From crowd control to parades and community events, seeing a mounted patrol out and about on urban streets is always a striking sight. However, not many city dwellers have the opportunity to get up close with horses on a regular basis. Prior to approximately 18 months ago, before becoming a member of the Pittsburgh Police Mounted Patrol Unit, Detective Dorothea Leftwich had limited contact with them herself.

“Horses found me during a hard season of my life, and they gave me something I didn’t know I needed,” she told American Police Beat.

Indeed, horses are often used to therapeutically aid individuals, such as people with disabilities, veterans and those dealing with mental health concerns.

Now, Leftwich wants to invite young people living in the city to discover that extraordinary bond by establishing the Riding Into the Future program.

Launched this summer in partnership with a local 4-H chapter and Sunni Bell Stables in western Pennsylvania, the campaign seeks to instruct inner-city youth on how to care for horses as well as develop riding skills. The kids also take part in 4-H initiatives and have a chance to earn 4-H scholarships.

“Being the first Black woman on the mounted unit already felt like carrying something bigger than myself — this program feels like the reason for all of it,” Leftwich shares. “If I can plant one seed in one kid that grows into something they carry for the rest of their life, everything I’ve been through to get here will have been worth it.”