Centaur Stride, a therapeutic horseback riding center for people with and without disabilities, is located between Westfield and Sherman.

I always was amazed how my husband knew so much about whatever was happening in our community even before it was ever printed in the newspaper.

I moved to Westfield in1974. My husband was born here and his family had been here for generations. His roots were here.

Due to life’s many challenges, he needed to take on the role of getting the kids to school and watching them when I was not home.

Once he got the kids to school, he went for coffee at a nearby diner. There were usually two or three tables pushed together and men of the area would congregate and shoot the breeze. That was his social outlet, one which he looked forward to every day. They were farmers, independent contractors, retirees, or just anyone who had the flexibility in their schedule for a cup of coffee (usually between 8 to 10 a.m. )

One time I was pulled over for speeding just outside Westfield on my way to the University of Buffalo, where I had to drive daily for school. I had to leave by 6:15 to get there in time for my 8 a.m. class. The officer didn’t give me a ticket, just a warning. I thanked God. We were so broke. I couldn’t afford a ticket.

When I got home, my husband asked me about it! I wasn’t planning to mention it. He heard it “through the Grapevine” and it sure had a network!

As I was finishing my final internships to become a licensed physical therapist, my husband read an article about therapeutic horseback riding in one of my therapy magazines.

I never had time to read them, but on the front cover was a photo of a child in a wheelchair next to a horse. That got his attention.

We had five horses of our own at the time, and I was just discussing our need to sell them. It was a three against one vote.

My two children did not want to give up their pets, and it was already therapeutic for my husband, giving him something to do that he enjoyed. It was just a fact that I would never have time in my schedule for horses.

As it was, it seemed we spent our entire weekends on horse related chores. There was always so much work, and none of them wanted to take the responsibility of doing it, much less all the time, without me!

He took that magazine to the coffee group, and it became a topic of discussion. Every day someone would ask how the progress was coming. I was dead set against the idea. I knew it was way too much of an undertaking, cost prohibitive, and would just add more to my never-ending workload and responsibilities.

His plan of building a therapeutic riding center took on a life of its own. One of the men in the “coffee group” took a particular interest in the project. That was Ralph Wilson, a Westfield resident, a Civil and Mechanical Engineer. He kept my husband focused on the idea. It took four years before the pieces fit together to start building the center, but it was Ralph’s interest (or just his “Gift of Gab”) that kept the idea alive and percolating! Ralph designed the center!

It didn’t matter that I was totally against the idea! When the reality of it finally hit me, that this was my destiny, my life took on a new meaning and purpose. One that actually gave me great joy!

Note: Ralph passed away on Jan 6, 2025. Without him, there never would have been a “Centaur Stride”!

Claudia Monroe is executive director of Centaur Stride, a therapeutic horseback riding center for people with and without disabilities, located between Westfield and Sherman.