OREGON — On May 6, Pegasus Special Riders in Oregon hosted a class of students from the Lee County Special Education Association’s Transition Program for a workshop that focused on horse care and interaction.
Pegasus Special Riders was formed in 1997 as a nonprofit organization to provide therapeutic equine services to individuals with special challenges in Ogle County and surrounding counties. The purpose of its programs are to improve lives in ways that can only be accomplished with the help of a horse.
The Lee County class that visited PSR is composed of nine students, ages 18-22, with various disabilities, including Autism, Down's Syndrome, and traumatic brain injury, among others. The students are still in school, working on their independent living and vocational skills.
Two of the class’s students, Emily Conderman and Anthony Burke, shared their experiences from their day at Pegasus Special Riders.
“It was fun,” Conderman said. “Because I like horses. I’ve ridden horses before. But it was fun leading them around. I learned how to put a halter on a horse. I want to do it again. The class had fun there.”
“I got to work with the horses and lead them around,” Burke said. “It was awesome. I’ve done it before. It helped me and made me happy. We thought it was cool. I miss Pride, the horse. I met him while I was there. He was my best pal. He’s 25 and I’m 21.”
Kevin Hendley is that class’s instructor, and said the day came about when the class’s paraprofessional saw PSR and thought the class should go there.
“We’re always looking for fun things to do,” Hendley said. “We read a book about a horse recently in class. We set it up. I think it was helpful to our students. I knew we’d have students that were interested in it. The way that the rest of the students took to it surprised me. It was the most joyful I’ve ever seen some of them. I’ve known Anthony for nine years and it was the happiest I’ve ever seen him. Emily said it was the best day ever. When they did the haltering of the horses you could see the confidence building in them.”
Hendley thanked the staff at PSR for its time with the students and tailoring the program to them.
“It was very impressive,” Hendley said. “It was a wonderful experience. We’ll absolutely go back. I felt proud seeing them work with the horses. Students spend four years in this program. We work together all day every day. When we went to Pegasus, I got to see how mature and responsible they were in public and how they handled things professionally.”
