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Saddle up

Trekking 30 minutes outside of Charlottesville along scenic back roads lined with trees bursting with fall color, Madison House volunteers arrive at the entrance to the Fried family farm where grazing cows greet them. Continuing on, they pass an old barn, a well-used tractor, a pile of hay bales and a sign that sets the unhurried pace. "Slow: Kitten crossing," it reads.

The students have arrived at the farm to volunteer with Charlottesville Area Riding Therapy, a program that teaches handicapped children and adults how to ride horseback.

Originally, CART was launched in the spring of 1999 as a pilot program for Innisfree Village residents, adults suffering from mental disabilities. But it has developed into a fulltime program and now offers lessons on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. The number of riders participating in the program also has increased from its original five up to about 30.

Riders' disabilities range from brain injury, multiple sclerosis and multiple dystrophy to cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, CART Director Sarah Daly said.

The program provides riders with a combination of physical and mental therapy.

"And we have a lot of fun out there," Daly added with a smile.

Shortly after the volunteers arrive, the first round of children and their families begin to appear. Daly matches the young riders with the student volunteers, who quickly bring Charlie, Banjo and Shadow out of their stalls.

With help from the volunteers, the young riders, one of whom is in a wheelchair, mount the horses using a ramp specifically designed for handicapped children and adults.

Parents and grandparents, edging the side of the ring, proudly watch the riders.

"That smile stays on his face the whole time he's on that horse," says one proud grandfather, watching his 8-year-old grandson Caleb Strickland.

"Walk on!" the riders lovingly yell to their horses as volunteers lead them around the ring. The severity of the rider's handicap determines how many students walk alongside of them.

For 10-year-old Creed Leffler, who suffers from cerebral palsy, two volunteers typically walk alongside of him while a third leads the horse.

"He can't control his muscles very well," said Creed's father, Greg Leffler. "This is great physical therapy for him. He's working to sit up. That's exactly what he needs, and he enjoys it."

Creed has taken horseback riding lessons for five years, the past three of which he has spent at CART.

"He loves horseback riding," his father said. "He looks forward to it. He really takes ownership of it."

Second-year Engineering student Courtney Waldron, who has volunteered with CART for over a year, noted Creed's improvement.

"Last spring I worked with Creed," she said. "He has very little trunk support, and it was really hard to hold him up. When he came out the first couple sessions this fall, you could really see the improvement."

Shadow, Creed's horse, was donated to CART by a community member.

As a therapeutic riding horse, Shadow senses when there is a disabled rider on her, Daly explained.

"With Creed, Shadow will walk slower," Daly said. "But if you or I got on her and put her in the ring, she would walk out more. It's like a sense that they have."

But not all of the CART horses are therapeutic riding horses. Many of them are just older horses, donated by families whose children have gone off to college, and the Fried family purchased three of the horses.

"Seeing how much the kids love the horses and the pleasure they get out of the lessons is extremely rewarding," second-year College student Mira Rai said. "It allows you to put things into perspective. It means a lot."

At the end of Saturday's lesson, 7-year-old Megan McGrath wishes her day with the horses didn't have to end, as she hugs her horse Charlie goodbye before dismounting.

After seeing an article in The Daily Progress, Megan's mother, Beth McGrath, signed her daughter up for lessons early this fall.

Although Megan never had taken any formal riding lessons prior to CART, her mother said she wasn't worried about Megan's safety.

"We had come out to look at the place, and the horses all seemed well behaved," her mother said. "I figured she's old enough now, and she's fairly careful, too."

Megan has some motor and learning disabilities, her mother explained. The program has helped her self-esteem and improved upon her posture.

"I think it's physically therapeutic," Beth said. Megan is "really tall and does have this trunk instability. The muscles are good for her to work on, to help her with balance, in general for running and moving."

The riders, who vary widely in disabilities, also vary in age.

At 31, Tad Smith, who participates in the second session of the day, is the oldest rider to attend on Saturday mornings.

Smith, who suffers from a chromosome disorder, started having seizures and lost his speech when he was 2 years old, his stepfather Bob Blanton explained.

"Up until then, he had been functioning normally," Blanton said. "He's learned some sign language. He knows quite a bit but doesn't always use it. Otherwise, you just have to try to figure out what he's saying."

Smith has taken lessons through CART for the past year and a half, but started riding horseback about 10 years ago when his family lived in Florida. There, his parents helped start up a program similar to CART.

But when they returned to Virginia in 1995, they had trouble finding a place for Smith to ride.

"Finally, my wife heard about this program and got him enrolled here," Blanton said. "He loves to ride, and it's good for him on a confidence level."

Blanton added that Smith, a big "people person," enjoys working with the college students.

"He loves everybody," Blanton said. "They treat him well, and they all seem to be great kids. It's great they take the time from their studies to come out here."

Daly also was eager to express her gratitude for the 20-some University students who volunteer their time on Saturday mornings.

"Thank God for U.Va," she said with a big smile. "About a year and a half ago we hooked up with Madison House, which has been like a savior."

It's a perfect match.

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