THE STAR
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Wednesday, January 12, 2022 • PAGE
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Reining Strength helps heal, bond through horsemanship Stefan Modrich See Fortbendstar.com for related video REPORTER
Richmond resident Tabitha Fleak’s 11-year-old daughter Madison has been overcoming obstacles since she received a heart transplant when she was 20 months old at Texas Children’s Hospital. After Madison, then 5, struggled to fight through boredom in physical therapy and speech therapy sessions, Fleak was in search of an engaging alternative. She found Reining Strength, 7126 FM 359 in Richmond, where Madison has been a regular ever since in the practice of therapeutic horsemanship. “Texas Children's Hospital saved her life and Reining Strength completely enriches her life,” Fleak said. “It’s just a great program.” Perhaps a testament to the work of the Reining Strength owners R.D. Sedillo and Heather Hernandez-Sedillo, a husband-and-wife team, is the fact that Fleak had called me from Dallas, where she was attending a competi-
★ QUARANTINE FROM PAGE 1 media. The changes seem like they'll cause unnecessary illness, said Valerie Callahan, a parent with three children in the district. Similarly, those in Stafford MSD that test positive must isolate for five days since symptoms first appeared, or since first testing positive, provided that they have been fever-free for 24 hours or are free of body aches and have improved symptoms, according to Gracie Martinez, spokesperson for the district. The new guidance comes as coronavirus cases have been surging across the county in recent weeks,
R.D. Sedillo checks on a horse in his stables at Reining Strength, 7126 FM 359 in Richmond. (Photo by Stefan Modrich)
tion of Madison’s. Madison also regularly participates in equestrian competitions like the one scheduled for Feb. 28-March 20 at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and others that are sanctioned by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). Sedillo said he and Hernandez-Sedillo work with clients with various challenges and
needs and that she has a special bond to the local Special Olympics community because her uncle was one of the first athletes to compete in the Special Olympics from Texas. Sedillo is also a Special Olympics equestrian coach. “We've had clients that weren't walking, and that their therapist said they're never going to walk,” Hernandez-
spurred by the arrival of the omicron variant. There are about 106,000 positive cases in the county, an increase of about 500 percent over three weeks ago, according to Jacquelyn Minter, the county’s health authority. “It does look to be milder, especially in those who are vaccinated,” she said of omicron cases. Most school districts in Fort Bend County that changed their isolation and quarantine procedures cited new CDC guidelines in their decisions. The new guidance recommends that children who are exposed to the virus should quarantine for at least five days, along with those who test positive and that those who test positive
should wear a mask for an extra five days after leaving isolation, according to an article on CNN. While local school districts have moved to reduce isolation time in response to the new guidance, the districts are not unanimously adopting all of the CDC’s recommendations. Fort Bend ISD, for instance, is only recommending people wear masks, not requiring them. And in Stafford MSD, district administrators are no longer requiring those that have been exposed to quarantine, according to Martinez. “Students may quarantine at home if they choose, the decision is up to each parent/guardian,” she said.
Reagan Bregman, right, the wife of Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, chats with Richmond resident Caroline Bordelon as one of her friends and Alex look on. (Contributed photo)
★ HELP FROM PAGE 1 ing to go above and beyond for her children.” This is where there’s some difference in the tale, depending on who’s telling it. In Farmer’s recollection, the Bregmans then proceeded to purchase a new car and secure an apartment for Bordelon. "I'm telling you, it hasn't even sunk in for me yet," Bordelon said of the holiday surprise. "I almost feel like someone needs to wake me up. I get emotional every time I talk about it." Bregman, meanwhile, is quick to thank a long list of people across the region for pooling resources to give Bordelon a Christmas
to remember. “So many people helped out with this,” he said. “Mattress Mack (Jim McIngvale) helped furnish her apartment fully, which was super nice of them, along with Gallery Furniture. Mark at Gulf Coast Ford in Angleton helped her with a car. My hitting coach, Jason Columbus, helped. And H-E-B has given her gift cards for groceries.” Perhaps Bregman was drawn to Bordelon’s story in particular, because one of her children was diagnosed with autism – a condition that is near and dear to Bregman’s heart because his godson has autism, Bregman said. In fact, Bregman’s nonprofit foundation, Bregman Cares, is meant to raise
money for children and autism awareness across the country. “It’s a passion of ours,” Bregman said. “And we’re only looking to get bigger and bigger. We have lofty goals for the coming year.” Bregman hopes to soon raise money for needs assessments for students, and one day in several years to open a school for children with autism, he said. Bordelon broke down in tears upon learning what Bregman and his foundation had done for her. "You see things like this on TV," Bordelon said. "I've been in Fort Bend County for 10 years, and worked with all these entities. And I never thought it would happen to someone like me."
