Changing Lives

Recently Dream On Curls Riding Center signed up a new participant. This person has attended one of our groups a very long time ago and has dreamt of taking part in the activities again here at the Riding Center ever since that first day....  Here is a link to the blog of that day  ~ National Disability Day  back in 2009.









She is excited to join in on one of our newer programs we call Crossroads to Recovery.  She is a perfect example of the heart warming success of the program. Working on the ground - grooming, leading and managing her space with her horse - she has learned so much already about herself and her life.













Every week she has something new to be excited about - a positive change in her life. One week - she exclaimed that she had lost 4 pounds since attending.. she looks forward to her work with the horses and that helps keep her focused on her goal of a healthier body.

One week she announced that she confronted her issues with hoarding - and threw 5 items away ! All due to her increased confidence and self awareness gained in her therapeutic sessions here at Dream On Curls.

Today - she was thrilled to recount her experience from earlier in the week -- she encountered feelings of frustrations in a talk therapy group session -- and remembered the trick she learned here from Instructor Zoe Lirakis.... BREATHE !!!  In her own words-- it works !!

There is much that can be gained from our therapeutic ground sessions - breathing being one technique taught as a coping mechanism - for re-centering our bodies and thoughts before proceeding to the next step.  Instructor Zoe Lirakis teaches breath with the grooming sessions --pick up the brush; breathe in - then breathe out as the brush runs down the sides of your horse... over and over-- it is calming and quieting.  Once learned - this routine can be used in all areas of life through-out the day !

While the participants are learning to handle their horse - leading around the indoor - they begin to grasp the concepts of how space impacts what happens around them... in regards to others and the physical boundaries of their environment.  The idea of body language starts to make sense to them -- in bits and pieces... confidence levels increase - and that ripples out into life infinitely.




To repeat the words of my blog post all the way back in 2009... " This proved to be a day that reminds me that all my hard work has a purpose ! While instructor, Zoe gets to see and witness times such as this daily in her interactions with riders and participants-- I am generally busy managing the farm and horses. Today, I put aside my normal work-a-day routine and became a 'volunteer' fetching horses and helping out - in addition to being there to memorialize the event in photographs. It is immensely gratifying to personally take part in the enjoyment and appreciation of participants such as these individuals.

One of the women proclaimed at the end of the morning's session - "This was the BEST day of my life ! " How rewarding is that ??"  

 

So now ~ 6 years later - this woman has achieved her goal to be a part of one of our programs - she loves to come - always ready to learn.  Today she wasn't sure if she could complete the entire hour session due to a fall on the ice last week - she is wearing a knee brace. But ~ she came prepared to do her best -- and she completed the entire hour !

 

 I am continually amazed at the progress of our participants - the enthusiasm and bravery they bring to the sessions... this truly makes my day worth it !!

 

back in 2009 ! 

 

 

More of Monte Remembered

If you read the last post -- you know all about Monte ... Here are photo's of the service held at the farm. Monte had many friends who loved him. Many of them had not met Monte's favorite mount Sudie Bee yet. This was a touching and beautiful way to honor Monte and we, at Dream On Curls Riding Center, were touched to be included in the ceremony.

The photo's will tell the story ~~

Monte's caregiver mounts for the final ride in Monte's memory.

Miss Me...But Let me Go.
When I come to the end of the road,

And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom filled room,
Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little but not too long.
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love we once shared,
Miss me but let me go.






For this is a journey that we all must take,
and each must go alone.





It's all a part of the Master's plan.
A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss me but let me go.

This is a poem that was found among Monte's things ~ 

Monte will be missed by all who were touched by him.

A Rider celebrated in memorium

Over the past year and a half, we, at Dream On Curls Riding Center INC,  have had the pleasure of working with Monte McCormick.

The first most obvious reason that set Monte as unique from most of our riders was his age -- Monte was an older gentleman in his mid to late 60's who was riding for the first time.  The goals for Monte  were to build core strength and balance. As with all our lesson riders, in his case so much more was gained in his time with us.

Due to the fact he was non verbal and could not hear created another challenge.  Different colored reins, easy sign language, and eventually obstacles that provided a visual cue to show when he was knocking into them were used to counter the communication issues. And~ our center's own special therapeutic mount Sudie Bee became Monte's teacher as well.  Sudie is a horse so safe, sweet as pie but just enough independence to create a bit of a challenge.

Each week Monte came all smiles and hugs letting us know he was happy to see us and his horse. He learned quickly how to do all the ground work independently including girthing up the horse.
At the start of his time with Dream On Curls Riding Center,  Monte was a bit unbalanced, leaning and his posture was slumped. He was unable to remain in the saddle for a long period of time and needed to support of  a leader and sidewalker.

