Lynchburg teen shares special gift

LYNCHBURG – A longtime love of horses has turned into a completely different passion for a Lynchburg teenager. Emily Rowley, a freshman at Lynchburg-Clay High School, has spent many years of her young life working with horses and later discovered a gift for helping special needs children.

Through the Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship (CTRH) program, Rowley has found a way to combine both interests and use her talents to help children across both the Highland County and greater Cincinnati area.

Rowley, who will turn 15 in January, got her start volunteering with CTRH during a trip to Cincinnati, where her younger brother is tutored for dyslexia.

“We were coming back one day and passed it, and I saw horses in front and asked my mom what it was,” Rowley said. “When we got home, we looked it up, and she got me started volunteering there.”

Located in Milford, CTRH was founded in 1985, and the program has helped students with “a variety of disabilities including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, developmental delay, ADD, ADHD, stroke, visual and hearing impairments and mental health issues,” according to their website. No one is turned away due
to inability to pay for services.

CTRH serves students of all ages (4 and older) with all levels of physical and mental disabilities, and the program currently serves more than 100 riders. The program focuses on hippotherapy, “a physical, occupational and speech therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement.”

Rowley said that she attended two sessions before becoming a volunteer, and now she is spending her time directly helping children with special needs by giving one-on-one support.

She has been volunteering at CTRH for close to six months but has to stop for inclement weather during the winter months, as the center is approximately a 60-mile round-trip commute from Lynchburg.

A typical day for Rowley at the center begins with signing in and receiving her assignment for the day with the name of the student she will help, the horse assigned to her student and the tack they will use.

Once her student arrives, Rowley takes them to the tack room, where the student will tack up and groom the horse with her assistance.

The students enter an arena without the horses, where they stretch, then the horses are led into the arena and students use a mounting ramp to mount their horses. When all students are mounted, the volunteer leader will lead the students in games and exercises.

“Students participate in games with and without horses that are designed to stimulate their minds as well as their physical movement,” Rowley said.

After working with the horses in the arena, students dismount and the horses are led to their stalls and secured. Students untack the horses and groom them again before leaving for the day.

The 14-year-old volunteer said one of the best parts of working at CTRH is seeing how the program can change kids’ attitudes and brighten their outlook.

“I’ve seen kids come in pouting and wanting to go home,” Rowley said. “Once they get on the horse and play games, when they’re done, they have a big smile, and some of them don’t want to leave.”

Rowley said that if she has two sessions in a row, she will often get to work with the same student, but if a student or volunteer can’t make it, she is assigned someone else, as she’s worked with a 6-year-old boy up to close to 18-year-olds.

Some of the volunteer positions include “side walkers,” who walk alongside horses to watch over the horses and riders, and horse leaders, who lead the horses and keep them calm, as Rowley said the CTRH is always looking for volunteers.

All volunteers must be at least 14 years of age.

“If you have experience with disabled kids, that helps a lot, and if you have experience with horses, that can help too,” she said.

The LC freshman was a great candidate for a volunteer as she had experience working with both horses and special needs children.

Rowley has two horses and a miniature donkey, and she has been involved in the Highland County Fair, participating in rodeo, barrel racing and pleasure riding.

A passion for working with children goes beyond Rowley’s love for horses.

She has spent time the past two summers volunteering with KAMP Dovetail, the SATH (Supplementary Assistance for the Handicapped)-run summer camp for local special-needs children. Rowley said that she first learned about KAMP Dovetail by befriending two special-needs students at Lynchburg.

“My mom is a bus driver, and I used to go up to them and talk to them,” she said.

In her conversations with the students, Rowley learned about KAMP Dovetail and got involved in the project.

Another program offered by CTRH is “Meet Zeke,” an outreach program where Zeke, a miniature horse, visits students at school or home, indoors or outdoors, to familiarize kids with horses. Rowley said it is a good way to see how kids respond to the horses, and it helps parents get acquainted with the program.

“It’s fun for them, and who doesn’t like miniature horses?” Rowley said.

Rowley also spoke of one of the program’s success stories, a man named Kirk.

While Kirk’s success story happened before Rowley began volunteering, she and others involved with the program like to share his story to show the benefits of CTRH.

Kirk, who now is an adult, came to CTRH as a child who was wheelchair-bound after a massive stroke and brain surgery at age 4 and hip surgery at age 8. Through his physical therapy, he eventually progressed to walking with the assistance of a cane or walker and later walking independently.

In addition to volunteers, CTRH is also in need of donations. Rowley said that CTRH has a brick program in which donors can contribute $100 for a brick to be placed on the walkway by the outdoor arena. All proceeds benefit CTRH.

Donors can also “adopt a horse” for $50, or donate to the “ridership” program, which directly benefits students.

In addition to monetary contributions, Rowley also suggests donations of English tack in good condition, toilet paper, horse-grooming supplies and soap, as well as books, toys or other entertainment for the waiting room for students.

In addition to her volunteer work and her participation in the Highland County Fair, Rowley is involved in marching band and concert band at LCHS, where she does percussion (mallet/bells). She has also been involved in the Silver Spurs 4-H Club for five years.

Rowley plans to attend college to study equestrian care and training, and she wants to add another major to work with the horses for a career.

“I’m a warmhearted person,” Rowley said. “I like seeing people happy. I love watching kids being happy.

“I love seeing seeing people have fun, especially kids with disabilities. They can’t help what they have, and CTRH is something that helps them.”