HAPPENINGS

features birds, insects and other ying creatures. e gallery is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit www.shadowmountaingallery.com.

WEDNESDAY and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets for the show cost $25 and are available on Eventbrite.

EPRD summer concert series: e Evergreen Park & Recreation district will host four concerts starting at 4:30 p.m. this summer: June 28: Kyle O’Brien & Friends at Evergreen Lake; July 12: Blood Brothers at the Buchanan Park elds; July 26: May Be Fern at Evergreen Lake; and Aug. 9: Cass Clayton Band at Buchanan Park elds.

Enduro Mountain Bike Event: Team Evergreen will host an Enduro Mountain Bike event on June 28 and July 5 at Floyd Hill Open Space. For more information, visit www.teamevergreen.org/ oyduro.

Freedom Run: e Freedom Run sponsored by Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice will host the 5K run walk starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 4, starting at Evergreen Middle School and ending at Evergreen Athletic Club. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 on race day for adults and $20 in advance and $30 on race day for youth under 18. For more information and to register, visit freedomrunrace.org.

Free legal clinic: A free legal clinic for people with no attorney will be from 2 to 5 p.m. ursday, July 6. Volunteer attorneys will answer questions, help ll out forms, and explain the process and procedure for all areas of civil litigation. Preregistration for individual 15-minute appointments is available by calling 303-235-5275.

Camp Comfort Weekend

Camp: Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice’s Camp Comfort for children 6-12 who have lost a loved one will be July 7-9 at the Rocky Mountain Village Easter Seals Camp, 2644 Alvarado Road, Empire. Cost is free for all children thanks to donors, but a $25 deposit is required per child to hold their spot. Visit campcomfort.org for more information and to register.

Cost is free for all children thanks to donors, but a $25 deposit is required per child to hold their spot. Visit campcomfort.org for more information and to register.

Triple Bypass: e Triple Bypass Bike Ride is on July 22 starting in Evergreen and ending in Avon. For more information and to register, visit www.triplebypass.org.

“Footloose the Musical”: Stagedoor eater will perform “Footloose the Musical” directed by Jo Gerlick July 28-Aug. 6 at the theater, 25797 Conifer, Road, Conifer. Performances are at 7 p.m. July 28-29 and Aug. 4-6, and at 2 p.m. July 30 and Aug. 6. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors, educators and students. For more information and tickets, visit

Barbed wire removal: Wild Aware is sponsoring volunteer barbed wire removal days at DeDisse Park from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on July 22 and Aug. 19. For more information, visit wildaware.org.

Evergreen Jazz Festival: e Evergreen Jazz Festival will be July 28-30 at several venue in Evergreen with bands from around the country playing swing, blues, Dixieland and more. For information on bands, performances and tickets, visit EvergreenJazz.org.

Ongoing

Adult grief support group: Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice is o ering a seven-week in-person adult grief support group. e next group starts June 1 and runs every ursday through July 20, with no session on July 6. e group will meet from 2-3 p.m. at the Mount Evans o ce, 3081 Bergen Peak Road, Evergreen. Reservations are required. Call 303-674-6400 to sign up.

Blue Spruce Habitat volunteers needed: Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers. A variety of opportunities and exible schedules are available on new construction sites as well as for exterior minor home repairs. No previous construction experience needed. Contact volunteer@bluesprucehabitat.org for information.

EChO needs volunteers: e Evergreen Christian Outreach ReSale Store and food pantry need volunteers. Proceeds from the EChO ReSale Store support the food pantry and programs and services provided by EChO. ere are many volunteer options from which to choose. For more information, call Mary at 720673-4369 or email mary@evergreenchristianoutreach.org.

UPCOMING

“Matilda Jr.”: e Venue eatre will perform “Matilda Jr.” June 29July 1 at the theater, 27132 Main St., Conifer. Performances are at 7 p.m. June 29-30, and at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. July 1. Tickets are $15 and available at thevenuetheatre.org.

