SIRE, Houston’s Therapeutic Riding Centers

By Lorraine Ostrowski, SIRE Spring Site Coordinator

Some of the earliest recorded artistic expressions were drawn on cave walls by Paleolithic painters. SIRESpring drew from this inspirational imagery by creating a “painted pony” for our site Show-Off.

On November 18, 2006, our riders, ages three to eighteen, showed-off their best equestrian talents for family and friends.

“Painting Pal” was the highlight of is year’s program, which is offered to all our riders who are too young, or can not, or do not attend the Top Hands Horse Show or Special Olympics Games. We saw demonstrations of developmental riding, posting and two-point drills, obstacle courses, musical horses, barrel and pole bending, and even a YMCA rendition on horseback.

Everyone participated in the annual blessing of the horse herd and shared in a pot luck feast provided by both parents and volunteers.

Clients were invited to paint, embellish, and imaginatively transform our real-live horse, Pal, with hand decorations and Indian symbols.

The horse was chosen as the “canvas” because it is through the spirit and movement of the horse that equestrian therapy benefits people with disabilities.

Medals and ribbons were awarded, along with fun and lasting memories with SIRESpring’s very own “Painted Pal”.

Appropriately named, our Trailblazers Luncheon held on November 2, 2007 gained new ground in financial support for SIRE’s mission. The presentation at our fifth annual fund-raising luncheon began with a short, heart-touching video, produced by Bob Allen from TV Channel 13. A quiet settled into the room, and the only sounds that could be heard were an occasional emotional breath and hushed tears.

As testimony to the remarkable benefits achieved through equestrian therapy, four-year-old Larke Dampeer, a rider at SIRE Fort Bend @ Sienna Stables, was carried to the podium by her father, accompanied by her older brother. Her mother spoke about how Larke was born with a zero Apgar score, which means she had no breathing nor did she have a heartbeat. Therapeutic riding at SIRE has had such a dramatic improvement on her life, that in less than two years, Miss Larke can walk independently, has more fluid movement in her upper body, and has started to feed herself. All of the physical improvements have allowed Larke to now be able to interact and play with other children her age. The ability to communicate with her SIRE horse, Jessie, is a great boost to her self-confidence, and the SIRE program, overall, has brought Larke and her family a greater level of joy and quality of life.

Another young client, Emily Hughes, has difficulty walking, but can independently ride her horse; it takes great focus for her to quiet the spasms, but she can complete a trail course at the Top Hands Horse Show each year. Riding on the back of a horse, Emily can leave her limitations on the ground and experience freedom of movement and confidence of self.

Now a beautiful young woman, Emily Lund, who has ridden with SIRE for six years, progressed from a very frightened child with three volunteers to a confident, independent equestrienne. Emily will now be leaving SIRE to head off to college on a full scholarship that covers her studies through her Masters degree!

It is hard to imagine that we could touch so many people, so deeply in one hour that they would commit more than $100,000 to our mission. Truly remarkable, because SIRE receives no state or federal funding.

The money raised at SIRE’s Trailblazers Luncheon will help bring the lives of many disabled adults and children closer to physical, mental and emotional healing.