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Show r rs'rty loot beats toh By Debra Hart 3rums beat rhythmically the Daujgj- " . rr rc " rT ,no WOmail Olian-co nci ,racas ana simuiauco a Kha dance, while riding a snow-white horse. ,ludes her mother, naee Evans, laughs in .azement, astounded by B show unfolding in front VironC or 1 .Phi 1C I ;it a trick horseback rider, 1 Srcus stunt rider or cul-; cul-; J U arts' dancer. She is r! Jnply a 19-year-old-girl h Downs Syndrome who .looking for fun. .v .ICorinne is riding with rH Hoofbeats to Healing vf;vCrapeutic horseback rid-. rid-. ), program, a chapter of - e North American Riding the Handicapped .sociation (NARHA), ..v, i"o hased in Saratoea irings. The nonprofit u1r -Airier nrnoram iq (ciry co anging the lives of a mulcted mul-cted is ude of children with spe-"d spe-"d needs. Donalee raves about her -ughter's progress in the fbeats to Healing pro-am. pro-am. "Corinne had never been ound animals, but they Frontf:ade everything so com-Stable," com-Stable," she says. Her fam-"tleover:- has noticed a remark-bandt-ile improvement in jrinne walking and run-leisverv.-ng. Dn the "Having control of the opes to.'rse has really improved librar.--;r self-esteem and her ' Mention span has :ouncil - iproved, too," says vedtt-nalee. Corinne's older )oar( pother, Jared, claims "It's ied things like this that give theMT)rinneahfe. Hoofbeats to Healings 'levant "-ends mPPotneraPy occu-' occu-' itional therapy, physical tin ar erapy and sPeech thef aPy ; ' achieve a personalized, ell-rounded therapeutic rogram for their clients. hey also enhance the tmosphere with music lerapy, often including rums, to teach rhythm and l i n , ' f s v. 1 roots, nd lunity OW 05 Depose Cons-r: tructior1 fill Photo by Debra Hart Corinne Evans, 19, of Lehi, shakes her maracas and simulates sim-ulates a cha-cha dance, during her therapeutic horseback horse-back riding lesson. Lehi locals may recognize Ms. Evans because she was voted Honorary Miss Lehi 2001. beat. According to Tammy Coffman, the program's director, the horses provide neurological and physical training. "A lot of it is cross-brain cross-brain patterning," she claims. However, in addition to the physical therapy, "there's a lot of deeper stuff that goes on," assures Coffman. By learning to b pn-m , 1 '1 aiing offers therapy on horseback ride a 1,000 pound animal independently, her clients are taught "I can do this" which carries over into other aspects of their lives. "This is so deep spiritually, spiritu-ally, we will never fully understand what goes on," exclaims Tammy. Hippotherapy, a form of physical therapy, uses the natural movement of horses to influence healing rehabil t r ftiii r-br a V "si 3 Lagoon - the Intermountain West's top amusement park. Bring the family fami-ly and jump into Rattlesnake Rapids, strap into The Rocket, test your nerves on The Samurai, or tangle with our newest ride, The Cliffhanger. We're located between Salt Lake and Ogden just off 1-1 5. Take the Lagoon Drive Exit. Visit us on the web at lagoonpark.com. itation on humans. The gentle gen-tle rhythm of horses moves the rider's body in a manner which mimics the human gait, which results in improved balance, coordination, coordina-tion, flexibility and also strengthens muscles. In addition, this revolutionary revolu-tionary form of therapy improves muscle tone, posture pos-ture and mobility. For individuals individ-uals with mental or emotional emotion-al disabilities, hippotherapy can be beneficial for increasing increas-ing confidence, patience, attention span, memory and boosting self-esteem. The program works with children and adults of all ages. Clients include, but are not limited to, those with cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, autism, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and car accident acci-dent victims suffering neurological neu-rological damage. Tammy Coffman, Program Director and Founder of Hoofbeats to Healing, was trained in home health care and rehabilitation. reha-bilitation. She was also an avid equestrian with extensive exten-sive horse training experience. experi-ence. In essence, she has now combined her two areas of expertise into one rewarding form of healing therapy through horses. The program is temporarily tem-porarily operating on land donated by Scott McLachlan of Lehi. The property includes 10 acres with a house, barn, horse pastures, indoor arena, and two outdoor arenas. "Scott McLachlan has done so much for us," says Tammy. "He is such a generous gener-ous man." She graciously displays a wide array of saddles, tack and horse-care programs which have been donated by A.A. Callister, State Line Tack and other generous philanthropists. Hoofbeats to Healing currently cur-rently teaches approximately approximate-ly 60 lessons a week. They have an occupational therapist, thera-pist, physical therapist and speech therapist who all t New Utah! - Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - Page 13 work onsite. They also house 25 horses, which includes eight miniature horses. Many of the horses in the program are Foxtrotters. According to Tammy, "We get better results with gait-ed gait-ed horses (in particular Foxtrotters), especially for rhythm, walking and ambulatory ambu-latory exercises." Lessons cost $25 for a private one-hour session. However, they have a scholarship schol-arship program, established by Morinda Inc., for those in need who cannot afford to pay. Morinda Inc. produces the famous Tahitian Noni Juice, which is made from Noni fruit. Hoofbeats to Healing is a part of the Saratoga Xr VwrlaTOww' "Urol' ian'!- ' 3 Interest Free Loans (July 30th only) FREE Lunch 11-1 (Gandolfos) "Lending Money Your Way, Every Day." 358 E. State Rd American Fork (World Gym Plaza) 4 v' Foundation. In addition to the therapeutic riding program, pro-gram, the Saratoga Foundation includes Common Grounds, which is an occupational therapy program involving gardening garden-ing and horticultural projects; proj-ects; CARE Program (Crafts, Arts, Recreation and Education); and SNAP Program (Special Needs Associate Partnerships), which offers gainful employment opportunities for special needs individuals. individu-als. For more information on Hoofbeats to Healing and the Saratoga Foundation, call 768-1226 or visit their website at www.terragraph-ic.comsaratoga. SfeSfflMfi JtvxL Sx-yL is& YCHECK 'dinainjiomfi ft tWirni'MPninii mm i in i rii-- -i-if-iji; tUm J 1UG00K JilllAKICPTYl. esovo '-.r-yr' 5rk |