TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Learning To Take Reins

ADVERTISEMENT

By RONNIE BLAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Maybe it's a bit of magic that happens each week at Rockin' Horse Farm.

Maybe it's just hard work and the dedication of people willing to put in the extra effort for special needs children such as Kendal Thompson, a 7-year-old who has autism.

Kendal's mother and teacher know only this: Kendal has been transformed by her Wednesday afternoon horseback-riding lessons at the farm, where communicating with a horse has opened Kendal to communicating with teachers and classmates.

"This is the very best place for Kendal to be," her mother, Mary Greene, said. "If we could come every night of the week, we would."

Kendal, a first-grader at Longleaf Elementary, does more than just ride. She brushes the horse and cleans its hooves, an important facet of Rockin' Horse Farm's therapeutic riding program for children with disabilities. Those activities create a bond between animal and child, a connection that helps bring the children out of their shells.

Patty Wanker, Kendal's teacher at Longleaf, is thrilled with the change in Kendal as the girl gains confidence in her riding skills.

Riding Helps Her Communicate
Kendal once communicated little. In kindergarten, she tended to babble. Now Wanker can pierce the veil of autism by chatting with Kendal about horses. Kendal's classmates now have something to talk with her about, too.
Kendal has been known to enlist the entire class, Wanker included, in an imaginary horse show.

"Her writing skills, when she writes about horses, are phenomenal," Wanker said.

The teacher played a large role in securing the riding lessons.
Wanker noticed Kendal kept returning to a book about horses, seemingly fascinated. Wanker grew up riding horses so she understood the power of the horse-and-human relationship, and figured Kendal might do well in the saddle.
Wanker searched the Internet for information on therapeutic horseback riding and discovered Rockin' Horse Farm on Plathe Road.

The farm is owned by Amy Baird, a former Clearwater Marine Aquarium dolphin trainer with a lifelong passion for animals.

Baird always dreamed of owning horses, but patiently waited for the right moment in her life because she wanted to keep the horses on her own land. She liked the idea of walking out her door and ambling over to the stalls, saddling up a horse and riding.

Finally, the pieces fell into place and she had her farm and horses. In January 2007, she opened the farm to the public and offered riding lessons.

There Was A Demand

Before long, parents started inquiring about lessons for children with special needs. In September 2007, Baird added a therapeutic riding program and now operates a nonprofit organization called Horse Connections Inc.

As Wanker researched Rockin' Horse Farm, she said nothing to Greene. She visited the farm to make sure it seemed like a good fit for Kendal.
Wanker liked what she saw, but she still kept mum, unwilling to raise false hopes until all loose ends were settled. She knew that Greene, a single mother of three young children, might have a tough time paying for riding instruction, so she found a sponsor willing to cover the cost of nine lessons during the summer.

At an end-of-the-year parent-teacher conference, Wanker sprung her plan on Greene and asked the mother if she had ever considered horseback-riding lessons for Kendal.

As it turned out, she had, and she already knew about Rockin' Horse Farm.

Without the help of the sponsor, though, Greene couldn't have afforded the lessons.

A Perfect Summer

It was the perfect summer for Kendal as the weekly outings to Rockin' Horse Farm became a family affair. Her sister, Zoie, 9, and brother, Michael, 5, tagged along and helped care for the horses.

The end of summer brought the end of the lessons. Greene fretted about what to do. Kendal had responded so well to the horses that the mother couldn't imagine just walking away. She wondered whether she might be able to work overtime to bring in extra dollars to pay for more lessons.
Wanker stepped in again.

The teacher put out a plea for sponsors in the Longleaf community where she lives. She wasn't optimistic because of the tough economic times.

But within a week, enough people came forward to pay for a year of lessons. Wanker was flabbergasted.

She thinks one reason for the outpouring of donations may be the prevalence of autism these days. More and more children are diagnosed with it. Almost every person who contributed to Kendal's riding lessons had a connection to someone with autism.

So the lessons continued.

This week, at the appointed time on Wednesday, Kendal was back at Rockin' Horse Farm, astride a 4-year-old quarter horse named Zippy. Riding instructor Simone Mazzeo put her through her paces with the assistance of Meghan Bickerton, 14, a home-schooled student who volunteers at the farm.

Also taking lessons on this day were Johnny Peiffer, 14, who has autism, and Braedon Wienhold, 16, who has emotional disorders and autistic characteristics.
Kendal practiced bringing Zippy to a halt. Sometimes Kendal was on her own, her back straight, riding high in the saddle like a champion as Zippy's hooves kicked up a light cloud of dust.

Kendal's mother smiled and murmured, "God, I love watching her ride by herself."

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT