Newsletter, Fall 2007 - Three Gaits, Inc.

Even though the day of the Three Gaits Student Horse Show turned out to be damp and cool, spirits were not dampened. Over forty riders came out on Sunday, August 19 to demonstrate their riding abilities in classes such as English Equitation and musical flags. The rainy weather forced all classes to be in the indoor arena.

Other activities, such as making stick horses, took place under the pavilion. The Madison Children's Museum helped out with the activities including their "fishing pond" game.

Thanks to all who attended and to the volunteers who helped throughout the day. Special thanks to Loryn Smith for judging. Let's hope for sun next year.

Three Gaits welcomes two new members to its board of directors, Ann Lovegrove and Andrea Strayer, who both bring experiences that will benefit our organization.

Ann has served on the committee for Three Gaits Chair Affair, one of our key fund-raisers. She decided to expand her volunteer experience with Three Gaits by serving on our board of directors. "I know how beneficial therapeutic riding programs can be," Ann says. "I have been a registered nurse for about 30 years, most of my time involved as a rehabilitation nurse working with children and adults with severe disabilities." Ann is currently self-employed as a medical/legal consultant providing Life Care Plans for serious personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Ann is also a "horse person"-last year she became a first time horse owner and a new rider. She is very much enjoying new experiences with her Missouri Fox Trotter.

Andrea and her husband, Kent, learned about Three Gaits through Jeanne Schultz, a physical therapist at school, who suggested the program to help their son, Brian, to develop balance, gross motor skills, and problem-solving-while building his self-confidence and self-esteem. "Three Gaits has provided Brian a place to feel good about himself," Andrea says. "Horseback riding and the wonderful teachers have also shown him how to be in control of himself, and thus, in control of his horse." Andrea finds that the Three Gaits instructors are clear in their expectations and challenge Brian to grow and work hard. As much as Brian gets from Three Gaits, he is also learning to give back. Andrea feels his experiences at Volunteer Day Camp, and seeing how vital volunteers are to Three Gaits, is invaluable. "Giving is a priceless lesson," says Andrea. "And a way of life we hope he follows."

Andrea adds, "I am a mother who watches her son struggle with his challenges every day. They may not be as severe as the challenges others face, but they are Brian's struggles to cope with and overcome. At Three Gaits he isn't stupid, awkward, or the kid easily picked on or wondering where his assignment is. At Three Gaits he is nurtured, secure, and in control of a huge loving animal. I am happy to have the opportunity to do what I can to help make Three Gaits successful."

Andrea is also a neurosurgery nurse practitioner with nearly 22 years of experience caring for people with neurological/neurosurgical disorders. She works for the Department of Neurological Surgery at UW-Madison's School of Medicine and Public Health. She has also served the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses as board member and president.

Three Gaits also acknowledges Michelle Lonergan's service to the board as her term ended recently. We are also very grateful to Michelle for all the time she devoted to being our volunteer bookkeeper while she was on the board. And we owe a special thanks to Cindy Frank, who retired from the board this summer after three three-year terms. Cindy served as president of the board since 2002. We thank her for her dedication and commitment and for all she has done to advance our organization.

Remember to use www.GoodSearch.com when searching the Internet, and designate Three Gaits (Oregon, WI) as your designated charity.

Like most parents, from the time her son, David, was born, Sharon Pertzborn-Jensen started planning for his future well being, and she came up with a wish list for him. But, unlike most new parents, her plans included various therapies that she thought would help David including therapeutic riding. David is a witty, bright, and mature-for-his-age six-year-old who loves sports, and who happened to be born with the rare syndrome arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. AMC is the presence of multiple joint contractures at birth-a contracture is a limitation in the range of motion of a joint. This can affect the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, feet, and knees. In severe cases, nearly every body joint may be involved, including the jaw and back. Frequently, the joint contractures are accompanied by muscle weakness, which can further limit movement.

Sharon did a lot of research on different therapies. Therapists she contacted recommended therapeutic horsemanship and hippotherapy and spoke highly of Three Gaits. Sharon learned more about our program from our Web site and from talking to people.

David started hippotherapy sessions just this past June. "He loved it right from the start and looked so forward to it," Sharon says. Sharon gives a lot of credit to Dena Duncan, program director, and Stephanie Bruschi, occupational therapist, for being so intuitive and picking up on David's love of sports and working games and play into his sessions. It was a great strategy because David became engaged very quickly. "It is really cool that I get to play baseball while I am riding a horse," says David. "Someday I hope I get to play football while I am riding Hank or Dusty." He adds, "My favorite horse is Hank because he is old and he really listens to me."

