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At stables, a sanctuary Even as the organization seeks greener
pastures near the city, Forward Stride gives disabled riders a lift with
horse therapy MICHELLE
MANDEL It's a lovely drive to the stables
of Forward Stride, a nonprofit group that uses horses to help the physically
and developmentally disabled. Winding up The downside: It's a minimum 30-minute
drive for most of Forward Stride's volunteers and students, who live in
Washington and Multnomah counties. That's too far for an organization
that eventually wants to serve 500 clients. "We need to be near where people
live," says executive director Trisha Thompson, 43, a "Ideally, we'd like to be within
a 20-minute drive of It's big thinking for a group launched
in June, taking over a similar horse-therapy organization called Agape.
Thompson and her board seek at least 10 acres, ideally near pricey Sylvan
Hill. The problem: They have no money. They're hoping someone will donate
the land. What they do have is 50 gung-ho volunteers
who have lined up a dedicated crew of pro bono professionals, including
a site-selection expert. They've got testimonial after testimonial from
parents and participants raving about the benefits of Forward Stride.
"When you have a child with
a disability, it's sometimes hard to find a place where they can blossom
and be accepted," says Cindy Danner of Oregon City, whose 10-year-old
daughter, Sarah, has participated in therapeutic riding -- first through
Agape, now through Forward Stride -- for 21/2 years. "One of Sarah's challenges is
communication," she says of her mildly autistic daughter. "Her
attention span has really grown through this program. It's taught her
about following directions and listening to her teacher. "And it's taught her not just
a love of horses, but of all animals." At a recent Saturday morning class,
Sarah is bundled up against the near-freezing weather. The fourth-grader
straddles Blesi, a shaggy Icelandic horse that's among seven animals the
program owns or leases. Horse and rider circle a small covered arena,
tailing two other student-topped horses, playing a game of Simon Says.
"Simon says touch your leg!"
calls out Kris McCarthy, 55, of McCarthy is one of three Forward
Stride instructors certified by the North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association. Nearly 700 association centers exist nationwide, providing
therapy through horses to children and adults with physical and emotional
problems. McCarthy goes on about the good things
she's witnessed since she started teaching in 1999. "We have one
kid in a wheelchair who started screaming so loud when we first put her
on a horse," says McCarthy, who uses games such as horse basketball
to engage riders. "Instead, we just had her touch the horse. She
came two Saturdays, and she brushed the horse, and did other nonthreatening
things. "The third Saturday, we decided
to put her back on the horse, and she stayed. Now she squeals in delight
when she rides, and doesn't stop smiling the entire class." Forward Stride serves ages 5 and
older, but only one of its 27 students is an adult. Parents typically
stay for class, as it's too far a drive to go anywhere else. Instructors
prefer they stay out of the arena, so most sit in their cars, heaters
blasting. Otherwise, they tend to correct their children, when instructors
prefer the children solve their own problems. Classes cost $30 an hour, which does
not cover costs, Thompson says. Grants and donations take up the financial
slack, as do pro bono services of farriers, horse chiropractors and veterinarians.
Of course, it's going to take a lot
more free help -- and money -- to get Forward Stride's new facility. Beyond
land and stables, organizers envision a 64,000-square-foot structure where
classes would be offered for body and mind. "We'd like fitness classes,
like yoga for multiple sclerosis patients, and classes like living with
disabilities or illnesses, and how to move forward in life," Thompson
says. Already, she says, the group painfully
turned down one offer to lease land in Instead, Thompson says, they seek
a close-in 10-acre chunk of land that borders a green space where trail
riding might take place. If the land has environmental restrictions,
even better. Thompson and her board want a green facility, meaning everything
-- from livestock management to manure treatment -- is done in ways to
have minimal impact on the environment. "We think there are developers
with these restrictions who could benefit from our organization,"
says Karen Kantor, a 51-year-old songwriter from Cedar Mill who became
involved in Forward Stride when she started horseback riding five years
ago. Restrictions or not, Realtor Ron
Timmerman thinks Forward Stride organizers may be thinking too big for
their riding breeches. He says land on or near Sylvan Hill typically sells
for $100,000 an acre and up. If a 10-acre parcel became available, a slew
of developers would be after it, he says. "They can't play the poverty
card to have prime land," says Timmerman, owner of Timmerman Realty
Advisors on More likely, Timmerman says, Forward
Stride will find its land north or west or Wherever it is, Forward Stride organizers
think they'll locate land this year, and move within two years. In the meantime, they'll continue
making the long drive up Thompson smiles, recalling the story
of a 95-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease. "The women had grown up on a
ranch in "At first the woman was confused.
Then we brought her a horse, and something in this woman switched over.
All of a sudden, she knew exactly what to do. She grabbed the grooming
bucket, and started grooming, and her daughter started to cry. "That's when I knew I was in
the right place." Michelle Mandel Copyright 2004 Oregon Live. All Rights Reserved. Return to Foward
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