day twenty-six/
On Henry's birthday, I attended an event for Saddle Up!, the therapeutic riding center where Henry has received both physical therapy and speech for now almost a year. I attended thanks to the kindness of the executive director and the owner of the facility. Last month, I photographed the horses and several children receiving therapy for their upcoming Pack Your Bags party, and was honored to do so. Henry has blossomed with combined speech and hippotherapy. It was very gratifying to photograph what is not only Henry's experience at their facility but the experience of multiple children with differing needs. Photography, I believe, allows other to see the entirety of the experience. My son is treated on horseback by a therapist for an hour and led by two others, one guiding the horse and another helping the therapist. To put this in words is one thing but to show the experience, I believe, is another.
I felt fortunate to be given tickets to their annual party, but when my husband could not attend, I was excited to have a friend from Saddle Up! come with me.
I have to say because we don't yet know what is exactly occurring with Henry, I haven't become part of any support group. I really haven't met parents in our set of circumstances, period. Holly, the woman who came with me, is a lovely person whose son also has cerebral palsy. Talking to her over the course of one evening, I felt like my whole world opened up. There was something so reassuring about being able to relate to another person almost entirely.
Also, she is a Denver native, so she helped me navigate through the party. Although we both felt a bit out of our element, she was the person who said "we should go talk to ..." She had Barry Fay, the original concert promoter at Red Rocks, sign her arm (and he called her husband to talk). She was pointing out the former Denver Broncos players and others who were important people for disability rights. After talking to the founder of Saddle Up, we both met Kurt Miller whose organization "Make a Hero" had a spot during the olympics and highlights the achievements of athletes with disabilities. He also makes films with paraskiers narrated by Robert Redford.
He told us that he made a film on an equestrian program in Minnesota and I didn't realize it until watching it, he made a film on the therapeutic riding program through the Courage Center, where Henry received therapy (not therapeutic riding, but..) for two years while we lived in Minnesota.
Henry is one of the children in the photos. So is my friend Holly's son, Jacob. Henry has a shirt that says "Dream Big". Jacob is sitting next to his horse, Slick.
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