Sharon feels that David has made remarkable progress already. According to Sharon, "When he gets off the horse, David's gait is softer, more organized. His walk is smoother and his spine is straighter. He gets additional range and what's been great about hippotherapy is that it breaks David out of patterns that he gets stuck in but that aren't working for him. It's beautiful when we see him sit up straight and correct his patterning." Three Gaits has also been a great self-confi dence builder for David. Sharon hopes that eventually David might be able to move into small group lessons if the time and situation are appropriate.

The Pertzborn-Jensen family resides in Mazomanie and also includes David's dad, John, and brother, Mitchell, age 12, who is David's biggest supporter. David attends Kindergarten at West Middleton Elementary School. His passion for sports includes his particular favorites, the Milwaukee Brewers (he attended his fi rst Brewers game this year) and the Packers. (Besides Green Bay, he also knows all the other NFL teams.) David also loves swimming and playing with his big brother.

So far, David's experiences with Three Gaits have totally exceeded Sharon's expectations. She is so proud of David and his progress and so excited about the opportunities Three Gaits is giving him. "I couldn't be more pleased with the program," she says. And we couldn't be more pleased with having David participate.

Photo Above Top: Occupational therapist Stephanie Bruschi (left) works with David mounted on Dusty. Volunteer Mary Ann Roth (right) assists with the lesson by leading Dusty. David prepares for batting practice.

Despite the challenges of hot, dry weather, and then hot, wet weather, about 90 kids participated in Three Gaits day camp sessions this year. Each day ran from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., and our sessions ran from June through August. There were nine weeks of sessions in four different categories:

Day camps were open to kids with or without special needs. Lots of siblings of riders in our therapeutic horsemanship program took advantage of the chance to ride or to learn about volunteering at Three Gaits. This allowed many brothers and sisters to have a shared experience through their involvement with horses.

Riding camps started off their day with morning meetings and "getting-to-know-you" activities, as socializing was an important part of camp. Games, scavenger hunts, or horse-related activities were also part of the day's events. Students learned to mount/dismount correctly and safely. Small-group activity took place in two parts; 1) riding, and 2) learning about horses and their care, bathing, grooming, chores, different breeds, colors, markings, and riding disciplines.

There were also demonstrations of Western riding, barrel racing, English riding, dressage, and driving. Riders at the Intermediate level also worked on tacking their own horse and a drill-team performance-where all the riders had to memorize a pattern and work together to perform it with precision. They also had a session on horse health from our veterinarian, Dr. Judy Batker from Country View Veterinary Service.

Youth Volunteer Day Camp was not a riding opportunity for campers but instead they worked on projects around the barn and office (cleaning water tanks, trimming fence lines, and making thank-you cards for our staff to use). Other activities included team-building, games, chores and working with horses-grooming and leading and working through obstacle courses to improve horse handling abilities. The goal of this camp is promoting youth volunteerism in addition to equipping young volunteers with the horsemanship skills they will need to volunteer in the therapeutic riding program, if they choose to, when they turn 14 years old.

Three Gaits riding instructor Angela Frank directed the day camp. A lot of volunteers helped make the sessions so successful. Two senior counselors, Katie Keller and Colleen Manak, put in a lot of time and effort. About 10 junior counselors also helped run the program. Our lesson horses were, as we would expect, very well behaved and cooperative during their extra camp duties. Water games proved particularly popular because it was often very hot by mid-afternoon!

"I'm really proud of all our campers," says Angela. "At the Beginner level, they worked hard to learn how to lead a horse and be safe. It was a confidence-builder for many of them. All the Intermediate riders advanced at both the walk and trot and were able to ride unclipped from a lead rope and leader." We owe a big "thank you" to Angela and all the camp counselors who made this program possible. We hope to see them back next summer along with lots of new and returning campers.

Photo Above: Anna Johnson, Crysta Frank and Carly Bausch apply paint to Leigha (Angela Frank's horse) to identify horse body parts.

Save the Date
for the
7th Annual Chair Affair and
Art Auction

Thursday, May 1, 2008
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Sheraton Madison Hotel
A silent auction of distinctively
decorated chairs and other art items.

This is becoming one of those "can't miss" events so
mark your calendar now and watch our web site for
further details.

Thanks to the generosity of Joe Herr and The Logan James Herr Foundation the indoor arena has a renovated and improved ramp. This allows our students, volunteers and instructors easier access and more room to maneuver.

Logan was born in 1997 with cerebral palsy and died at age four with complications from pneumonia. Logan was a student at Three Gaits and left behind special memories with everyone he touched including his instructors.

