Burlington horse therapy business moves to Hampshire over new ComEd lines
About five miles down Bowes Road from Hope Reins Equine Therapy Facility in Burlington, Debra Hirschberg can watch what she's thought of as the death of her business come to life.
The new power towers and transmission lines for ComEd's Grand Prairie Gateway started going up in the spring. By 2017, those lines will buzz with 345,000 volts of electricity just about 150 feet away from her business.
The gateway project will extend new power lines and about 400 towers between substations near Byron and Wayne.
"They are even bigger and more awful-looking than I even imagined," Hirschberg said.
The organization rescues horses from abusive environments and uses them in therapeutic activities that fuel emotion and social well-being of children and families dealing with autism, depression and social anxieties.
Hirschberg, and her business partner Kristine Pienkowski, lost their legal battle to prevent the project from shuttering their business late last year. Since then, they've been waiting for the arrival of power towers to chase their clients away. But now there's new hope for Hope Reins.
The business has found a new home in Hampshire, at 45W107 Dietrich Road and reformed as a not-for-profit called the Ranch of Hope Reins.
"What was really bad ended up maybe being really good for us," Hirschberg said.
The location is larger and away from the new power lines, which Hirschberg said will allow their clients to continue to come to a safe and scenic environment. The not-for-profit status will also allow for the creation of a volunteer program for the first time to help with the property and the animals.
"We're super excited and at the same time pretty scared," Hirschberg said.
There is still the dark cloud of the old location hampering the new facility's future - they've haven't sold the old property yet. And the coming ComEd lines lead Hirschberg to believe she will likely take a big financial loss on the sale, if a buyer can even be found. That hit, plus the money already spent on a fruitless legal battle against ComEd, have left less cash to prepare the new property.
The biggest obstacle there is the absence of an indoor horse arena. With the winter months ahead, an indoor arena is key to the ability of clients to comfortably interact with the horses for the peace clients seek, Hirschberg said.
"We still have a mountain to climb, and we know we have clients who are depending on us," she said.
To that end, the Ranch of Hope Reins will host a "Rescue the Ranch" event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, at the new Hampshire location. Hirschberg seeks volunteers to help prepare the new property for the business' relocation and to spread the word about the need to construct an indoor arena.
"We're actually the lucky ones," she said. "I feel so bad for all the other people, schools and businesses who can't move."
For more info visit: www.Hope-Reins.com, or contact Hirschberg at: DHirschberg@Hope-Reins.com.