3 Generations of Quality Service, Integrity & Honesty
Sedillo said. “And they started working on the horse and it gave them core strength and balance. They took their first steps and their family totally attributes that to their time and work on the horse. And that's pretty impactful to get to be a part of that.” From Whinny, the Norwegian Fjord horse and Morales
★ FORD JR. FROM PAGE 1 20-6A. At both the Fort Bend ISD and Brazosport ISD tournaments earlier this season, he was named to the alltournament teams. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Ford Jr. is a dynamic playmaker, according to first-year Ridge Point head coach Darren Johnson, which might draw comparisons to a father who was named national player of the year in college before being a firstround draft pick in the NBA. But the younger Ford has visions of even greater things for his own journey. He already has a college scholarship offer from Texas-Arlington and has taken unofficial visits to both Creighton and Texas A&M. “The goal is to watch how (my dad) did things, and hopefully take that and become better off with it,” Ford Jr. said. “I see the things that he’s done, and want to try to have a higher achievement status – (take it) and try to be better.” More than meets the eye Johnson said Ford Jr. has become an unquestioned leader for the Panthers, who graduated six seniors from last year’s regional semifinal squad. In turn, he has taken some of the burden off of the coaching staff, according to Johnson, who is content to let the burgeoning star do his thing. “We just kind of gave him the keys, and built trust with him to go out and let him play his game," Johnson said. "He does a lot outside (the school) that helps his game. I never want to handicap a kid or stop him from being who he is. He’s been really good at understanding his role and not trying to do more than he has to.”
the Irish Cob to Keke the pony, among others, Sedillo said he likes to collect horses of different breeds to work with their clients. “Say you have this person with low self esteem who comes in,” Sedillo said, “and all of a sudden, they’re controlling this 1,000 pound animal. It’s really empowering. You're telling this horse to do something, and this horse is doing it. It gives people confidence, empowers them to be in control, validate for themselves and be more assertive in making decisions.” Before founding Reining Strength, Hernandez-Sedillo was the co-director of Texas Tech University’s Therapeutic Riding Center. Sedillo, a New Mexico native, is a registered instructor by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH). Reining Strength has a small team of instructors and full-time staff, and recruits volunteers to help its instructors mount and dismount their riders and maintain a safe and
comfortable environment for the riders and their families. During a volunteer orientation last Thursday, I met Paige Davis, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from California. Despite not having any previous knowledge or experience with horses, she said she’d heard from other missionaries who had volunteered to assist at Reining Strength. “I thought it would be cool to help kids,” she said. Catherine Egbog, a student at Lamar Consolidated ISD’s Foster High School, said she was inspired to look into local equestrian organizations by the British Netflix series “Free Rein,” which chronicles a 15-year-old’s journey to an island off the coast of England where she moves to live with her mother and bonds with a horse. “It’s my first time volunteering, and I’m really excited,” Egbog said. For more information, visit reiningstrength.org or call 832-451-6874.
Following some early bumps in the road, the Panthers have reeled off six wins in their last seven games. And Ford Jr. is a big reason for that surge, according to his head coach. Leading the team was not initially a given considering Ford Jr. had to get accustomed to the role after coming off the bench last season. “You could tell it was awkward for him at the beginning trying to be the leader, but he’s grown into the role and he’s liking it now," Johnson said. "He’s performing, and it’s worked out for the best.” Ford Jr. is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and is also second on the team in steals. Johnson said Ford is a complete player, with a basketball IQ to match his natural ability on the floor. “Guys listen to him, and we haven’t had any issues with the buy-in, which helps us a lot," Johnson said. "He’s done a really good job, and the IQ matched with focus and understanding the game plan is great. The offense takes care of itself, but those (aspects) are what really help him lead these guys on the court and in the locker room.” That’s a point of pride for Ford Jr., who said it was a lesson from his dad that drives him to play the way he does. “He always taught me to play hard,” Ford Jr. said. “No matter how I played overall or how I do, everyone can say that I played hard from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.”
Trae Young as well as Stephen Curry. He said he has also drawn influence from the work ethic of former Houston Rockets star James Harden, who he got to see work out in person at his dad’s basketball academy last year. And Ford Jr. knows he has a wealth of knowledge and opportunity to use on his basketball journey, such as seeing Harden work out firsthand. But his head coach said it hasn’t gone to the head of Ford Jr., who is maintaining a youthful mindset. Whether he’s slashing to the basket on the court or munching on dry cereal out of the box in the locker room, Johnson said Ford Jr. has managed to block out much of the hype. “People see the name and automatically assume that he’s one way, but the refreshing part of being around him every day is that he’s a kid – he enjoys being around his teammates and having fun. ... T.J. likes the same things any kid likes,” Johnson said. “It’s extremely rare, and I’ve been around other kids that are not that way. He could easily have a different outlook on life because of the name, but he doesn’t do that. He’s trying to do it himself.” It’s a balance, Ford Jr. said, and he still has taken more than a few of his father’s pointers to heart. But the younger Ford said his dad had also encouraged him to take his future into his own hands – which he has already begun to do. “He taught me to have tunnel vision. You’ve got to have your own vision for how you want to do things, and see it through with how you want to do it,” Ford Jr. said. “…I’m just going to continue to play hard, because then more people will show respect and look at me.”
All his own Ford Jr. said there is a little bit of his dad present in his game – which was inevitable being the son of an NBA point guard. But also present, he said, is shades of current NBA superstars such as Kyrie Irving and
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