This week, local nonprofit group the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center helped two kids receive a ride of a lifetime.
In a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center hosted 6-year-old twins Adelaide and Gray Carter for three days of horseback riding. The twins are battling spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disorder that weakens muscles.
When Adelaide wished to ride a horse this year, workers at Make-A-Wish and the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center were ready to fulfill that desire for her and her brother.
“One of the things that we pride ourselves on is that we are able to serve anyone,” said Michele Bruhn, executive director of CTRC. “We’re just humbled and honored to be able to do this.”
The Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center south of Longmont serves people with disabilities through equine-assisted activities. For Adelaide and Gray, Bruhn chose horses with gentle gaits and calm demeanors.
Bruhn said that when Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center workers heard about Adelaide’s wish, staff and volunteers rallied to make this week unforgettable for her family.
“We have these kids who are in a wheelchair, and now they’re the tallest ones in the room, and they’re smiling down on people,” Bruhn said. “It’s just incredible for self-esteem.”
Adelaide and Gray, who live in Texas, spent Monday through Wednesday riding horses together. The first two days of riding took place inside due to the heat, but on Wednesday, the twins got to enjoy the open air with a short trail ride at the riding center, which is at 11968 Colo. 52.
“They have absolutely loved it,” said Jarod Carter, their dad. “Especially after they got their first ride in, it was just nonstop games and laughing and fun.”
Gray and Adelaide have each gotten to benefit from each other’s wishes. Last year, Make-A-Wish granted Gray’s wish, which was to see the ocean and build a sandcastle. The family traveled to Florida last summer to make that dream a reality.
A few years ago, the Carters bought Adelaide a MiraColt – a horseback riding motion simulator. When Adelaide was asked to make a wish, she decided that she wanted to ride a real horse.
“Now, we’re probably going to end up being a horse-riding family,” Jarod Carter said.
At the end of Wednesday’s ride, Adelaide said goodbye to her horse with a kiss on the nose. She said her favorite parts of her time at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center were playing tag on her horse and riding outside.
“It was a dream come true for her,” said her mom, Jenny Carter.
Mary Jane Cronin, a summer intern at the riding center helped lead the twins’ horses around the outdoor trail on Wednesday.
“It’s been a really cool experience to see how people with all these different abilities can still do the same thing,” Cronin said.
Volunteer Susan Duncan, who also helped Adelaide and Gray on Wednesday, said she got as much out of the experience as the participants did.
“I really think that all of us have an obligation, in a way, to give back to society,” Duncan said. “Especially something like Make-A-Wish, it melts my heart. To get these children out in an environment that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to experience … how gratifying is that?”
