is horses combine the research-based therapeutic effects for at-risk youth, among other populations, in need with a large space requirement. They’re big animals, and they take up a lot of space. In most cities, that would be a deal breaker because most cities don’t have large amounts of open space for a large riding center. In Detroit, that actually really matches a big need that’s going to help...