Madison, showing grace under pressure, wins a fourth place ribbon |
Remember Madison’s ride with the Mounted Patrol in the
opening ceremonies of last year’s Special Olympics? This year marked her third in the
competition, and she performed with great flexibility in the face of challenges
and came away with ribbons and medals.
Change is stressful for those of us who have no physical or
learning disabilities. For children like
Madison, stress is multiplied many times over.
So when the mount she’d been practicing with came down with
tendonitis the week before the Special Olympics, Madison needed to quickly
become comfortable enough to complete her classes. Her first day of competition started well,
but nerves overcame her and her horse, Spirit of the Wind. Switching to dependable Hershey, Madison re-did the dressage
portion of the program and performed brilliantly.
Kristen Moreland of McKenna Farms said, “We take
for granted our ability to change things at the last minute, but for these
riders processing time is an important part of success. I was very proud of her just going with the
flow and taking on new challenges like the champ she is! And of course she did it all with a smile on
her face.”
And, as the saying goes, she got right back on that horse. She finished the show with Spirit as her
mount, bringing home two bronze medals and two fourth-place ribbons.
Madison and Spirit—real teammates and winners! |
Krista, happy first-time competitor |
Krista has been riding for just nine months, but when she
rode Major into the dressage ring, she was outstanding. She’d memorized the complete test (something
Kristen urges her riders to do to boost their confidence, knowing that they can
do something on their own). That
confidence brought her a gold medal.
Showmanship, a class that requires waking on foot leading
your horse through a pattern, is judged on style, grace, conformation, and
completing the pattern correctly. This
is a real test for Krista, who has difficulty walking due to Cerebral
Palsy. Yet Krista walked away with the
bronze for this one.
Krista atop Major in the ring |
She went on to pick up gold in equitation and in her partner
class in Unified Drill, a great fun class. In Unified Drill a rider picks a
partner and a song. Krista chose
Delaney, a high school student, as her partner, and Katy Perry’s Fireworks for their song, which they
choreographed. They dressed in costumes,
with headpieces made by Krista’s mom, and finished by throwing confetti to the
sounds of the Firework Finale.
Krista and Delaney in Unified Drill |
Learning, competing with their best stuff, dancing, dressing
up and having fun – things all kids love. Seeing Madison and Krista’s accomplishments fills us with hope and tugs
at our hearts. We are proud to support
children as they seek to make their dreams a reality. If you’d like to join us (and we’re thrilled
when you do), you can donate by check or PayPal (info at the top right in the
sidebar). Please be sure to indicate “Jacob’s
Fund” or “hippotherapy” in the memo line so we can allocate your donations as
you wish. We’re currently supporting three-year
old twins Landon and Cameron, and teen Brandon.
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