Growing up in the Detroit area, surrounded by concrete and metal, there aren’t many opportunities for young people to interact with horses or visit a barn.

But that’s changing due to the work of Detroit Horse Power.

On Sunday afternoon, the nonprofit group brought seven urban students for a visit to Banbury Cross Therapeutic Equestrian Center (1223 Brauer Rd.) in Metamora Twp.

“We have such high regard for the work that Banbury Cross has been doing for many, many years and are really grateful that they’ve opened up their doors and shared their work with our students,” said David Silver, founder and executive director of Detroit Horse Power.

Founded in 2015, the organization teaches urban youth to ride and care for horses as a way to develop the critical skills necessary for future success.

“Our mission is to empower students through the life lessons that horses teach us,” Silver said. “Our five core character traits are confidence, perseverance, empathy, self-control and responsible risk-taking. We learn these lessons through our interactions with the horses.”

The four boys and three girls toured Banbury’s facility, met some horses (plus two barn cats) and learned more about Banbury’s special mission.

Founded in 1991, Banbury Cross is well-known and respected for using horseback riding to help students with physical and cognitive disabilities grow emotionally and socially while improving their overall physical fitness. The organization works with special education programs and students from both the Oxford and Lapeer school districts.

Banbury Cross is fully-accredited by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International, a nonprofit organization that promotes equine-assisted activities and therapies for children and adults, including veterans, with special needs.

During their time at Banbury, students from Detroit Horse Power discussed their strengths, their goals and the barriers to achieving those goals.

They then participated in an activity in the indoor arena. They worked together to create an obstacle course using various items in the arena, such as cones and barrels, then attempted to successfully guide two horses, Elmo and Chip, through it.

The catch was they couldn’t use any tools to do it – no halters, no lead lines, no equipment, period.

Students learned to work together as a team and rely on their strengths, skills and experiences to persevere and literally overcome the obstacles in their path.

The visit to Banbury was part of Detroit Horse Power’s new afterschool program that runs from October to June. Thirteen youths are part of the program that meets six times per month.

They meet every Tuesday in Detroit, without horses, to focus on life lessons.

“You’re feeling really confident in the saddle, (now) how do we bring that into your math class,” Silver said.

Every other Sunday, the program visits “a different horse barn in southeast Michigan,” Silver said, in order “to expose our kids to what’s out there in the horse community and broaden their horizons.”

They’ve visited barns where horses are used for rodeo training, police work, even polo.

“We are exposing our youth to a variety of different horse disciplines and ways that horses can be our partners in the different things that we do,” said Emily Hornung, coordinator of the afterschool program.

This was Detroit Horse Power’s first visit to a therapeutic riding facility where horses are used to promote healing, personal growth, self-confidence and compassion for others.

“To put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine life from a very different perspective is so important,” Silver said.

Jessica Moore, executive director of Banbury Cross, was excited about the visit.

“Any time we can expose our facility to more people who aren’t already aware of it, I think it’s great,” she said. “There are so many people who say to us, ‘We didn’t even know you were here.’ We’ve been here for 27 years.”

Moore is hoping their time at Banbury Cross will inspire some of the students to volunteer there or consider pursuing a career in therapeutic riding.

“To me, that’s exciting and empowering for them,” she said.

For the past two summers, Detroit Horse Power has held weekly camps at Ringside Equestrian Center in New Hudson, near Novi. In 2007, the group conducted eight weeks of camps for a total of 107 students, all of whom were recruited through partnerships with schools and nonprofits based in Detroit.

“It’s all free for our students,” Silver said. “We’re funded by grants and donations. It’s primarily been the equestrian community that has (supported) our work and made this experience possible for kids growing up in the city of Detroit.”

Detroit Horse Power is an amalgamation of Silver’s passions and experiences.

“I was very privileged to have horses when I was growing up. I’m from suburban New York,” he explained. “Horses taught me so much when I was growing up.”

In 2012, Silver moved to Detroit to work as an elementary school teacher. He continued teaching through 2014 and in the process, became “very aware of the many challenges that keep our kids in Detroit from reaching their full potential.”

It seemed natural for Silver to combine the two experiences. “It made a lot of sense to me to step outside the classroom to make this high-impact youth development opportunity available to kids growing up with far more barriers than I could have ever imagined,” he said.

“I really believe horses have so much to offer everybody,” Silver continued. “Kids growing up in the city, traditionally, would never be able to access that powerful opportunity. Breaking down those barriers and opening doors for our kids in Detroit is really deeply meaningful to me and . . . it (resonates) with me on a much deeper level than I ever (experienced) as a competitive rider.”

Detroit Horse Power is planning to transform some vacant land in Detroit into an urban equestrian facility that will be home to year-round programs.

Silver said it will make horses more accessible to young people and turn some vacant land that’s “weighing down” a neighborhood into “something that neighbors can be proud of and brings new life into hard-hit communities.”

“We expect to have a site selected in the coming months, then move through (the) city approval (process) and ultimately, (launch) a capital campaign to construct the new center,” he said.

For more information, please visit www.detroithorsepower.org.