A Quantum Leap: Horseback
riders overcome life challenges

As Edie Dopking warmed up Veda, a 22-year-old reddish-brown gelding, a woman sat on a nearby bench awaiting her riding lesson at a local horse farm.

In the facility’s barn and pasture, volunteers greeted visitors with a smile, and gentle dogs, a cat and even a horse nudged them for a cuddle or a pat.

However, this is no ordinary horse farm. The facility caters to older adults with mobility disabilities and gives lessons to able bodied individuals as well. It is partially through these lessons that the non-profit Quantum Leap Farm gains funding.

Dopking is the founder and president of the 2-year-old therapeutic and recreational riding facility. Through the horseback riding, the equestrian program improves muscle strength, tone, flexibility and reflexes. The goal is to increase the physical stability of people with some mobility disabilities.

The woman patiently awaiting her weekly riding lesson was 71-year-old Betty Glass of Port Richey, whose mentally retarded adult son is the reason she ended up at Quantum Leap.

She learned about the facility through a friend who also has a disabled child. She came to the horse farm so her son could receive its therapeutic benefits. Glass said the riding has helped his concentration.

“It’s an activity he looks forward to,” said Glass.

Glass has been taking lessons for about a year and a half. Taking her son to the facility allowed her to be there on a regular basis. Eventually, she figured she might as well participate, too.

“Learning to ride is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Glass.

She said the only opportunity she had to ride was when she was a little girl. She and her brother rode a pony on the farm on which she grew up, against parental warnings that the animal was mean. The pony seemed harmless, explained Glass.

After approximately 10 minutes, Betty mounted the horse and, with Dopking’s help, led it toward the oval paddock, where Veda was instructed to trot along the sandy grounds.

Glass said riding at this stage in her life gives her a feeling of accomplishment.

“I’m someone who never thinks she’s too old to try something new,” she said.

Ultimately, Glass said, she would like to feel at ease riding any horse through a trail. “I want to be really comfortable handling a horse.”

Dopking said Glass is the most advanced able-bodied student at the farm. She has been able to get a horse to canter, an advanced riding technique. Once a rider masters cantering, said Dopking, he or she has mastered the basics of horsemanship.

“I feel I’ve got a long way to go with cantering,” Glass admitted. “But I felt that way about trotting,” which she can now do without fear.

For those individuals who are too disabled to ride a horse, there is a cart program in which the horse pulls a cart carrying the rider who is in a wheelchair and one or two assistants. The facility has five horses that have been donated, one of which handles the cart.

Gail Hamer of New Port Richey is a student who alternates between the cart and riding the horse.

Hamer, who is blind and has mild mental retardation, has a playful and outgoing personality, said Dopking. Hamer joined the program in 1999 and is now learning to trot while in the cart.

“Riding makes me feel good,” said Hamer.

The first time she rode a horse, Hamer admitted, she felt scared. After being soothed by the handlers and volunteers, she said: “I like this. This is fun.”

She has dedicated a special song to each of the horses and said she likes to sing and talk to them.

“I have a good time when I’m here,” said Hamer.

The most impressive thing about Hamer and Glass, Dopking said, is their “bravery, sense of adventure and willingness to try anything … for Gail, in spite of being blind … and for Betty, in spite of her age.”

They perform challenges younger, able-bodied people might not be willing to do, she said.

The length of the sessions varies, depending on the ability of the rider, said Dopking. The severely disabled may only be able to ride for 15 minutes.

Dopking, who is working toward a doctorate in aging research, has a special interest in older adults. One of the many reasons she decided to start the program is she wanted to give something back to the community. At this point in her life she has both the time and money to devote to the program.

Although there are about six other therapeutic riding programs in the area, most are dedicated to children, said Dopking.

In addition to providing therapeutic riding, Dopking has been conducting a research study with about six of her riders. She tracks the performance of the riders and measures their range of motion as a result of the horseback riding.

Sally Strobel, who recently suffered a stroke that impaired her mobility, is one of these riders. Strobel, who has also received rehabilitation at Morton Plant Mease Health Care Wellness Center, has made great improvements for having ridden just 10 times, said Dopking.

In an exercise that measured her gait stability, a four-meter walk that once took Strobel nine seconds to complete now takes her 6 seconds. In addition, a stair climbing exercise that once took her 36 seconds to complete now takes her 20 seconds.

Jack Strobel said his wife decided to try the program because she was tired of standard exercises. He said they learned about the facility through a stroke survivors meeting at the wellness center. Now, the couple comes to the farm about three times a week.

“It’s interesting to see the changes,” said Jack of his wife’s progress.

“(Rehabilitation) takes longer for people who are more impaired,” said Dopking.

Dopking said she’s also discovered that men seem to improve most in flexibility and women in strength. She’s also found that the adage “If you don’t use it, you lose it” is true in this case, especially with seniors. If they stop riding for a long period of time, the benefits decrease, said Dopking.

One of the volunteers, Paulette Braunbeck, said volunteering at the farm is hard work; however, one learns a lot about horses, how to associate with them and how to get them to do what you want them to.

“When I leave here, I have a smile on my face,” said Braunbeck.

Quantum Leap Farm is at 10504 Woodstock Road in Odessa. Beginning May 28, the farm will be open Tuesday through Saturday. For more information call (813) 920-9250.

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