As the weeks went by, Monte's strength increased  
and no longer needed to have a sidewalker only a leader.
 
Only a few more weeks later, the leader remained but was there merely as a precaution 
as he could not hear for loud noises and prepare for them if they should spook the horse.
Monte was steering the horse himself.
He was able to complete a multitude of tasks-  up over bridges,  through poles, over poles, figure 8's.  As long as Monte had a visual cue to learn something the first time,  he could do it. As we work hard to promote and build independence and increase self esteem for all of our riders we worked hard to find different visual aids to assist in Monte's growth and learning.

Monte at the start of his lessons with Dream On Curls

After 8 months of hard work and riding, Monte was able to trot around the arena maintaining his balance in the saddle.  He had also moved to riding on his own with no leader!!!! The smile on his face when he realized he was really doing without anyone else was priceless.

Bringing that amount of joy to a person is the reason we do what we are doing because we truly believe that with the right way of teaching anyone can do anything, as our motto states..
We focus on what our riders CAN do, NOT on what they can't !- Monte has been proof of that !

It is with great sadness to report that Monte will no longer be with us. He passed last week from a sudden heart attack but he leaves behind a treasured memory and legacy~  the many lessons he taught to all who spent time with him. 
Dream On Curls Riding Center INC feels blessed that we were able to share in his time and help to bring him and his family lasting memories filled with smiles and laughter.


Monte's family has requested that in lieu of flowers, etc - please make a donation to Dream On Curls Riding Center - as a tribute to the location of great happiness and accomplishment for Monte.  You can contact us by e-mail to find out how to contribute in Monte's memory.

Here's to Monte- a brave gentleman who rode and smiled to the end !

Start of the Year with the Start of a new Group

Despite the cold weather of January we still help the start of the first 8 week session of the Prism Ponies, an 8 week long session that is specifically designed for children on the Spectrum to help learn the many smaller social cues and interactions that happen in daily life and they miss. For the past two years we have run this group over the summer months for kids and beginning this year decided to expand it to be a year round offering.

Our Prism Pony Group  is getting off to a great start in 2011 --  this is a block of sessions specifically designed for children and young adults on the spectrum.   

Within the structure of the lesson will be both mounted and un-mounted activities 

with these goals in mind :

¨ engage in co-operative teamwork

¨ improve stamina

¨ encourage physical activity

¨ strengthening in the abilities to read social cues

Children will be introduced with a simple schedule and build from there to provide more involvement in independence and learning to cope with transitions.

The two boys who began in this first winter session are both elementary aged so it  seemed appropriate to assign some true ponies for them. 

OYY Arcus a 12.2hh pony made his debut as a lesson horse and just as we thought ~ he proved to be very capable in the therapeutic setting. 

OYY Pal’s Job a 13.3hh pony was the other choice. He has given lessons in the past including being a part of our summer Prism Ponies group. He has demonstrated time and time again what a safe, capable pony he is.

As a part of their first lesson they learned and worked on ground skills with the horses that emphasized using their body to communicate, respecting space of the horses and each other, making a plan in their head and carrying it out, and staying focused, while also working on basic horse skills such as how to stop, how to direct, how to move around a horse and so on.  

Both boys were happy and excited to be working with their mounts and the personalities seemed to be a perfect match between horse and handler. 

As the sessions continues we are going to continue to emphasize how to communicate with your body, how to read the body language of another,   a stronger understanding of personal space and what it means, and their ability to focus while also teaching basic horse and riding skills.

Just a short video of the first lesson ~

Each group is a block of 8 once a week sessions. If you are interested in signing up for one of our Prism Pony Groups -- call the instructor Zoe Lirakis at the Center - 802-885-4126 !

Holiday Greeting and a new Program

This free slideshow created with Smilebox We have had a hectic but joyful summer at  Dream On Curls Riding Center --  with many fundraisers and  two Rider Appreciation Days !! We ran a very successful and full of giggles Girls' Group ~   Photo's will follow before the New Year. We have implemented a new group -- actually - this is a group  we have offered in the past- but it has a fresh and official name ~ We are excited about this group -- it will run every 8 weeks starting in January.  Our riding group for children and young adults on the spectrum has been a  very successful group we ran in the summer months. Now ~ it runs all year !  Along with your registration -- each rider receives a shirt with our new program logo.  It's cold at Dream On Curls Riding Center -- but the riders  keep braving the weather to ride their favorite Curly horse --   we are proud of each and every one of them ! Hope everyone had a super holiday and we look forward to seeing you  back in the saddle after the New year !

