JUNE 9 • 2022 | 15
people who participate have a
chance to engage directly with
horses. They feed them, take care
of them and learn how to both
train and ride.
“Horses have such a healing
component to them,” Robin says.
“They just embody wellness
and allow a person who is going
through any kind of emotional
trauma or problems to be brought
to a state of homeostasis.”
With horses helping humans
since what Schwartz believes was
ancient times, the longtime rider
says it was important to her and
her husband to help facilitate that
kind of connection. Now, they’re
building out a staff of therapists
and volunteers to run the eques-
trian therapy program, which
will be the core base of the farm’s
operations.
Once the equestrian ther-
apy program is up and run-
ning, Howard, who is affiliated
with Chabad Jewish Center of
Commerce/Walled Lake and The
Shul in West Bloomfield, plans to
extend its services to the Metro
Detroit Jewish community.
He and his wife are committed
to working with local organiza-
tions like Friendship Circle to
offer equestrian therapy to kids
who have special needs, providing
a safe and fun activity that’s only
a short 20-minute drive from the
West Bloomfield area.
BUILDING A
COMMUNITY HUB
Yet the farm’s offerings don’t stop
and end with equestrian therapy.
Howard, who owns a successful
commercial real estate business,
wants to transform River Forest
Farm into a full-scale retreat cen-
ter for people of all ages.
The Schwartzes will be working
closely with Chabad Jewish Center
of Commerce/Walled Lake on pro-
gramming, which launched with
a Lag b’Omer event at the farm on
May 19. Through other partner-
ships and their own events, they’ll
also offer car shows, children’s
game days, animal connection
activities, pie-eating contests and
workshops.
“It’s nine miles from West
Bloomfield,” Howard says of River
Forest Farm. “You could be at the
farm and be in West Bloomfield
in 30 minutes. You can go there,
come back for lunch and go back
again. That makes it accessible to a
lot of people.”
As they continue renovating the
property, the Schwartzes plan to
get even more buildings and ame-
nities up and running in the near
future. Howard is currently in the
process of renovating the onsite
apartments, which he wants to
transform into residential units.
“I’m also planning on building
three air-conditioned treehouses
in the woods,” he adds.
Eventually, they’d like to offer
team-building programs on their
property that incorporate horses,
helping business teams connect
and boost their relationships. At
the end of the day, however, the
Schwartzes simply want River
Forest Farm to be a community
hub.
“It was a 50-year-old farm,”
Howard Schwartz says, “and we
made a lot of capital improve-
ments. We have an equestrian
poetry workshop scheduled for
the summer, and we’ll probably do
an outdoor movie theater for our
neighborhood this summer.”
continued from page 12
LEFT: Howard and
Robin Schwartz.
RIGHT: Leah and
Bluma Greenberg
celebrated Lag
b’Omer at the
farm.