HIGH Therapeutic
HOPES
The
Riding , Inc.
High HopesRider
I
Summer
2005
"MY HOPES" Inside this .issue: Board President & Executive Director Message Spotlight on Succes s Multi-Therapy Immersion Camp The Spirit of Giving Volunteer Cis Mattheissen Essex Savings Bank How you can help
From the Horse's Mouth What Makes an Olympic Champion? Hig h Hopes Happenings Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Comes to High Hopes 20th Annual Horse Show Corporate
& Foundation Thank You 's In accord ance with the A mer icans wi th Disabilit ies Act. The High Ho pes Rider is available in alter native for mats upon request . Please contact Judie Driscoll at Ext. 19. Phone: (860) 434-1974 Fax: (860) 434-3723 www.highhopestr.org
Thi s story was c o ntri buted Jo hnson, parent of a ride r.
by Jennife r
My son Marshall loves High Hopes - in fact he calls it " My Hopes". T he first time he said it , I smiled, but I realized that Marshall was right , High Hopes is a place where every week my family experiences a precious hour of laughter and joy. Marshall is IO now, and he has been riding at High Hopes since he was five. From his very first r ide on Doc. Marshall has loved riding. Before Marshall started expressing himself with language, he would cry whenever we drove past the highway exit to High Hopes. At first his cry ing seemed out of the blue. but soon we realized he was consistently crying "there." We knew he wished we were heading for High Hopes.
Mar shall le ads a happy life a nd High Hopes is a huge part of that. It is hard to describe the ways that High Hopes has "helped" Marshall, every week I see his happiness with Cody and his instructors. Over the years, Marshall has gotten physically stronger and more aware of himself in space. At High Ho pes, he has found a place and an activity that he tr uly loves. Mind you . if you've been to the annual Horse Show, Marshall is the kid crying as the staff and volunteers quietly scramble to get him on a horse, even if his class isn't next. But once in the saddle, Marshall is a gleeful, if not cooperative rider. There may not always be focus, but there is always joy. Marshall's instr uctors have worked hard to improve his spoken language. and he learned quick ly to say "walk on." He also understo o d exactly wh at "whoa " meant fo r a long time . but he never wanted to say it. Why stop if you can be moving? On a recent airplane trip, we were waiting on the runway for take-off, when I heard Marshall quietly but clearly say "Walk on ." He obviousl y knows the meaning of those two powerful wo rds1 Mar shall has phenomenal balance
now and regularly swings on t he playground nohanded. He is the same o n horseback, a fan of the no-handed trot and the no-handed posting trot , neither of which are recommended or permitted. T his w inter. Kristen Perna!, one of the many patient instructors who has been teaching Mar shall, just stopped Cody every time Marshall let go. As long as he ho lds on to the saddle, he may trot . He knows t he ru les, but somet imes laughter and silliness st ill w in out. The instructo rs have been creative over the last five years, challenging Marshall and st retching his abilities. His voluntee rs, Bruce and Paul, direct Marshall by stopping the horse and asking him to spell a word. There is great incentive to get moving again, so he is quick with an answer ! T he spelling brings him back to t he present where he is tuned in to the horse, the people around him, and the class. Marshall leads a happy life. and High Hopes is a huge part of that . Now at breakfast when we talk about the plan for the day, Marshall will say "We go to My Hopes." It does seem like the perfect name for the place, r eflecting his hopes and all of our s, too .
Photofrom Annual Horse Show. Marshall is shown riding Ponchowith volunteersCherylHeffernan & Linda Taylor.