AAMFEST !!

Autism Awareness Music Festival - the second annual gathering. This is the first year the festival was held at the property of Top O' The Hill farm and location of Dream On Curls Riding Center. What an exciting day for us ! Crowds attended to relax under the tent to hear super music from 5 different bands and learn more about the resources available for those on the spectrum.




John Sullivan, Team Leader for HCRS’ Developmental Services program at HCRS and lead singer/guitar player of the John Sullivan Band says it all in his original music and lyrics -- Autism Speaks ~ and it's up to us to hear.




John Sullivan has also introduced a music program for HCRS clients called The Rhythmic Arts Project (TRAP). TRAP is an educational program for individuals with disabilities which uses percussion instruments to teach basic life skills. The program has supported HCRS clients in achieving their rehabilitative goals and has made a difference in the lives of those participating.


We had a brief shower and some threatening winds during the festival -- the horses played and enjoyed the music as well.. our two little lesson ponies put on a show

More samples of the great music -- just so you can experience what you missed by not attending this year's AAMFEST !! :)

The festival was not only all about the music however -- as the acronym suggests.. it is all about raising awareness. Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders. Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism.

One is never prepared for a diagnosis of autism. It is likely that you will experience a range of emotions. It is painful to love so much, to want something so much, and not quite get it. You desperately want your child to get better and you may feel some of the stages commonly associated with grieving. One goal of the festival is to provide families with information and available resources to assist in coping and supporting.

Dream On Curls Riding Center is one of those resources. We have been providing a summer riding camp specifically focused on the needs of those children and young adults who are diagnosed as being 'on the spectrum' . This is a highly successful program with some very happy engaged riders. Mothers and Fathers are thrilled to see their children smiling and focused during their lesson.

Dream On Curls Riding Center is excited to have had the opportunity to help host this event ~ if you missed this year's festival.. watch for news of next year's date !

If you are interested in learning more about our therapeutic riding activities - please visit the web site or e-mail us.

Enjoy ~

Our Participation in the World Record Trail Ride !

Sunday, June 13th - Dream On Curls Riding Center and Top O' The Hill Farm hosted a judged obstacle ride working with ACTHA -- the American Competitive Trail Horse Association. ACTHA donates up to 50% of its proceeds to eligible horse charities annually. On the 13th -- a trail ride was held in every state so there were thousands of riders and their horses trying out the same obstacles all across the nation. This ride was held to help fund Horse rescues every where. It was a bit of a dreary day but we had a great turn out and everyone had FUN ! ACTHA gives out some super awards and ribbons, provides all the judging sheets and does all the registration on-line... so Zoe and I only had to gather up volunteers for judging the 6 obstacles, place the obstacles along the route. We provided a breakfast and BBQ lunch with all the proceeds going toward the riding center. We will definitely host another ACTHA ride !!

Once the riders had all arrived and parked, with a yummy breakfast under their belts and the ride briefing -- they headed out to tackle the obstacles. The obstacles were placed along the ride - each one a few miles apart.. 2 judges at each obstacle. At registration time the riders had the option of signing on as either Open or Pleasure.... and the obstacles and judging criteria was based on the category - one being slightly more difficult than the other. The obstacles are kept secret until the pre-ride briefing .. no practicing at home beforehand !

Photo's from the last obstacle of the day - 4 cones set up. 2 and 2, 40 feet apart. For the open class - the horse had to canter or lope in 3 strides or less at the 'starting gate' -- for the pleasure class -- trot in 3 strides. Stop at the end 2 cones, squarely.. the horse standing on loose rein for 3 seconds.

Here's a couple of video's ~

Candids of the horses and their riders.

If I remember correctly- the grey horse rode as a "buddy" -- meaning they were there for the ride only. However, this rider did all the obstacles and did fine -- I think she said it was the grey horse's first time out away from his home. Great job !









There was a large representation of Rocky Mountain Horses.

This woman and her little buckskin "Bucky" made for a special pair. You can read about him on her blog here -

As judges, we saw a lot of great horsemanship and clearly a love between horse and rider.

Lunchtime and prizes !! ACTHA also had plenty of super free samples and discount coupons for horse "stuff " .. what a great day !!

Everyone was happy about their ribbons and prizes !

Despite the weather -- we all had lots of fun and Dream On Curls Riding Center looks forward to hosting our next ACTHA ride ! A big thank you to our volunteer judges !! If you are interested in volunteering for our next ride -- e-mail us

Enjoy ~