3 Week of September 15, 2003 Lance News
The Lance
The Outside of a
Horse for the
Inside of a Child... _
Kristina Anthes
Jamie Link
Staff Writers
BJ underwent an operation
2 years ago resulting in the ampu
tation of his right leg above the
knee. When he first started riding
he would make excuses and would
not put any effort into his lessons.
He didn’t have the personal self
esteem to enjoy riding.
Therapeutic Riding allowed him
to build up his self-confidence so
that he could succeed. About a
year later, he bought a retired TR
horse and now enjoys trail rides
with his family every weekend.
Lizzie, an 8 year old with Cerebral
Palsy, rode every week for three
years. She is now able to move
around the barn without the use of
her braces and crutches. Elaine, a
15 year old girl with Down
Syndrome started riding with a
side-waiker and a leader. She is
now an independent rider and
competes in Regional Equestrian
Special Olympic Events riding her
own dressage tests, that she and
her instructor composed to music
“At its very core, therapeu
tic riding uses horses in a special
ized way, with the main goal of
bringing cognitive, physical, emo
tional, and social benefits to indi
viduals with disabilities.”
(Connect Riding) Horse back rid
ing has been linked with many
physical benefits. Horses can be
directly used to improve physical
skills more than any other animal.
Therapeutic Riding can be
adapted for each student. On a
horse, a person with limited walk
ing abilities can actually feel what
walking is like without the need
for bearing weight through their
legs. Skills learned while on
horseback can be as simple as
reaching out to pet a horse or as
complex as advanced dressage
tests.
During a lesson a student
may be asked to ride over ground
poles set in different shapes or
patterns, or to go to different sta
tions in the arena to collect letters
for spelling words. Some other
effects that students gain from rid
ing are balance, being able to hold
their head up, sitting up straight in
the saddle, fastening buckles,
holding the reins, right-left hand
discrimination, mounting and dis
mounting, as well as number, let
ter, and color recognition. All of
these tasks can seem rather ele
mentary but to some of these stu
dents just being able to pick up
the reins or undoing a buckle can
prove to be quite challenging.
Therapeutic riding is not
only for the physically disabled
but also for the mentally and emo
tionally disabled. Horses can be
used for both physical therapy and
psychological therapy, by combin
ing the physical aspects of riding
and the cognitive aspects of prob
lem solving.
Unlike humans, horses will
accept a rider without prejudg
ment. The horse is a social crea
ture that ^ill ye^ily bond with a
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human, especially a child. Horses,
although they are not typically
thought of as a form of therapy,
can help exercise the mind and
bodies of those with all kinds of
disabilities.
The therapeutic horse is
just as important and unique as the
student. The horses we are fortu
nate to have are trained so that
they are comfortable with instruc
tional equipment (balls, rings,
stuffed animals) and equipment
used by the students (wheelchairs,
crutches). They stand quietly at
the mounting ramp and are patient
for slow and sometimes difficult
mounting procedures. They are
comfortable with the number of
assistants (leaders and side-walk-
ers) required while the student is
riding.
The students who are in
the Ride-Like-A-Knight program
at Singletary Therapeutic Riding
Center come from local elemen
tary, middle, and high schools.
SAPC students as well as people
with disabilities from the commu
nity also ride in the Ride-Like-A-
Knight program. The program
works with a wide range off dis
abilities. Riders range form five
to fifty-five years in age. Our pro
gram exists to prepare SAPC stu
dents majoring in Therapeutic
Riding for their North American
Riding for the Handicapped
Association (NARHA)
Certification. To become a certi
fied instructor with NARHA you
must complete twenty-five hours
teaching mounted students, a writ
ten exam, and a riding test. SAPC
is the first college to offer a four-
year degree program in
Therapeutic Riding. The directors
of the therapeutic riding program
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9/20 @ Belmont Abby
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at the Singletary Riding Center arc
Liz Harris and Pebbles Turbeville.
Liz Harris is the
Therapeutic Riding Practicum
Director. She is a 2000 graduate
from St. Andrews and has her
advanced certification with
NARHA. Liz is in charge of the
scheduling of the classes for TR
lessons. She works with the vol
unteers and the schools to assure
that all students will have the
assistance that is needed for a safe
and successful day at the barn.
Pebbles Turbeville is the
Director of Therapeutic Riding.
She has a Master’s Degree from
NC State and also has her
advanced certification from
NARHA. Pebbles runs the class
room portion of the program,
mainly preparing the TR majors at
SAPC for their NARHA certifica
tion. For perspective TR majors,
it is almost guaranteed that you
will have the privilege of at least
one 8 am class with Professor
Turbeville.
Help is always needed
whether it is side walking in a
mounted lesson, assisting with the
horses, or supervising the children
during non-mounted actives.
Without volunteers the program
cannot function efficiently. SAPC
offers training session for new
volunteers, so that the volunteers
know what will take place in the
lesson, what their responsibilities
are as a leader or side-walker, and
what disabilities they may
encounter while volunteering. No
horse experience needed. If you
are interested in helping out at the
bam, then please call Singletary
Therapeutic Riding Center at 277-
7228, to obtain volunteer informa
tion.
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^bbey
9/24 BARTON
9/27 MARS HILL
10/4 @ Lees-McRae
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MARON
10/12 @ Clayton State
10/18 @ Anderson
10/21 @ Wingate
10/25 QUEENS
10/28 @ Mount Olive
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#d by Pfeiffer ;
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hosted by Queens
9/28-30 ST.
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INVITATIONAL
@ Deercroft Country Club
10/19-21 North Shore
Invitational hosted by
Pfeiffer
B-TEAM
9/20-22 Top Flite Invitational
hosted by Queens
9/28-30 ST.
ANDREWS FALL
INVITATIONAL