A GLORIOUS DAY

Have you ever had one of those days that was just so amazingly awesome that you really didn't want it to end but daylight and exhaustion force you to stop. Today was that day, actually almost every Saturday is that way for me. I"m a volunteer at Braveheart Therapeutic Riding Center in Pawnee. Its an amazing hidden little place in the back country where cowboys & trick riders are born. Braveheart is run by a single special ed teacher, Ceci Maloney. She loves kids with issues and loves horses so it was only logical to blend the two groups into one. Our smallest rider is 2 years old, can you believe that, he's only 2 years old. Most of the riders are children and young adults. Although we do have one "young" lady in her 50s that takes lessons as well. Some of the riders are developmentally disabled: ADHD, Downs Syndrome, etc. Some of the riders are physically disabled: spina bifida, cp, cancer, brain issues. One little boy, with spina bifida, can't feel his body from the waist down, but HE CAN RIDE A HORSE!!! Its an amazing transformation watching these guys with so much against them, mount a pony and go for a ride. Braveheart, where all riders are equal in the saddle. God is so good!

This past summer I was blessed to become a part of Braveheart thru a friend who had to be a volunteer there for clinicals in her OTA classes. I was just along for the ride, one, since I"ve been a horse freak for as long as I can remember, and, two, because it fit in with my vet assist classes. Starting out I was a side walker. That meant my job was to walk along one side of the pony and support the rider and keep them from falling off. Not being a real people person (don't take that the wrong way, I think I"m a closet people person, just don't know what to do when I'm around them)being a side walker just didn't seem to be my forte'. I was priveleged at that point to be moved to a leader. That meant my job and my focus was 100% on the pony. My job was to keep the pony moving, calm the pony and make sure we didn't run into other ponies and riders. Much better. I could relax, it was just me and the pony now, even though there were technically 3 other people behind me (rider and 2 side walkers). It was only a 6 week course but it was 6 of the best weeks of my life. I told Ceci I would love to come back. She was actually excited about that.

Well, lessons started again 3 weeks ago and this time I make the 45 minute drive by myself (which is a feat all its own since driving terrifies the snot out of me). It feels like home to me when I get there. The smell...have you ever buried your face in the neck of a horse thats been out in the pasture and sun all day...its indescribable. The smells, the sounds, the feel of the horse snuffling down the back of your neck as they nuzzle you. Its amazing to me that these 800-1200lb animals freely give their trust to the person on the other end of the lead rope. I"m a leader now, boy that sounds weird to say. I get there early, help get the horses to the arena, groom and tack up and wait for the students to show up.

My people skills have apparently improved. I'm more relaxed around the students and able to interact more with them. I actually even have a couple of favorites. One little boy, well, actually he's 12, Austin. He's ADHD, a foster kid with some issues. He comes every Saturday dressed up like a cowboy, he and I joke around with each other will we run thru our routines...its so exciting to watch him progress. He finally got to ride with a saddle a couple weeks ago, he was totally stoked about it. (I guess I should tell you that the riders don't start out in a saddle. They start with a back pad and a circingle: a leather girth with a handle on the top). They don't get to move to a saddle or reins until they've learned how to balance on the horse without stirrups. I missed him today, they said he's in the hospital with some emotional issues. Don't know the circumstances but my heart just breaks for him.

Anyway, back to today. Ceci paired me with a rider because she told me that I had a "calming effect" on this particular rider. I'd worked with this rider before but I didn't notice anything between us. The rider gets frustrated easily and gets distracted and panics. I never would have guessed that I would have a calming effect on a person. I can do it with animals, but people...me?? Go figure. I walked a little straighter and taller today because someone had faith in me that I could do what they needed to have done. That is such a strange, amazing, unfamiliar feeling for me. We had a great lesson and from the sounds of it, this rider will probably be permanently assigned to me. Wow. That was only the beginning of goodness today though. Many of the riders no showed today for some reason so we had a lot of spare time on our hands between lessons. Ceci has a 2 year old Haflinger gelding that has just recently been broken to be ridden. Andy isn't used in lessons yet though, he's not ready. This afternoon she had me take him to the arena to train him. Now, you might not get the significance of this without knowing that I have very little experience with horses. I"ve loved horses all my life but never been blessed to own one. I have several horsey friends that let me live vicariously thru them, but I have no where near the experience needed to help train a horse. My assignment was to desensitize him to the equipment we use in the lessons. Wooden bridges, large foam dice, rubber horse shoes, bean bags, bubbles. I felt kinda bad for Andy cause I had to throw foam dice and rubber horse shoes and bean bags at him until he didn't jump anymore. Then I had to rub them all over his body, up and down his legs, down his face, etc. He was so good, he only jumped the first couple of times and then he just took everything in stride, even when one of the other volunteers threw the dice at him and hit him straight in the face. He was such a good boy!! When we were done, the last lesson was finishing up. Ceci grabbed the rider, a little 5 year old girl recovering from leukemia and threw her up on Andy's back. We walked him back over the bridges with her up and he only balked once and we talked him through it.

I"m always totally filthy when I come home from there. Dirt, dust, hay, horse slobber, horse drool down my back but the neat thing is I don't care. It feels good to get so dirty and so tired and I revel in it. Now I know women aren't supposed to like getting dirty, but this dirt is unique. I feel like I have actually accomplished something in my life on the days I do this and the dirt is my trophy, my badge of honor, whatever you want to call it. One of my best friends has recently told me that I need to find at least one trophy a day to put on my mantle. Something that was good out of the day and made me feel valuable and needed and special..well, today, my trophy is Braveheart!!