EVENT BENEFITS EQUESTRIAN DREAM; RIDING LESSONS A MAN'S GIFT TO DISABLED CHILDREN.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

Pete Peters' Handicapped Equestrian Learning Program has come a long way since its humble but dedicated beginnings in the early '70s.

Regulars remember driving up to the Moorpark ranch for the first time to find only a large arena with horses wandering the grounds. On Sunday, visitors enjoyed themselves under a canopy, with a cement floor and a water mist system that made it feel more like a breezy evening than a scorching August afternoon.

For the ninth year in a row, Peters on Sunday hosted the traditional Horsin' Around For H.E.L.P., which helps support his effort to teach handicapped children to ride. More than 100 people ate barbecued food, watched horse demonstrations and were entertained by a cowboy stunt show.

Peters said he began the program with his wife out of a need to do something more for the community. He'd always been a dedicated equestrian, but when he won the ultimate award - the American Horse Show Horse of the Year - he decided it was time to find another challenge.

``After we won that, it was, where the heck do you go from there?'' Peters said. ``My wife died seven years ago, but I've kept it up myself.''

Peters has a regular group of about eight to 15 handicapped children who visit his ranch about once a week for riding lessons. But the program serves hundreds in all. Most of the children are wards of the state and could not afford to participate in the program without donations to H.E.L.P., Peters said.

Though it sounds like a simple program that provides a fun outlet for disabled or disadvantaged children, those who have seen the results said it offers much more.

Peter and Vicki Pellerito of Torrance said they began bringing their daughter Anne to the ranch nine years ago to give her a present of sorts before going into surgery to treat neurofibrosis, a condition that takes nerve function away.

Anne had always loved horses, so Vicki Pellerito began calling ranches to find a place where she could ride. She found Peters.

``I told him about Anne, and he said, `Bring her out for the weekend,' '' Vicki Pellerito said with a laugh. ``I said, well, you don't know me. He said, `Bring her out anyway.' ''

``The first day she did a jump. Pete said, `Oh, she's a natural,' '' Vicki Pellerito said. ``It's done amazing things for her self-confidence. For the first time in her life, she was doing things others couldn't do.''

In addition, the discipline required to ride has made their daughter more focused, the Pelleritos said. Anne used to have an attention span that only lasted a few minutes, they said. Now, she has learned to concentrate.

``Believe me - she has done a complete flip,'' Vicki Pellerito said.

The Pelleritos drive Anne, now 23, to Peters' ranch every week.

``It's the only thing that really gets her excited,'' Peter Pellerito said. ``She loves horses, she loves riding, and she loves Pete - he's a crusty old guy, but he has a heart of gold.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Hunter Cook, 11, left, reaches out to pet Cherokee, an appaloosa at Pete Peters' Handicapped Equestrian Learning Program in Moorpark.

(2) Courtney Pascua, 9, above, rides Charlie through an obstacle course at the Sunday fund-raiser.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News