Dire situation for horse and rider

Jenny Marder

If things don’t start looking up for the Therapeutic Riding Center,

it might have to be put down.

Even with the $2,300 that the center raised at its annual

fund-raiser Sunday, it’s scraping the coffers to keep from going

under.

Horseback riding classes for people with physical and mental

disabilities are held five days a week at the riding center, which is

at the Huntington Beach Equestrian Center.

For Megan Wymer, 31, riding horses helps her to improve balance,

muscle control and self-esteem. A bike accident nine years ago sent

Wymer into a coma for almost three and a half months. She was a

junior at the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying to be a

doctor. Now, due to a traumatic head injury, it’s a struggle just to

walk.

But you wouldn’t know it. Wymer always has a smile and a joke to

tell. She never complains, her father, Steven Wymer, said.

“She loves coming out. It gets her out, gets her moving,” he said.

“All of these people feel like they have no control over their lives.

They understand that they have a deficit. What they crave more than

anything is to have more control. For Megan, it improves her balance,

her sense of confidence and it’s something she can control.”

Darlene Harman, program director and instructor of the riding

center, laughs as Wymer swings her arms in circles and jokes that

she’s trying out for the Olympics.

“She’s my jewel. She’s just a total inspiration,” Harman said.

“Working with people with disabilities, there’s constantly something

you get out of it, every day -- every day.”

The school relies on grants, fund-raising events, individual and

corporate donations and a paltry tuition to fund its $84,000 annual

operating cost, which includes feed, shoeing, vet bills and board for

the horses, and Harman’s salary.

Of this about $15,000 comes from annual fund-raisers and $20,000

from donations. But two of the center’s biggest donors have not come

through this year, and Harman is worried that Sunday’s classes might

be one of the last.

“We have $11,000, and it cost $6,000 a month to run the program,”

Harman said. “There is no room. If we don’t get a bunch of people to

help, we’re in trouble.”

Over the past few months, the center has lost two horses and

scaled back in all areas. They’ve stopped sending mail and fliers,

cut back on office costs and reverted to cheaper feed and shaving

companies.

“We need help in every way,” Harman said. “We need help

financially, and we need help from supporters.”

Horses are led by volunteers and trained according to the North

American Rider Handicap Assn. guidelines. The volunteers, placed

usually two at the side and one at the head, constantly interact with

the riders, who are often very introverted, by telling them to start

and stop the horse, twist their hips, swing their arms or pick up an

object and perform a series of simple exercises.

Parents are often shocked by the extent to which their children

open up and become engaged in the activities, Harman said.

“By the third lesson, they’re telling colors, communicating,

learning other riding partners’ names and learning other horses

names,” she said. “When they’re on the horse, they don’t realize it’s

therapy at all.”

The natural motion of the horse, which moves the rider’s pelvis in

a way that is similar to walking, helps strengthen the riders muscle

and skeletal structure. But it’s also the emotional and psychological

benefits that keep the riders returning lesson after lesson.

Megan Wymer has developed a close bond with her horses over the

years. Walking is a struggle for Megan Wymer on her own, but on her

horse, it’s graceful and effortless.

“We control each other,” she said. “If I want to move and he wants

to move, we’re one animal.”