Alyssa Peren and Mo Gravesande at Chamounix Stables in Philadelphia, PA. Credit: Suzanne Bush
Sitting at a picnic table at Chamounix Equestrian Center on a drizzly Saturday morning, Alyssa Perren talked about her dream of becoming a veterinarian. A barn cat pestered her for attention. The dream, it turns out, revolves around a cat.
“My cat—everybody remembers my cat that I had,” she explains. “He had passed away mysteriously. Even the vets didn’t know what was wrong.” She looked over at the student riders in the ring nearby. “I realized in the predicament that I’m in, coming from an underfunded community and an underfunded household, I don’t have a lot. But what I do have—what I can attempt to learn—I want to give back to my community.”
Animal shelters know the story too well. People—hearts breaking—who have no options or resources—are forced to surrender their pets. They can’t afford to feed their beloved pets, or to provide vet care for them. “I realize,” Perren continues, “that vet care is super expensive, and I just want to make it more affordable for city kids like me, so we don’t have to choose between paying our bills and keeping our loved ones.”
She’s 17, bursting with idealism and optimism and thoughtfulness and bravery and all the things the world hopes to see in young people. On this day, Perren and her friend Mosiah—Mo--Gravesande consider the days ahead, and their upcoming transitions from high school kids to college freshmen; they reflect on the roads that led them to this moment. Like Perren, Gravesande is full of optimism and courage—eager to embrace the challenges ahead, even as he will be far from home. Perren will head to Harvard in August; Gravesande will start at the University of North Texas (UNT). They are part of yet another exciting chapter in the inspiring history of Philadelphia’s iconic Work to Ride (WTR) program.
Not Your Average Horse Barn
In 1994 Lezlie Hiner said goodbye to the corporate world and invested her heart, soul and indomitable will into a dilapidated barn on Chamounix Drive in Fairmount Park. She knew that kids could learn a lot from horses. She believes that kids in areas plagued with violence deserve a safe place where they can learn to work and ride.
Participants in the program can start at eight years of age, and they graduate at 18. Hiner fosters a sense of teamwork, cooperation and accountability. Kids have to keep their grades up, complete their assigned work and be on time. Their responsibilities to WTR don’t end when they’re 18, though. As Perren explains there are always new kids entering the program, and “we teach them everything we’ve learned here, so when we’re gone, they will be able to teach somebody. It’s a rite of passage.”
WTR kids can try different riding disciplines, but the organization is best known for polo. And for winning. And for the success of their graduates. And then there is Ralph Lauren—a brand that is synonymous with polo. The Ralph Lauren organization featured several WTR team members in a print ad and in their magazine.
Horses Are Like Therapists
Gravesande is soft-spoken with a disarming smile. He says horses inspire and comfort him. “To me they’re like therapy. A stress reliever. When I’m having a bad day—or even a good day—being around horses makes it 10 times better.”
His first polo match is etched in his memory as both a physical challenge and a revelation. “My very first game I was either in fourth or fifth grade and it was probably one of the slowest games you’ve ever watched,” he says, laughing. “My stirrups didn’t even come below the saddle flap. I had to roll them a good five or six times. I could barely lift the mallet, but I just remember after all that, I just knew this was my sport.”
His sport, indeed. In the Inaugural Philadelphia Polo Classic in September 2022, Gravesande was named Most Valuable Player after scoring three goals. As he contemplates what the next four years will bring, he is confident, and itching to ride the horses at UNT. “Being around horses is like second nature to me,” he says. “I’m going to be around more horses and doing more things in college.” He considers the hierarchy and the number of students he’ll be competing with for slots on the team. “I’ll have to work for my spot, but I’m ready.”
Perren is a second-generation member of the WTR family. Her father played polo there and introduced her and her brothers to the horses at Chamounix. “We would come up here a lot and they (her brothers) were just not interested,” she says. “But for me, I saw horses as so much bigger than me, so much more powerful, and majestic. But they’re gentle. I feel like if your horse loves you, he will take care of you. So, to be around something that I can put a lot of love into and get a lot back, is like, it’s special to me.” Horses and polo provide a special connection to her father, she says. “We recently had our little scrimmage—one on one. It was great.”
Watch Alyssa Perren open her Harvard acceptance letter (With Work to Ride founder Lezlie Hiner).