All In Ensemble: e All In Ensemble, a new theatre group committed to diversity, will perform “Sagittarius Ponderosa” by MJ Kaufman for three weekends, June 30 through July 16, at the Roaming Gnome eatre, 10255 E. 25th Ave., Unit 5, Aurora. Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights

Fun Day at the Ranch: Wild Aware is sponsoring a family fundraiser from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 15 at a ranch just past Alderfer/ ree Sisters Open Space Park. For more information, visit wildaware.com.

Camp Comfort Day Camp: Camp Comfort is Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice now o ers day camps for children 6-12 who have lost a loved one at the Golden Community Center, 1470 10th St., Golden. e camps will be July 1719, with drop o between 8 and 8:30 a.m. and pickup between 4 and 4:30 p.m. New this year is a day camp located in the Denver metro area.

Summerfest: Center for the Arts Evergreen’s 43rd annual Summerfest will be from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 29-30 at the Buchanan Park elds. Admission is $5, payable at the door. Visit artist and artisan booths, while listening to live music and visiting food trucks. For more information, visit e Evergreen Area Republican Club: e Evergreen Area Republican Club will meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Evergreen Fire/Rescue Administration Building, 1802 Bergen Parkway. e speaker will be Antonette Smith, deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity. Visit evergreenarearepublicanclub.org for more information.

LGBTQ+ teen book club: Resilience1220 is o ering a LGBTQ+ teen book club that meets from 4-6 p.m. the fourth Monday at the Resilience1220 o ce next to the Buchanan Park Recreation Center. e group’s rst book is “Hell Followed With Us.” For more information and to register, visit R1220.org.

Hiwan Museum summer hours: Hiwan Museum is open for tours from noon-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from noon-4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Outdoor self-guided tours are available at any time. Large groups are encouraged to call 720-497-7653 to make arrangements.

ESA EverGREEN Re ll Station: EverGREEN Re ll Station (re ll your laundry detergent, lotions, soaps and more. We have many sustainable products available). e Re ll Station is open Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and the second Saturday of each month in the Habitat Restore in Bergen Park, 1232 Bergen Parkway.

Support After Suicide

Loss: Heartbeat andResilience1220 o er Support After Suicide Loss from 5:30-7 p.m. the fourth ursday of the month for ages 14 and older. Join in-person or online. Suggest donation is $15. For location, visit R1220.org.

Sensitive Collection: Resilience1220 o ers a monthly workshop for highly sensitive people to help them live healthy and empowered lives from 3:30-4:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month via Zoom. Visit R1220.org for more information.

Caregiver support group: Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice o ers a monthly group to provide emotional support services for care- givers helping ill, disabled or elderly loved ones. An in-person support group meets every third Monday from 4-6 p.m. at 3081 Bergen Peak Road, Evergreen. For more information, visit mtevans.org/services/ emotional-support/.

Parkinson’s disease support group: A Parkinson’s disease support group meets the rst Friday of the month from 1-3 p.m. at Evergreen Christian Church, 27772 Iris Drive, Evergreen. For more information, email esears@parkinsonrockies.org.

Mountain Foothills Rotary meetings: Mountain Foothills Rotary meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays both in person at Mount Vernon Canyon Club at 24933 Club House Circle, Genesee, and via Zoom. Join the Zoom meeting at https://us02web. zoom.us/j/81389224272, meeting ID 813 8922 4272, phone 346-248-7799.

Beyond the Rainbow: Resilience1220 o ers Beyond the Rainbow, which is two support groups that meet from 7-8:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month. One is a safe group for those 12-20 and the other is group for parents and caregivers wanting support for raising an LGBTQ child. To RSVP, contact Lior Alon at lior@wisetreewellness.com.

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When people think of horses, they might associate them with ranch living, horse racing or recreational riding, but horses can be therapeutic, too. erapy takes many forms, from physical to mental. Some people travel to a ranch to work with horses as part of the therapeutic process.

Equine-assisted therapy was something Arvada native Kelsey Petitt discovered while studying occupational therapy at Pima Medical Institute in Denver. Having grown up riding horses, it immediately caught her attention.

“I just, kind of, was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever. I can combine my true passion of horses and really being able to help and assist participants and patients with doing therapy and reaching their functional goals while also having fun with horses and having that relationship,’” Petitt said.

