SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — Lincoln Nolan is a four-year-old with a four-legged best friend. "I love riding, Buck," exclaims Lincoln.
For thirty minutes each week, this tiny cowgirl bonds with her horse. "I love riding backward!" Lincoln squeals.
And while her rides may look like fun and games, Lincoln's mom, Maci, explains what's happening at the American Therapeutic Riding Center in Sand Springs is really hard work. "The horses do such great therapeutic work for children with extra needs, and since my daughter has Cerebral Palsy, we have seen just drastic improvement through her core strength," says Maci Nolan.
"Our youngest rider is 17 months old, and our most senior is probably in her mid-60s," says Denise Ward, Executive Director of ATRC.
Denise not only works with the riders, but she also runs the non-profit.
"The service that we provide is equine assisted services which means horse therapy for individuals with special needs or those seeing counselors. We get a lot of referrals from the medical industry. Doctors, therapists, counselors, you name it. You have to have a legal diagnosis or be referred by a counselor to be able to ride here."
There are 11 different horses here, all different breeds, each with different talents, and they're all matched, especially with each client.
Denise adds, "Our goal is to take you as far in your horsemanship skills as you can go- but the main goal is to help you improve your quality of life."
It's inside the arena and on the lush acreage in Sand Springs, where the weekly sessions take place. "I have been told that when you are on a moving horse, your body receives 3,000 inputs. Versus doing the same activities, you and I standing on the ground or playing on the ground running, that's 300 for the same 30 minutes. You're going to see the core get stronger quickly. Everything attached will get stronger to some degree," says Denise.
The horses are also said to have a calming effect, and over the last 16 years, Denise has witnessed some incredible life-changing work.
"We've probably had nine children. They were classified as non-verbal, non-speaking. They're not the same age. Our oldest was 9. We had a five-year-old. Their background, nothing in their life, was the same. The only thing they had in common was horseback riding here. Here's the thing was, one day they didn't speak, and then one day they were rolling out paragraphs," says Denise.
Maci has seen changes like this in Lincoln too.
"Whenever we came here as a two-year-old, she had hip dysplasia in both hips, bilateral hip dysplasia, and after about a summer of riding horses, her hip dysplasia is gone," says Maci.
And her self-esteem has skyrocketed.
"She's more confident if she can do hard things like riding a horse; she can do hard things throughout her life," says Maci.
It's a team effort to make this kind of magic happen. Alongside the horses and instructors are many volunteers. "We have volunteers 13 and up. We have empty nesters. They volunteer, we have a lot of horse people, we have more people who have never been on a farm or around a horse before. The beauty of what we do is if you desire to participate in any way- you probably can," says Denise.
The American Therapeutic Riding Center is a different kind of classroom transforming lives, like Lincoln's.
"There's not one down every block. These places are special and few and far between, so the fact that we found it and that it is such a special place with the best people means the world to us," says Maci.
ATRC was also chosen for a pilot program last year with the state Department of Education to provide equine-assisted services to a handful of local schools, including Sand Springs. That program was so successful it is resuming this year. To learn more about ATRC, click here: https://www.atrcok.org/
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