Logan's father, Joe Herr, didn't want those memories to fade so he founded Logan's Heart and Smiles to pay tribute to those memories. Often when a family has a handicapped child, resources for necessary home modifications are depleted or simply not available. Logan's Heart and Smiles provides free labor and materials to help ease the burden these families face. It is through Joe's efforts that the ramp has a new and improved look. Thanks to Joe and some of his friends who were involved in the construction in September.

As a volunteer for the therapeutic driving program in development at Three Gaits, I've learned a lot from instructor Sandra Faust (and Fjord pony Nora) over the last several months. I find each driving practice session is filled with new experiences, and it was no different one autumn afternoon in late October.

The first task was to clean Nora's harness. Keeping the leather clean and supple is important, but the key reason for regularly going over the harness is to check the stitching and condition of the leather for safety purposes. After harnessing Nora in the barn, I led her outside and she was hitched to the cart. Once both Sandra and I were in the cart, we headed for the grass "driving" paddock to warm up Nora. Taking the reins, I practiced my driving skills, steering through pairs of orange cones at the walk and trot. For a change of pace, I was also able to drive Nora around the short trail encircling the grass paddocks and outdoor arena.

In a nearby field, corn was being harvested and there was a large truck that would occasionally go by. This led to a unique training lesson. Driving Nora into the outdoor sand arena, another instructor, Angela Frank, joined us with her SUV. We worked to desensitize Nora to the sound of a vehicle coming up behind her. Nora wasn't fazed, even when Angela honked the horn! (One item to note about driving in the outdoor arena-you can see the tracks from the cart in the sand. This provides a telltale sign whether or not your circles are round!)

The session wasn't over yet. In preparation for winter, the cart is now being stored in the indoor arena. We unhitched Nora, took her into the indoor, and brought the cart inside to re-hitch Nora. I enjoyed my first experience driving in a considerably smaller space.

It's evident to me Nora is enjoying her new role as a driving pony. Even thought we went a little longer than the usual hour session, Nora was still eager to drive. When we were finished, Sandra performed an emergency unhitch to demonstrate how to quickly separate Nora from the cart. Sandra has completed the emergency unhitch in 40 seconds-I have a feeling this will be something volunteers will practice this winter!

Photo Above Right: Three Gaits instructor Sandra Faust practices driving Nora, a Fjord pony generously donated to Three Gaits by Ginny Gilbert. This breed of horse descended from an ancient breed originating in Norway. Its stout muscular build makes this breed a favorite for driving and farmwork.
Photo Above Left: Driving Nora, from Sandra's viewpoint.

Each August, the United Way of Dane County organizes their Days of Caring event to assist non-profit organizations around Madison. Volunteers from various companies sign up to do work at host organizations for part of a day.

Three Gaits benefited from over sixty volunteers who came out over two days. Groups from DEMCO, Promega, M3, Alliant Energy, Kraft, First Business Financial, WPS and American Family Insurance helped to paint, cut brush, unload hay and pull hundreds of weeds. Thanks again to all who participated to improve our facility.

Special thanks to Wisconsin Equine Clinic for inviting Three Gaits to set up a silent auction as part of their Open House on Saturday, October 27. With over 50 items available for bidding, over $1600 was raised to support Three Gaits. Thanks to everyone who donated or made items for the auction!

Held every other year, this event draws horse owners from all over the Midwest. With a large number of attendees, this was a great way for Three Gaits to share information on the things happening at Three Gaits, and a fantastic way to raise additional funds. More information about Wisconsin Equine Clinic can be found on their website at www.wisconsinequineclinic.org.

Thanks to the Green Meadows Halloween Fun Show, which, in part, was a benefit for Three Gaits. The show featured a costume class and raffle. We are grateful to Green Meadows for sharing part of the proceeds with us and to Sue Racine and Claudette Mo for making this possible.

Thanks to all who participated in the Barn Bash September 14 at Eugster's. The sponsors, attendees, silent auction, and raffle all helped raise funds for Three Gaits.

Three Gaits, Inc., is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization whose mission is to provide a safe and effective therapeutic horsemanship program for children, youth, and adults with disabilities and special needs. Therapeutic horsemanship uses equine-oriented activities to promote and enhance the development of each participant's cognitive, physical, and communicative abilities, and positive self-esteem. Three Gaits strives to serve interested individuals within Dane County and the surrounding area. It is the policy of Three Gaits, Inc., to promote equal service and employment opportunities for employees, clients, board members, and applicants to the agency. Equal service and employment opportunity means the treatment of those categories of people mentioned above without regard to their age, race, sex, creed or religion, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, color, disability, ancestry, or political affiliation.

NARHA Three Gaits is a
Premier Accredited Center
of the
North American Riding for the
Handicapped Association, Inc.
(NARHA)

Newsletter: Fall 2007