Walk On: A Brief History of One Heart Equestrian Therapy - Part 3

Walk On: A Brief History Continued...

A New Home: On to Stagecoach Stables

In the spring of 2007, Kris was in the hospital again, causing a burden for the volunteers to get the program stated on week 1. On the scheduled week 2 the fairgrounds flooded, making it impossible for One Heart to ride. The time had come for a change in location. Kris knew of a stable in Ames that was empty, and between managers. Kris had approached the owner previously, but this time it was

The lift allows rides to mount more
easily and with greater dignity.

urgent. She told the owner of Stagecoach Stables that if his facility wasn’t available, then One Heart wouldn’t be riding. They met, and wrote a lease for a dollar a year, with a clause stating that if the stable hired new management, they would honor the riding schedule, which included evenings and weekends. The new location was ideal. As Kris remembered, “We had grass, we had stalling, we had an indoor enclosed arena that was insulated. He paid for the water, he paid for the lights. And we paid him a dollar a year. This was heaven for us.”

The new location brought other new opportunities. In 2008, One Heart held its first day camp for low vision and blind riders. A year later, One Heart purchased its first lift. This was made possible with a grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and allowed riders to mount more easily, and with greater dignity. One Heart continued to enjoy a positive relationship with volunteers, as an Eagle Scout project brought a “helmet hauler” to the program. The United Way Day of Caring also brought much needed resources. A new instructor, Dani Koski, earned PATH certification.

The first Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart

In 2010, One Heart experimented with new activities, sponsoring a field trip for riders at Wild Wood Hills Ranch, and hosting its first Ride and Tie. Ride and Tie is a competition that combines cross country running with riding, to get a team of two people and one horse across a course of at least twenty miles. The first team member starts out on foot, while the second team member rides to the point to which the partner will run, leaving the horse tied there for the runner. The rider then begins to run. The Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart brought in teams from all over the country. One Heart continued to ride because members of the community were willing to contribute their time and their resources.

New Challenges: Moving One Heart to the Strum Farm

One of the challenges of working in borrowed facilities is that they change management, and sometimes the new management cannot easily meet the needs of the borrower. This is what happened at Stagecoach Stables. One Heart was at Stagecoach Stables from 2007 to 2011, during which time there were two changes of management. Because of the terms of One Heart’s lease with the owner, the managers were bound to honor the therapy program’s use of evenings and weekends, which were prime hours for a riding stable. The other users of the facility had to conform themselves to One Heart’s schedule, while One Heart took prime riding hours when others wanted to ride and give lessons. The management at Stage Coach did its best to honor One Heart’s needs, but eventually asked Kris if she could give up Saturdays. This was not going to work. As Kris said, “We had riders from nine counties by this time, and my moms were not going to be able to drive kids from two hours away in the middle of a school night, so we had to have Saturdays. And I said, well, no, it looks like we need to find another home.”

Jen giving a ground lesson at Strum Farm

Another home turned out to be the Strum farm, on the south edge of Roland. The Strums had raised a large family, but the children were now on their own, and their riding barn was empty. Kris picked up the phone, and asked them if they would be willing to host One Heart. The answer was yes, and again, One Heart wrote a dollar-a-year lease with a central Iowa family. This riding facility, however, had been built with separate water and electric service, as well as its own propane tank. One Heart assumed these bills, and learned how to manage this side of the business. One Heart also continued to build its herd in its new location. As Kris has commented, “We restructured the herd so they are younger, vibrant, easy keepers, that don’t cost anything to keep, and rebuilding the herd has helped us get some financial stability.”

During the years at the Strum farm, One Heart, both people and horses, won a number of awards. In 2011, ARC named Kris its Professional of the Year. In the same year, Jen became PATH’s Region 7 instructor of the year. It wasn’t just the people who were winning awards, the horses were, too. In 2013, Rosie became the American Morgan Horse Association Therapy Horse of the Year. Two years later, Shane would win the same honor. They were also able to add carts for the mini horses, increasing their services yet again. One Heart had gone from a struggling, shoestring operation, to an award-winning therapy program with a fine stable of exceptional horses – even if that stable was still a rugged pasture near Colo most of the year.

Sensory Trail 

One Heart continued to connect with the community. Local churches would send vacation Bible school classes to learn about ministering to others while helping clean the barn. The Girl Scouts held a “snore ‘n chore,” (camping and horse badge work) and also donated their time to make therapy trees and an activity center. A Boy Scout constructed a sensory trail for One Heart, as his Eagle project. More teams went to compete in Special Olympics.

In 2014, Special Olympics had to be cancelled because of a disease outbreak, and One Heart created their own competition complete with a judge and medals. For the first time One Heart hosted an open barn open barn and ice cream social using the theme, “Frozen in August”. Inspired by the popularity of the movie, “Frozen”, the Fjord horses of One Heart were a big attraction. One Heart encouraged visitors to dress up as their favorite characters from “Frozen.” As the Story County Sun reported it, “Volunteers decorated several stalls in book and movie themes featuring therapy horses and as the stars.” The volunteers came from Girl Scout Troop 610 of Roland-Story, and the Lutheran Livewires 4-H. All of the horses had a role to play in the open barn. Although missing out on Special Olympics was a disappointment, the party was a success, and brought more of the community to the barn to meet riders, horses and volunteers.

Bri showing therapy horse nerves of steel.
Olaf the snowman didn't bother her at all. 

In the end, the same concerns arose at the Strum farm as at Stagecoach Stables. The family wanted to be able to use the barn for boarding, and people boarding their horses need and want to be able to spend time with them on evenings and weekends. One Heart left the Strum farm, a move that required a semi- truck, four pick-up trucks and three stock trailers, as well as an army of volunteers. One Heart was faced with a big decision. It was concluded that it was time for One Heart to find a permanent home.

To meet the goals for the 15th year of offering services two shortened sessions of limited classes were arranged with a short-term lease at a facilities in Nevada. One specific goal was met with this plan; to qualify the team to compete at the state Special Olympics competition in the fall.

To be continued....