While some of our families with a special needs child are able to find help with funding through various organizations, there are still many families who personally sacrifice to insure that their special needs child or children have the opportunity for growth and development in our Special Needs Riding Program. We commend these families for investing in their child's future in a very productive way. This page is dedicated to sharing stories of some of these families who could greatly benefit by a sponsorship from an individual or group.

The following letter is an example of some of the miracles and accomplishments that occur as a result of our Special Needs Riding Program. 

February 7, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

My daughter, Zoey Lee, will be turning 7 years old on March 3rd, 2013, and she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Verbal Apraxia in Sept. 2009. At that time, she was completely nonverbal, with her only communication being through "grunts" and limited pointing. She was also very affected with Sensory Integration Processing Disorder, which left her extremely prone to outbursts from being "overstimulated" by so many factors that would go completely unnoticed by a neuro-typical person. It was very frustrating for her, and for us as a family.

Our support coordinator at the time suggested that we check out "hippotherapy" and informed us of Arizona Horseriding Adventures, which was literally just down the street from us. I, myself, had a horse growing up and loved the idea of "what if Zoey could learn to ride a horse? That would be so amazing." But that was even before I truly learned of and began to understand all of the ways simply being on a horse would affect Zoey and help improve her "global development."

When the lessons first began in Feb. 2011, I had no idea how it would go, since it was the first time she had ever been near an actual horse close-up. I was afraid that with the horse being so large, and her sensory issues with perceptioon, that she may cry and scream before we ever got started. However, Miss Anita took it really slow in the beginning, to make sure that Zoey got very comfortable with just being near the horse, and there was nothing but positive reactions from the start.

In those first few months of lessons, anyone could tell how much Zoey loved being on the horse. I think she felt a kind of "comfort" from just being on the horse as it was walking. To my surprise, she never seemed to feel scared or anxious or anything, but completely comfortable while riding.

As for how the experience impacted her from a motor development standpoint...as I mentioned, when we first started out, Zoey was completely nonverbal. She was learning her colors at school, but basically, there was little development to speak of at that point. Every time at horseback riding, Miss Anita took Zoey through different versions of having to at least try to make a sound attempt in saying the names of colors of rings that would go towards the matching poles. Over the course of time, it was so cool to hear her attempts become stronger and more clear!

Also with just being on the horse and doing the riding and games, Zoey has greatly improved physically. Her balance, core strength, and overall motor planning development has just improved dramatically!! When we first started, she was considered to have very low muscle tone, and our doctor and occupational therapist both said that there was a direct correlation between tone and motor development. Now, they both have commented on how strong Zoey has become, which is pretty evident from the way she can pull herself onto the horse now compared to when she first started. 

Today, it has been almost exactly 2 years since we started doing the horseback riding lessons and every single time we go, it's like there is a brand new development. Zoey's speech has improved dramatically, to the point where she is actually not labeled "nonverbal" anymore. She is still working through things such as the coordination needed to do 2 and 3-step directions, such as holding the reins properly, then saying "whoa" while pulling back on the reins. The the most important part is just how much her personality has "blossomed" throughout the process. She has a sense of humor! And not only is she speaking more now, she is also ableto say things in the correct contest, which is completely different than just saying the words. She is also beginning to read and is actually amazing on the computer, too!

All of her cognitive improvements can be traced to "jump" which I believe coincides with when she started her horseback riding lessons. It is a shame that DDD cannot cover the cost of such a wonderful therapy, because sometimes it is very hard for families that are struggling financially to be able to private pay for such things. However, we know how important it has been to Zoey and how much progress she has made, so we do everything we can to be able to keep up with this particular therapy.

We look forward to continuing with Miss Anita for years to come, and also in being able to watch Zoey's continued progress!

Sincerely,

Sheri Lee, mom to Zoey

Due to financial struggles as a result of unexpected medical expenses during this past year, the Lee family has had to cut back on Zoey's sessions from weekly to every other week. While she still continues to progress with each session, she would benefit even more with weekly sessions. A video of some of Zoey's lessons can be seen on our Facebook page. The cost of each session is $45.00. A sponsorship of any amount would be greatly appreciated by the family.

To find out how you can help, please click on here to contact us.

We have several families who have a special needs child who are self-paying, but struggle financially, who would be thankful for any assistance from a sponsor for their child to benefit from participating in our Special Needs Program.  

To find out how you can help, please click on here to contact us.