There’s no medical personnel, no rooms for counseling sessions, just wide-open spaces for clearing your mind and healing from your past — all at your own pace. “Here you can relax,” says Wilder. “There are no cares, no worries. You don’t have the traffic and the noise. Your mind can just roam to a degree — get things straight. Any time you want to leave, you can get up and leave. You don’t have to worry about restrictions.” A Vietnam veteran diagnosed with PTSD, the idea for the organization came to Wilder during the early ’90s while volunteering with the disabled at Ember Ranch in Polk City. As Wilder spent time working with the horses there, he noticed it helped him to relax. Soon after, a doctor recommended to Wilder that he spend an hour a week riding horses to help manage his condition. “The horses don’t care who you are or what problems you might have. Just to put your hands on them is relaxing. That one hour a week turned into half a day, which turned into all day, which turned into every day. A change came over me,” Wilder says. Although he had already been working with veterans and at-risk youth for years, Wilder was granted nonprofit status and officially opened the Leaning W’s gates in October 2011. He has always had an open-door policy for anyone who wants to visit, from Boy Scout troops to corporate executive teams, asking only that you let him know you’re on your way. “It’s not just a place for veterans to come. It’s not just a place for at-risk kids to come. It’s a place for anyone who needs to get away and try to think.” The serene setting is perfect for just that. A lake for fishing flanks the winding entrance on one side, trees on the other. Horses, hammocks, a horseshoe pit, and a grilling area are all available for visitors to use and enjoy, whether they’re just there for the day or plan to camp out overnight. Wilder himself is also available for anyone unfamiliar with horses who wants to learn to ride or gain confidence in interacting with them. The best part? It’s all free. Wilder doesn’t charge visitors anything for using 86
THE LAKELANDER
Diagnosed with PTSD, Vietnam Veteran Wilder was encouraged by his doctor to give horseback riding a try to help manage stress.
“IT’S NOT JUST A PLACE FOR VETERANS TO COME. IT’S NOT JUST A PLACE FOR AT-RISK KIDS TO COME. IT’S A PLACE FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS TO GET AWAY AND TRY TO THINK.”
the facility — nor does he accept any sort of outside funding to maintain the Leaning W, though he has been offered it in the past and been encouraged to grow his organization through those means. Funding his operations personally allows him to keep the focus of the place on his original vision: helping others. “At many other organizations, over 50 percent of the funding is going to administrative fees and salaries. What about the veterans?” Wilder asked. “I don’t want to get funded and then have this turn into something else.” With his limited resources, Wilder is adept at finding new uses for old items. The feed room next to the horse stalls is a repurposed porch. The arena — known as the Bucket Arena by regulars — features a perimeter of tires and buckets from a trash dump he removed from the property’s entrance as well as bleachers and cones donated by the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Orlando.