(PEYTON, Colo.) — Reigning Hope provides therapy services to children with special needs, but what is unique about this nonprofit is how the animals on their farm play a crucial role in these children’s lives.
“I love working with the horses, but I can kind of do that anywhere, it’s really the kids,” Elizabeth Moyer, Barn Manager at Reigning Hope said. “Like I love being around the horses, I love working with them. I love training them, but working with the kids is by far the best part.”
The nonprofit provides different therapeutic services to help best support the needs of the child, this includes occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and mental health services. Several farm animals along with horses can be spotted along the property, who play an important role in helping these children achieve their therapy goals.
“If you can imagine the kids that ride them, they’re wonderful kids, beautiful kids, but they have disabilities,” Kurt Dennison, Board President of Reigning Hope, said. “They might clap, they might jump, they do things unpredictable and for that you have to have a horse that can respond to those situations without getting excited. So, there’s a lot of training that goes into these horses to make sure that they’re safe for the kids and young adults to write them.”
Each rider has different experience levels along with needs when riding these horses, but the staff at Reigning Hope carry a determination to ensure each individual has the best possible experience.
“We walk many, many miles a day, either leading around, driving the kids on the horses and it’s hard work, it’s exhausting,” Moyer said. [But] “seeing those kids smile and how much it benefits them just really makes all that hard work worth it.”
In less than 24 hours, the cowboy way of life will soon be experienced all throughout the property at Reigning Hope’s Rising Star Barrel Race. This marks the third year of the event designed for children and young adults with mental and physical disabilities.
“It makes the work, the stress of the job worth it, just to know that the mission is being like lived out and we’re making an impact in such a cool way,” Kelee Crawford, Events Coordinator at Reigning Hope said. “In a community that unless you’re in it, not I don’t think it’s forgotten, but it’s just, it’s not something that is catered to a lot of things.”
Several riders were getting in some practice on the barrels leading up to the real deal. Liz Robinson, mother of Stephen, said “My son is in the max assist category. He absolutely loves being out here, so today he’s practicing because he is going to win, he says.”
The Barrel Race will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. around 40 riders will be showing their skills in the competition.
“We have four different brackets for different age groups,” Dennison explained. “We run it like a rodeo. It is Colorado, this is Western heritage out here, we got the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, we got the Range Riders. This is all cowboy out here and that’s what we’re trying to do is get these kids to be cowboys and cowgirls for the day.”
Not only will there be some friendly competition to witness, but there is also fun for all ages to enjoy with carnival activities, horse carriage rides, face painting, and more. Details for the event can be found online.
Six-year-old Hudson Brewster was one of the riders on Friday morning getting in some practice. It was clear he was in charge while riding the horse, giving commands to successfully navigate through the barrels.
“Hudson’s great, I really enjoy working with him,” Moyer said. “He’s one of my favorite kids and he loves being around the horses. He comes here and he starts walking down to the barn and we just see his face light up and he immediately goes for ‘Can I lead the horse? Can I help in the barn?’… whatever he can do to be around the horses, it’s just amazing to see.”
While there is excitement in the air for the barrel race, there is no doubt the work done every day by this nonprofit is leaving a greater impact on both the children and their families.
“The support that they get from the community, the support they get from volunteers, from the families who come out and help, and from the participants, you just can’t ask for a better experience and I am blessed to be part of it,” said Robinson.
