By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Saturday was a busy day in the River Parishes, and while higher profile events were happening at the Park on Highway 51 and at the Bonnet Carre Spillway, a more low-key affair was taking place in a quiet neighborhood along the eastern edge of LaPlace.

A small but dedicated group of individuals gathered on the muddy grounds of the Greater New Orleans Therapeutic Riding Center for an afternoon of activities that could take place nowhere but the annual Plop Drop.

Children from the surrounding neighborhood as well as places a little more distant participated in activities such as the cow patty toss, poo-poo putt-putt and the chicken drop as the adults present talked and waited for the horses, Majic and Blu, to choose a winner of the Plop Drop.

Sales of Plop Drop squares raised $6,500 for the Greater New Orleans Therapeutic Riding Center this year.

“The funds help to pay operating expenses so that we don’t need to raise our $25 fee for our riders that we’ve never raised since the inception of the program in 1993,” said Executive Director Anita Hefler. “It’s a tough go, and we don’t turn away those who cannot afford to pay.”

This year’s event even drew a couple of visitors from out of town. Judy Schmid and Sharon Gideon drove in from Richmond, Texas, to check out the event so they could bring ideas back to the Richmond State Supported Living Center, which houses a therapeutic riding center of its own.

“We want to do our own plop drop,” said Schmid. “I’m glad to see that it’s so successful for y’all.”

The GNOTRC’s other major fundraiser of the year, Harley for Horses, will take place April 22. The motorcycle run will leave from the LaPlace Travel Center on U.S. Highway 51 with an escort from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office. Visit www. gnotrc.com for more information.