Serenity gazed eagerly at the calm, brown horse with a white muzzle, showing not a hint of fear before she put on her helmet and got on the saddle.

"I'm going to ride Toby," the 2-year-old said, pointing to the horse.

Serenity and 28 other foster children, under the auspices of Heart Gallery Hawaii, traveled to the Waimanalo polo fields to ride and brush four of the horses with the Therapeutic Horsemanship program last week.

The two nonprofits were brought together by Mobi PCS in an effort to give the children, ages 2 to 17, the opportunity to ride and care for a horse, as well as have their photos taken, to raise awareness for the adoption organization's Web site and public events.

"For me personally the biggest benefit is to get them a home and out of the (foster) environment," said David Louis, founder and director of Heart Gallery Hawaii, a nonprofit organization that works to place foster children in permanent homes. Louis is a former foster child who bounced through 30 foster homes before aging out of the system.

Although most of the children were thrilled to ride the horses, they probably were not thinking of the mental and physical benefits.

"Just the walking movement of the horse is good for you ... it relaxes and works your trunk," said Dana Vennen, executive director of Therapeutic Horsemanship, adding that interacting with horses can also boost self-confidence. "The biggest benefit is when you're able to get on the horse and ride it by yourself."

Kira Szabo, one of the younger volunteers at Therapeutic Horsemanship, could not agree more.

"I've always liked horses, and I love to ride," said Kira, who has been volunteering once or twice a week for two years. Toby is her favorite horse, and she's even written his name on her pants leg.

She said she is able to relate to the other children, as she used to be a foster child herself.

"I felt really happy," the 12-year-old said, recalling when she was adopted four years ago after going through five foster homes.

Her mother, Susan Szabo, said riding horses has raised Kira's self-confidence, as she once fell off a horse but was back up riding the next week.

Szabo said one of the things that led her to adopt her daughter was the pictures shown on the Heart Gallery Hawaii Web site and at the organization's gatherings.

"The images bring them out into the public," said freelance photographer Victor Giordano, one of the original photographers to work with Heart Gallery Hawaii. "It shows them as normal kids, more than just a passport photo."

Both Louis and Giordano said that opportunities such as the horseback rides not only are fun for the children but also raise awareness about the need for adoption.