THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412090328
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SARAH SHAMES, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Alyson Rogers sits perfectly upright in the saddle.
``Put your hands up and reach for the sky,'' shouts volunteer instructor Connie Yow. Alyson reaches her hands high above her head - just one of the tasks riders in the Triple R Ranch Special Equestrian Riding Program are asked to do.
The Triple R's therapeutic riding program helps people with all types of physical and cognitive disabilities such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, spina bifida and autism. The program also serves those with learning and emotional difficulties.
For riders, the benefits are mostly recreational, but there also are medical benefits.
``A horse is the ultimate instrument of therapy,'' said Dr. Louis Wagner, a Franklin, Pa., general chest and vascular surgeon, who has worked with therapeutic riding programs in his area.
Triple R program leaders say that riders experience increased balance, muscle control and strength. Riding also can improve motivation, concentration, patience and discipline. The bond that forms between horse and rider helps improve interpersonal relationships and riders gain self-esteem and confidence.
Additionally, physically challenged riders who are used to looking up at people from wheelchairs get the chance to experience what it is like to sit on a horse and look down at others.
Program coordinator Lori Pickett, of Chesapeake, mentioned many cases where riders would never smile until placed on a horse, or when a child who didn't have much balance afterward was able finally to learn to ride a bicycle.
Alyson's father, Dean Rogers, of Chesapeake, said that riding gives Alyson physical stability and she gets to meet new people. Alyson, 23, has been in a therapeutic riding program for seven years.
The local program was founded in April 1987 by the Hope House Foundation, an organization that, among other things, helps the physically and mentally challenged become ``mainstreamed'' into society. At first, lessons took place at Miracle Acres in Virginia Beach but later moved to the Triple R Ranch.
There are usually 20 riders in the weekly classes. The ages of the riders vary. One class may have a rider who is 3 years old. Another may have a stroke victim in his 70s.
The Triple R riding program is staffed by 45 volunteers who are 16 or older. Each volunteer completes a six-hour training course that includes lessons in safety, how to treat people with disabilities, parts of the horse and riding tack. After the training, volunteers must prove that they have mastered the requirements.
In the riding classes, three volunteers with specific jobs are assigned to each rider. The leader is in charge of the horse, making sure there is a safe distance between the horse and rider when he or she is on the ground, and that the tack is secure. The second person, the side-walker, stays beside the horse throughout the lesson and keeps the rider balanced. The ``buddy'' is responsible for the safety of the rider and stays with him the whole time he is at the ranch.
Most of the volunteers are adults, but this year is unusual in that they have 10 teenage volunteers.
Mary Miller, 16, a junior at Kellam High School, decided to volunteer because she loves animals. She also worked at a stable and was a tutor for the mentally challenged when she lived in California. She's glad she volunteered.
``Everybody is happy and the riders feel loved,'' Mary said.
Megan Martin, 16, a junior at Tallwood High, decided to volunteer because the riding program ``can't run by itself.'' She also likes the fact that she can help ``people feel good about themselves. . . they can do things that they didn't know that they could accomplish.''
Alyson's parents said they have seen a remarkable difference in Alyson since she started riding. Alyson's balance has greatly improved, she sits up straighter in the saddle, she can now ride with no hands and she is not afraid to get on the horse.
``The program is very good because it helps children and adults have a sense of accomplishment, have fun, and it is very well run,'' Alyson's father said.
Sessions are held each spring and fall. The cost of the eight-week program is $75. A memorial fund in the name of Terry A. Mercer, who was a rider in the program, helps pay tuition for those who cannot afford it. The program has never turned anyone away. Groups or businesses also can sponsor riders.
``Without the volunteers, the program would not exist,'' Pickett said. MEMO: For more information on the Triple R Ranch Special Equestrian Riding
Program call Lori Pickett, program coordinator, at 547-9076 or contact
the ranch at 421-4177. Volunteers and riders are needed for the next
program, which starts in February.Sarah Shames, who lives in Virginia
Beach, is a senior at Norfolk Collegiate.
ILLUSTRATION: Shames
by CNB