SunCatcher Therapeutic Riding Academy INC-Emotional + Mental Health Focused Therapeutic Horsemanship Sessions
One of our volunteers, Anna, began helping with sessions at the end of the Covid pandemic, realizing just how much she needed the human interaction, and how incredible she felt mentally after helping others who had felt just as isolated and lonely as she did. And then, her life story changed dramatically in 2021, and she was suddenly a participant, needing the connection and movement of the horse to keep her physically and mentally healthy. In Anna’s words: “My love for horses began when I was very young. I was only 10 when my dad bought my first horse for $100. He was half Arabian and way too much horse for me, but I was too in love with that horse to know any better. Since then, I’ve always found a way to be around horses. If I didn’t have my own, I always had friends who would let me ride theirs. In 2020, I started volunteering with Suncatchers. It was such a joy being around the kids and seeing how they connected with horses. I totally got it. I needed that connection again as much as they did. Helping the kids was therapy for me during those crazy times. The following year– I started feeling like something was wrong with me physically. After going through hundreds of tests I was diagnosed with MSA, or Multiple System Atrophy. It causes extreme pain and stiffness, and I struggle with balance. There is no treatment. The only thing I can do is keep moving. I’ve realized THIS is the beginning of all of my lasts. There are many things I’ve loved to do that this disease is taking from me. The only thing I can do is keep moving. I knew I still needed Suncatchers, but now— Now I am coming as a rider rather than a volunteer. During sessions, I don’t feel the pain and stiffness or the anxiety and worry. If I have a session day, that I think I can’t make it through, my instructors encourage me to keep trying. And they remind me that the horses are there for me, helping me get through this and helping me not give up. They are all there, helping me, to just get back on that horse and ride.” Anna returned in 2023 again as a participant, and her physical struggle continued to challenge her. While being horseback gave her the ability to be mobile again, she stated it was the mental relief that each session gave her that kept her coming back. The freedom to connect with that horse, and to experience a partnership when her own partnership with her body was destroyed. Anna was not strong enough to ride in 2024 and sadly crossed over in July. Her love for others, and for the healing and freedom she felt while horseback continues to drive us forward to help others.