An Open Letter to the Palatine Park Commissioners Regarding Palatine Stables

Background info for readers who don’t live in northern Illinois: There is a park district stable on the brink of closure in the Village of Palatine. You can read more about it and learn how to help by visiting the website supportpalatinestables.info. Here is a copy and paste of a letter I emailed today. I added the photos into this blog post for interest, but did not email them to the commissioners.

Dear Palatine Park Commissioners and Executive Director,

I’m writing to share my strong opposition to the closing of a community treasure: Palatine Stables. I was one of the attendees of the June 10 board meeting who stood in the lobby listening to the proceedings via Instagram live from someone who arrived early enough to secure a seat in the room.

My grandmother and her three sisters grew up in a home built by my great grandfather in 1918, at 165 E. Palatine Road which is now, I believe, an attorney’s office. My great aunt, Alice Helgeson, a lifelong Palatine resident, was a school teacher in Palatine. I followed in her footsteps and became a middle school English and history teacher. Every New Year’s Day, when I was a little girl, our family drove from South Elgin to Palatine and watched the Rose Bowl Parade on the television at Aunt Alice’s house on Wilson Street. Although I have never been a resident, I have fond childhood memories of this village. I am distressed to hear my fellow horse lovers and equestrians in Palatine have been hit unexpectedly by this plan to shut down their horse farm.

I was a shy bookworm of a girl who devoured stories about horses; my family didn’t have money to buy a horse, so I collected model horses and subscribed to magazines about them. My life was forever changed when around the age of twelve, a family friend who owned horses in Wayne, Illinois invited me to ride hers.

What a thrill it was for my timid, introverted self to climb aboard a horse and see the world from an elevated perspective! In the saddle I was fast and strong, whereas on the playground I was among the students chosen last when picking teams.

Learning how to ride a horse positively affected my confidence, empathy and problem solving abilities. The horse farm became my community, and the horses my best friends. They listened to my secrets, made me laugh with their unique personalities and taught me perseverance–because when you fall off a horse, you get back up.

Horses speak to us mostly through subtle body language such as the flick of a tail, the swiveling of two ears and myriad facial expressions. Since childhood, I have been aware of equines’ small clues as to their physical or emotional state–I believe that awareness has transferred into the realm of connecting with people. Horses have been my emotional intelligence teachers. I guarantee the children, teens and adults who ride and love the horses at Palatine Stables have experienced similar benefits from having a horse-influenced life.

Speaking of horse influence, I don’t know if you are aware of the growing and flourishing number of urban stables in our country. Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Los Angeles have stables in areas you would be surprised to find horses. Leaders in these under-resourced communities know the benefit of connecting youth to horses. For example, Detroit Horse Power (founded by a former Detroit elementary school teacher), is planning to build an urban equestrian center on vacant land in the city. They know horses in their community will empower youth with skills to set them up for academic, career and life success. If a historically under-resourced community has committed to fund-raising and growth to connect horses with their kids because they know the good that horses bring, it seems careless, irresponsible and, quite frankly, stupid to shut down a historical horse property that already provides so much community good. Granted, the demographics of Palatine and Detroit are different, but the value of humans and horses together is identical.

There was not enough space in the meeting room June 10 to accommodate all of the concerned citizens. 

Did you know the electromagnetic field of the heart of a horse is five times larger than that of ours? A horse can literally influence a human’s heart rate to slow down. Horses can alleviate stress or anxiety in the people working around or riding them. With so many adults and children suffering from anxiety and other mental health challenges, horses are perhaps an underutilized resource for healing. Why would you make a decision to take away a mental health resource in your community during this stressful, modern era?

Another red flag with this decision is the hastily-obtained, inflated estimate for upgrades to the farm, and the knee-jerk reaction to shut down Palatine Stables. If this facility were my own private farm, I would definitely have multiple estimates obtained before making any decisions. I would ensure the individuals/companies who put in bids specialize in equestrian properties. I’ll be candid: something seems fishy about how this all came about and leaves me to wonder who on the board has a vision for an alternate future for this valuable piece of land–perhaps one that will pave the way for personal gain.

Because I was a history teacher, I have a story for you. From the 1940s to the early 1970s, the Newbery Medal-winning author Marguerite Henry wrote books about horses from her home in nearby Wayne. I researched her life for two years and wrote a biography titled Marguerite, Misty and Me. During my Chicagoland book tour I’ve met so many individuals who fondly remember her. Long story short, at a recent talk in Elgin, a woman I would guess to be in her late seventies or early 80s raised her hand and shared, “When I was in fourth grade, my whole class went to Marguerite Henry’s farm. We met her and we all rode Misty [the real Chincoteague Pony Marguerite based her bestseller Misty of Chincoteague on].” That has made me reflect on how the experiences people have around horses stick with them for a lifetime. Marguerite Henry left a beautiful legacy of bringing the magic and wonder of horses to children from all walks of life. She died in 1997–that’s almost thirty years ago–but her books still sell tens of thousands of copies a year and people still visit Wayne to see the neighborhood where Misty, the storybook pony lived. She brought horses to children and she is long remembered and beloved. What a legacy.

Think about your own legacy. Do you want to be the individuals that destroy childrens’ dreams and leave dozens of horses homeless? Would you like to be remembered as the group who shut down the happy place that is your local stables? Or perhaps, worse yet, do you want to thwart future generations of Palatine residents and others from nearby communities from experiencing the joy and healing influence of horses?

My grandmother, Evelyn Oltendorf Friedland, grew up in Palatine.

In conclusion, a resounding theme present in all the teacher meetings I attended throughout my career was “What is best for the students?” I urge you to keep that question in your heart, and use it as a guiding principle as you proceed forward. Paraphrase the question to “What is best for the children of our community?” Please honor the memories of former Palatine residents, my grandmother, Evelyn Oltendorf Friedland, and my great aunt, Alice Oltendorf Helgeson, by making a decision in favor of the children and horses of Palatine Stables. Allow the farm to stay open and thrive. You won’t regret it.

Respectfully,

Susan Friedland