When the world seemed too heavy to bear for champion jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva, it was horses that offered him refuge and inner peace. Horses helped heal champion jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva, and now he shares that healing with others, offering a ray of hope to those struggling with mental health issues.
Eurico Rosa da Silva: A Champion Jockey and a Mental Health Advocate
Truly understanding the raw power of a thoroughbred racehorse, Eurico Rosa da Silva, a former champion jockey, discovered the therapeutic powers of horses at an early age. Da Silva, who experienced verbal abuse and torment from his father growing up in Brazil, found solace in the gentle nature of horses from as young as age 4 or 5. This connection not only inspired him to become a jockey but also provided him with crucial mental peace.
“The horse has the ability to feel what you’re feeling inside yourself,” da Silva explains. “They bring it into their body and release it. They’re like sponges, they have that ability to release everything.”
Equine Experiential Connection: Healing with Horses
Today, da Silva channels the therapeutic power of horses to support mental health healing. Through the Equine Experiential Connection, he guides clients to establish a connection with horses at the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society. This 100-acre facility in Hillsburgh, Ont., specializes in matching retired thoroughbreds with new owners for a second career.
Da Silva describes how the horses help his clients release stress. “Many times with my clients, you can see the horse yawning very strongly,” he says. “That’s because they have a lot of stress in their body, and the horse is sucking in that energy and releasing it for them.”
Retirement and a New Career Path
After retiring as a jockey in 2019 with a remarkable record of 2,942 career wins, including two King’s Plates, da Silva felt something missing. It was then when he realized, “of course it’s missing something, the horses.”
His search for a suitable place to start a horse therapy program led him to Vicki Pappas, LongRun’s chairperson and founding member. “When I came here and saw the horses, I said, ’My goodness, this is the dream place,’” recalls da Silva.
How Does the Program Work?
The program starts by establishing contact between a client and a horse in its stall. However, it’s not the client who chooses the horse. “The horse is going to choose the client,” says da Silva. Once a connection is established, the program shifts to one-on-one exercises between the horse and the client in an indoor arena, and then potentially to an open field, which da Silva refers to as ‘The Field of Compassion.’
The Impact of Equine Therapy
According to Lauren Millet, LongRun’s farm manager, clients often begin to show noticeable change within a few visits, growing more comfortable around staff and horses as their confidence builds. “I truly feel it’s because they’re more comfortable with themselves,” she says.
Future Plans for the Program
Da Silva hopes to extend his program to various groups including abuse victims, the homeless, individuals in jail, and first responders. “My dream is to bring these horses to jails,” he says. “Because it’s [those] people we need to welcome back into the community again.”
Da Silva believes in the healing power of horses and is dedicated to sharing this gift with others. “We all need love, we all need connection, and horses illuminate our mind, they illuminate us inside to do that.”