Although she knew immediately that equine-assisted therapy was something she wanted to pursue, she did not do so immediately. Following her schooling and clinical internships, she quickly began working and then had her daughter.

However, in 2021 Petitt, who now lives in Brighton, decided to establish the Brighton-based Prestige erapeutic Equestrian Center, o ering an occupational therapy program that brings the four-legged companions into the practice.

“Now, I’m going on 11 years of being a therapist and so it’s taken me a little bit of time to get back to, really, what I wanted to do,” said Petitt, who also works as an occupational therapy assistant for a company called erapeutic and Rehabilitative Associates.

Her purpose, like many other therapists incorporating horses into their practice, is clear: “Transforming lives through the therapeutic power of horses.”

Bringing horses into occupational therapy

Occupational therapists help people develop skills so that they can perform day-to-day tasks such as bathing, dressing and eating, as well as techniques to aid in memory and concentration, according to the American Occupational erapy Association.

For example, occupational therapists may work on a person’s ne motor skills, such as being able to button a jacket or holding a fork, Petitt said.

ey also work on sensory integration, which she said usually comes up when working with someone who is on the autism spectrum.

Another example of work they do is helping someone with their feeding skills, such as for patients with Parkinson’s disease who experience a lot of tremors. Improving core strength may also be a focus for patients, such as for someone who struggles to put their shirt on due to a lack of strength.

“ ere’s an array of di erent settings that you can get into in the occupational therapy eld, but I think for me, the equine-assisted movement is just something that I’ve always loved,” she said. “Horses are just so therapeutic in general, for anybody.” e term “hippotherapy” refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use equine movement as a therapy tool, according to the American Hippotherapy Association.

To use hippotherapy in treatment, a person must be a licensed therapist who has completed continuing education in the inclusion of horses and equine movement, per the association. Petitt has gotten her rst level of training with the association, and she plans to continue with her training this fall.

However, Petitt explained that she does not refer to herself as a hippotherapist because hippotherapy is not its own therapy.

“We’re not hippotherapists,” she said. “Hippotherapy is utilizing the horse. All of our treatments are either occupational therapy, speech therapy or physical therapy, and we’re just using the horse as a treatment tool, basically.”

With her clients, she said she is working on all of the same therapy interventions that she would be in a therapy gym or in an outpatient program, but instead she’s now doing it by having her clients get onto a horse and incorporating the horse’s movement into the treatment.

“We work o the horse’s pelvis, so their pelvis is very similar to ours,” she said. ere are di erent planes for the horse in the way that their pelvis moves — the sagittal plane, frontal plane and transverse plane, she said.

“We’re working on that constantly, so when we have our riders on the horse, they’re also working on that. And it’s one of the most multi-dimensional movement(s) that’s rhythmic and repetitive,” she said.

For someone experiencing conditions such as limited mobility, limited core strength, cognitive delays, or sensory processing disorders, “it can really just kind of help bene t and improve all of those elements,” she said of equine-assisted therapy.

According to a study published in the international journal, Physiotherapy eory and Practice, there are “signicant positive e ects” of equine-assisted therapy on exercise tolerance, mobility, interpersonal interactions and quality of life of people with disabilities.

Another study focused on the ef- fects of equine-assisted activities and therapies for individuals on the autism spectrum and concluded that these programs “substantially improve” the social and behavioral functions of people who are on the autism spectrum.

“Communication is pretty key, too … because horses mirror us, so a lot of our participants can learn a lot more speech and communication successfully with the horses, which is really great,” she said.

Petitt has three horses she works with. e horse a client is paired with is dependent on their individual needs, she explained.

“Part of what’s so cool is because we can kind of tailor it to that participant, that patient, and kind of really work on what we need to work on with them,” she said. “ eir postural control, sensory systems, motor planning.”

In a typical therapy gym for occupational therapy, Petitt said there are tools such as a swing, a ball and a mat to use for the session. However, these do not provide the same level of sensory input and rhythmic, consistent movement that equine-assisted therapy can, which she said is great at building overall strength, control and balance.

“We can work in the therapy gym all day but the bene ts and the outcomes that we’re seeing while doing therapy