Stephanie's Story

This newsletter's Rising Rider is one of our Hippotherapy riders how made great progress over the last year. Stephanie first came to Ride On St. Louis at our previous location. Mom asked us to help Stephanie with her balance and endurance because she spends most of her time in her wheelchair so she doesn't get to work on those skills very easily. Because of her special needs, she isn't able to enjoy a lot of activities, but right away we could see that even though she was nervous, she liked this new ride! Unfortunately it only lasted about 15 minutes when her back muscles tired out and she slumped over to the horse's neck. That whole first year she was able to increase her riding time a few minutes at a time each lesson. Then health problems got in the way of riding and we didn't see her for another year, but we were thrilled when Stephanie came back. She met her new friend and therapist, Miss Anne who experimented with various horses to find the right mount, and tried different tack until she found the right combination that helped Stephanie stay secure atop her horse. Miss Anne (and all of us) likes riders to participate as fully as possible in the riding experience, so she and Stephanie worked on a single sign so Stephanie could tell her horse and team when to walk on. Anne thought that the more sign in sign language would be one that Stephanie could do, because her hands habitually come together in front of her. So with some hand-over-hand assistance in the beginning and by consistently using that sign with the words walk on and the horse moving, Stephanie made the connection! Now her team and her horse walk on when Stephanie wants them to! Her hand sign is independently given, clear, consistent, and gives everyone who sees it great joy because we all realize what a tremendous achievement it is. Oh, and her time astride the horse? That original 15 minutes has increased too, and Stephanie now rides her full 40 minutes each week. Congratulations to our new signer, our Rising Rider, Stephanie!