Dare to Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship Center

Nick Mullins meets up with founder Marsha Lunsford, along with volunteer Ellen Delano, student and board member Kristin Rapan and her husband Angelo to see the benefits of therapeutic horsemanship first hand.

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Nick Mullins:
About five and half miles South of Vanderpool along Highway 84 you’ll find the pull off for Wade Woods Lane and a small white sign that reads Dare to Dream. To most passersby, it’s nothing more than a typical turn onto a country gravel road, but for many, it’s the final stretch on their way to a place of transformative healing.

Dare to Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship Center provides students from all walks of life with a range of equine related activities. Ranging from basic riding lessons to equine-assisted therapy, cost effective lessons are adapted to individual participants based on the physical, mental, cognitive, or emotional challenges they face.

I got the chance to meet up with founder Marsha Lunsford, at the center along with volunteer Ellen Delano, student and board member Kristin Rapan and her husband Angelo to see the benefits of therapeutic horsemanship first hand.

Marsha Lunsford:
Ace is a gift from a nice lady that came here years ago and saw the program. So she donated him to us and he’s awesome, he’s 13 years old, he’s a registered Tennessee Walker and he’s done a lot of things in his life as a 4-H horse and that type of thing. So he brings a lot of experience to us and we just love him.

Nick Mullins
Ace is one of several horses brought to Dare to Dream through adoption, rescue, or donation that provides students with varying levels of experience and temperament to best fit their needs. As Kristin Rapan explains, there are also ways to adapt the tack to different challenges.

Kristin Rapan:
In 2014, say 12 years ago, I had a massive stroke and it caused me to lose really my left side mobility and I still have partial paralysis on the left side. What happens in my case is that Marsha has to make adaptations to the horse and the gear attack for me to be able to ride and have a positive experience.

Nick Mullins:
And having a positive experience is what it’s all about.

Kristin Rapan:
It’s helped me physically, you know, because I’m able to do things with my left side. So it’s helped my physical mobility and it’s helped me emotionally because I’ve gained more confidence because I’ve lost a lot of that when this happened.

Nick Mullins:
And such experiences are often shared at Dare to Dream, as volunteer Ellen Delano explains.

Ellen Delano:
It’s an overwhelming feeling to be part of this, because the things we see here and the breakthroughs, we see are just amazing. Marsha and I, I mean, we usually tear up at least three or four times a week, between the connection that these people make with the horses and just what our horses do for these people and Kristen alone. I mean, it’s amazing.

Nick Mullins:
After using a special ramp to mount Ace, Marsha and Ellen stayed close to assure both horse and rider were comfortable.

Marsha Lundsford (Background):
So this is for us an opportunity to look around. Is there anything different because a couple weeks ago we had something different in the ring that he was reacting to like wait. I don’t want to go over there. But we so we just do a little warm up here.

Nick Mullins:
Watching someone who has lost so much mobility from a severe stroke riding Ace and working him through technical areas was inspiring to say the least. The work being done at Dare to Dream is truly inspirational. But there are also challenges. As with many organizations, funding and volunteers always seem to be in short supply.

Ellen Delano:
We’re always looking for volunteers. It’s an amazing program, and I don’t have the words to express what you as volunteer we get out of this program.

Nick Mullins:
For those looking to help Dare to Dream Financially, not only can you donate directly, you can come out to events like the “Pony up for a Purpose” fundraiser being held Saturday Sept 12 in Monterey from 5-9pm.

Marsha Lunsford:
It’s gonna be like a barn dance, you know, so it would be casual fun, lots of horse stuff, we’re gonna have some games, cornhole and things like that, a lot of our students are children and so we wanted it to be, you know, something for everyone to have fun.

Nick Mullins:
If you are interested in learning more about the programs offered at Dare to Dream or ways you can help, you can visit their website daretodreamVA.com or visit check out their Facebook at www.facebook.com/daretodreamtherapeutichorsemanshipcenter. website.

For Allegheny Mountain Radio News, this is Nick Mullins.