Community

Bonds grow in the saddle

A rider with special needs makes a happy connection through a pilot program.

By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 11, 2007

Ricky Buckman, 16, rides Buttons at the Rockin' Horse Farm in New Port Richey as (from left) Adam Brusselback, 17, Allyssa Brusselback, 14, and Claire Milec, 15 steady him and the horse. Buckman is part of a pilot program for therapeutic riding that the Rockin' Horse farm is starting up.
	[David Degner | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [David Degner | Times] Ricky Buckman pets Buttons after an hour of grooming and riding at the Rockin' Horse Farm.

Ricky enjoyed petting the horses. Katie's tales of trail rides were thrilling to him.

Patience, his mom said. Your time will come.

Thursday, the 16-year-old Gulf High School sophomore finally got his chance through the Rockin' Horse Barn's therapeutic riding pilot program called Horse Connections.

Ricky brushed the large but gentle quarter horse. He climbed carefully onto Buttons' saddle with the help of a purple step stool. He did many things Katie had done, only at his own pace because of his Down's syndrome. With each lap around the pen, his smile stretched wider.

The Horse Connections program caters to individuals with disabilities or special needs. The Rockin' Horse, situated on 17 acres in New Port Richey, has offered horseback riding since opening in January.

Owner Amy Baird said the therapeutic lessons will stay a pilot program for eight weeks while she secures its nonprofit status.

The program isn't the only one of its kind in Hernando or Pasco county, but it was important to Baird to offer.

The New Jersey native grew up with a love for animals and passion to share that. When she first moved to St. Petersburg about 20 years ago, she worked at the marine science center in Clearwater and completed some veterinarian tech courses at a junior college.

She couldn't help but smile after Ricky finished his first lesson Thursday.

"It's fantastic looking at him having that smile on his face," Baird said. "It makes you feel so good."

The point of the lessons is to help the riders make a connection with the animals. Ricky did just that. He had been too shy to raise his head much while grooming Buttons.

But by the time he climbed onto the horse's back, he was flashing a thumbs up as he rode around the pen. When Baird encouraged him to raise his arms to build his stability, that was no problem. He raised his arms like wings.

"He looks really happy" when he rides, said his sister, Katie.

Ricky doesn't have any pain from his disability, and he has great balance from participating in a variety of extracurricular activities like basketball and golf.

Horseback riding is a new challenge, but he's fearless.

When he climbed off Buttons, he petted her and offered her treats. Buttons gave him a kiss. He laughed.

This kind of love is something Melissa Sliwa, a riding instructor and resident trainer at Rockin' Horse, has seen from horses before. When she was 19 years old, Sliwa was riding her horse Jester at her parents' home in Fort Walton Beach. Jester was known for being shy. He let Sliwa touch him, but that was it.

That particular day, Sliwa was riding when her mentally handicapped older sister rushed toward the unpredictable horse with outstretched arms. Sliwa's stomach dropped slightly. She was amazed that Jester stayed put while her sister hugged and kissed the horse on his head.

"You could feel him relax," Sliwa recalled. "He sighed."

Sliwa, who went on to graduate from the equestrian college Meredith Manor in West Virginia, said it's neat to see the horses take on that nurturing role.

"The smaller the children are, the more the horses take care of them," she said.

Kellie Dixon can be reached at kdixon@sptimes.com or (352) 544-9480.

FAST FACTS:

Local programs

Rockin' Horse Farm owner Amy Baird hopes eventually to get the therapeutic riding program accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. According to the NARHA Web site, two area facilities have been accredited:

Legacy Oaks Riding Stable

16047 Psenka Drive

Brooksville, FL 34604

(352) 796-9702

The ARC Nature Coast

NARHA Premier Accredited Center

5283 Neff Lake Road

Brooksville, FL 34601

(352) 544-2322

thearc-naturecoast.org

[Last modified September 10, 2007, 19:13:53]