The Road Ahead
Both Perren and Gravesande are leaving their comfort zones to start the next chapter of their lives. They’re approaching the future with characteristic optimism. But there are nerves, too, as Perren says, about fitting in with a new team. “I was scared at first, because it’s (Harvard) such a prestigious school. I don’t know these girls and I was afraid it was going to be…mean. But from meeting them and just clicking with them instantly, we’re going to be like a sisterhood.”
Gravesande agrees. “At first, I was very nervous, but there can be like a type of brotherhood between us. I’ll be far away from the people I grew up with and I’ll have to get to know them.” He says that he has already met several of the players at UNT and “we’re already friends. What makes a good team is friendship.”
After college, both want to keep polo in their lives. “For my future, I’m still in and out about what I want to do,” Gravesande says, “but my hope is to get more connections in the polo world.” He is planning to major in Communications and minor in Film.
Perren wants to be a polo-playing veterinarian. “I want to continue to play in college,” she says, and will be part of Harvard’s varsity team. “I want to play all my four years and then into my adulthood. Because I’ve found something that I love. Polo is something that I don’t mind waking up every day and going to do.”
Even as they graduate from WTR and head for college, they remain committed to the program, the people, and the mission of WTR. They’re hoping the new arena and all the capital improvements planned for Chamounix will bring even more kids into the equestrian world. “I hope it brings in a new wave of people that look like us, able to carry on with what we’ve been doing and bring it more life than it already has,” Perren says.
Inspired and Inspiring
Lezlie Hiner’s vision of a safe place for kids to work and learn and ride horses and have big dreams has proved to be a life changer, a beacon of hope and a blueprint. “I started this later than Mo,” Perren says. “Watching him play—having somebody you can look to—it pushes you even harder. You can go as far as you want, depending on how much work you’re willing to put in.”
“I agree with Alyssa, that it’s all about your mindset, too. If you’re in the mindset that says, ‘I’m stuck here and there’s nothing I can do,’ then that’s what it’s going to be. When you have a mindset like Alyssa’s and you have all these opportunities you can take advantage of, that’s when you know you’re on the road to success. You’re actually trying to do something to make a change.”
“I decided within myself, nobody else could help you on this journey. It has to be something you want for yourself,” Perren says. Her advice to a younger kid—perhaps to a younger version of herself or Gravesande, is to be consistent. “Determine what it is that you want for yourself and don’t back down from it. Put in the hard work, and the rest will come to you naturally.”
Gravesande says he was inspired by the older kids who mentored him when he first started riding. “Even though they were hard on me, when I saw their skill levels, I wanted to be like that,” he says. “And the fact that when I would scrimmage with them, they would not take it easy. Sometimes I wouldn’t even touch the ball, but that’s what made me work harder and really try to push, because they didn’t just sit and say ‘Oh, let him score.’”
“I say all the time that my inspiration is my dad,” Perren says. “And coming here, my peers inspire me a lot. Looking at riders like Shariah (Harris) and Mo, they inspire me to be better. You think ‘I can do this, and I can bring something special to the table myself.’”
There’s an African proverb that says, “until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” In the world of polo, there have been few non-white players. The accepted rationale for that fact has been that the sport appealed to people who could afford the ponies, the equipment, the training, etc. And so, every story about polo looked pretty much the same. But the woman who started WTR saw something different. She saw that young people in areas of Philadelphia that have been underfunded were as mesmerized by horses as kids in suburban Philadelphia. They had the desire, the capacity, the courage and everything but the horses. So, Lezlie Hiner carved a path, opened the barn doors, and inspired kids from the city to see life differently.
Support Work to Ride
The Philadelphia Polo Classic, benefiting the Work to Ride program, returns to Fairmount Park on September 23rd, 2023. The PPC will delight with various activities, from luxury experiences to family-friendly fun. Watch America's #1 ranked polo player Nic Roldan, world-renowned polo dignitary Nacho Figueras, and Work to Ride's very own Kareem Rosser face off for a championship title in an event like no other in Philadelphia!
For more information and ticketing options visit www.philadelphiapoloclassic.org.
Can't attend? You can still support the Work to Ride through a donation to the program. The WTR program is free to low-income, inner-city youth of Philadelphia. Keeping horses and associated costs places a large burden on their budget and fund-raising efforts. It is through generous donations that Work to Ride has been able to continue operations for almost 30 years, Your donation will make a difference.
Visit www.worktoride.net to make a donation.