STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Who needs rhinestones on your chaps when you’ve got flashing, blinking cowboy hats?!
The Swiftsure Ranch arena looked as if fireflies had swarmed in Thursday night as at least 90 cowboys and cowgirls ponied up $100 each for black cowboy hats dotted with flashing LED lights at the 27th annual Cowboy Ball.
It was all in fun, but it will help provide 5,592 free lessons for those with cognitive, physical and emotional challenges if last year’s tallies are any indication.
“I was a sidewalker for years, then I joined the board,” Board President Terry Fowler told the audience. “Someone came into my life whose father was one of the first riders in the program, and I learned how this was the highlight of Bob Sawyer’s week. Now we have 105 riders in the program, and this is the highlight of the week for so many of them. Whether someone’s 8 or 80, if they have a challenge, we try to meet their need.”
Indeed, the equine therapists at the ranch south of Bellevue provide therapy for adults and children dealing with a wide range of challenges such as autism, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s Disease.
One of those who counts herself among the ranch’s faithful riders is Teresa Hukari, a former consumer services manager for Smith Sport Optics who was paralyzed in a skiing accident in 2006.
Hukari described the time she’s spent riding at Swiftsure as one of the highlights of her life.
“We live in a world largely engineered for the upright and mobile,” she said. “And this is where Swiftsure shines. Swiftsure Ranch meets each participant where they are.”
Hukari described how the horses have offered her freedom from the constraints of her wheelchair. Then she gazed out on some of the volunteers and staff as she repeated an oft-used refrain around Swiftsure: “Magic happens here.”
“You will ever know how many lives you’ve touched,” she said.
Sailor Ward and Emma Pietsch joined Rebecca Tingsley in telling guests about their program called Gallop. The program provides work projects, goal setting and team-building exercises for eighth- and ninth-graders dealing with anxiety and other issues.
The kids start off learning to muck stalls and eventually progress to learning to ride horses.
“It’s like a work study program so the kids get paid,” said Tingsley, who grew up a team roper on a ranch in the the Pahsimeroi Valley near Mackay and now works as a social worker at Hemingway STEAM School. “By the end of the program, the stalls are so clean you can eat off the floor, and they’ve gained a sense of pride.”
“I love it,” said Pietsch. “It’s so relaxing and the horses are amazing.”
“The horses understand what your feelings and emotions are. They notice when you’re anxious and you realize how you’re affecting others around you,” added Ward.
This year’s Cowboy Ball shelved the silent and live auctions to concentrate on simply asking for donations during the Paddle Up and its Adopt-a-Horse program.
Two supporters started the paddle up off with $25,000 donations and many of the 400 cowboys and cowgirls in the arena followed up with $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000 pledges.
Then someone offered to match fifty $1,000 donations which, emcee Larry Flynn noted, was “like having your $1,000 mean $2,000.
“It’s a good cause,” said Whit Atkinson. “Some of my closest friends are involved so I like supporting them.”
Sue Woodyard concurred.
“My daughter rode and so I’m moved by the kindness of horses, which have an intuitive sense for what their riders need from them,” she said. “Horses offer unconditional acceptance. And certainly the collection of horses here at Swiftsure are outstanding.”