It quickly became clear that the rider was on her way to becoming more confident of her abilities on horseback. Andi Holland, executive director of the Savannah Station Therapeutic Riding Program, noticed that the young girl needed less help as she rode her new four-legged friend named Beauty. Only the day before, she'd needed the aid of an instructor and volunteers to keep herself upright as the horse carried her around the arena.
"We see little miracles in every class," Holland said as she watched the pair. Such signs of progress are par for the course — and the horse — at Savannah Station. The therapeutic riding program housed at 13420 Frisco Road offers free morning and evening classes to individuals with cognitive and physical special needs, beginning at age 4.
The riding classes are offered from September to May through the traditional school year. A one-week summer camp is held each June primarily for about 45 people on the program's waiting list. "We wanted to be able to encourage them while they're waiting," Holland said.
On a recent day, she watched as summer campers played games or showed off their newly learned skills on horseback. They played a game with a premise similar to musical chairs. At another time, they each carried an egg on a spoon in one hand as their horses, Beauty, Van Gogh, Popcorn and Penny Annie took them from one side of the arena to the next.
"You see that progress as they come over time," she said of the campers. "It's amazing that progres.