Horses help their special riders
overcome problems, gain confidence
By Jessica Shaw
 |
| Elizabeth Gorman rides Caboose, a horse at Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center. Photo courtesy Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center. |
Dark chocolate-colored curls peek out from under Elizabeth Gorman's shiny black riding helmet. Confidently, she gathers the reins of her new horse, Courtly, and gently nudges him with the heels of her riding boots.
"Cluck, cluck. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot," shouts Carol Branscome, the lead instructor at Hoofbeats, a therapeutic riding program at the Virginia Horse Center just outside of Lexington.
Elizabeth, 21, sits with her head high, and Courtly follows her signals in the precise riding style called dressage. Her eyes are leveled at the large block letters on the white fence, 40 meters away at the other end of the ring.
"Ride that corner – Yes!" exclaims Branscome, whose strong faith has kept Hoofbeats alive against all odds. She smiles widely as she backpedals through the ring, admiring Elizabeth's triumph.
This is the magic of therapeutic riding for nearly 60 clients, most of them disabled, at Hoofbeats. Virginia has 56 such programs, but there are no others in Rockbridge County.
Branscome remembers how limited Elizabeth's world was when she started at Hoofbeats — her gaze never left her feet. She started Elizabeth on a lead line, because she could not look to the other end of the ring.
When she was young, Elizabeth was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism.
Her mother, Linda Gorman, watches Elizabeth's lesson and shudders as she discusses the ways some of Elizabeth's classmates treated her because of her disability.
"Kids used to call her stupid," she said. "She would come home and get really quiet."
As a child, Elizabeth passively accepted her disability. When kids would tease her at school, she would suppress her feelings. Her mother began to grow familiar with signs that Elizabeth was upset, and they would have discussions about the insecurities of other children.
A teacher at Waddell Elementary School had recommended Hoofbeats to the Gormans.
"I was very nervous," Elizabeth said. "I had never been on a horse before … now I am getting better."
A decade ago, the therapeutic riding center was in Natural Bridge. It re-located several times, at one point occupying Branscome's property until she found another space.
"When I pray, God sends me what I need," Branscome says.
Branscome was approached by the Virginia Horse Center about renting some of its property. Last March, the center moved there.
Hoofbeats is a nonprofit organization that operates on an annual budget of $55,000 that comes mostly from donations and grants. Branscome said they are pinching pennies at every corner, but she is determined that this is her purpose in life.
"This was God's plan. This is why I do it — it's my calling."
The center relies on community volunteers. College students involved in Southern Virginia University's equestrian club help out at Hoofbeats once a week. Senior Brian Groves has been with the program for three years.
"I've been able to see quadriplegics sit up straight on their own without support," he said. "Horses move people physically and emotionally."
Branscome's face lights up when she talks about the miracles she has witnessed. A memory of Elizabeth's breakthrough into a larger world still stands out in her mind.
"One day she looked down the center line," Branscome said. "She was at ‘A.' She looked 40 meters down the arena to the letter ‘C.' That makes chills come on my back 12 years later."
Since then, Elizabeth's gaze has been toward the horizon, where she sees her future with a vision that she can conquer anything.
For 11 years, Elizabeth has worked with Branscome and competed at several Special Olympics and other competitions for the disabled, quickly becoming a decorated athlete.
Linda Gorman teaches theater at Rockbridge County High School. Her late husband, Mike, was director of the Lenfest Center at Washington and Lee University until he died in an accident there two years ago. Linda says that mastering something as large as a horse has given Elizabeth confidence.
Elizabeth works at the Leyburn Library at W&L three mornings a week. She is building her resume and crafting a cover letter to apply for a computer position with the FBI — her dream since she began watching America's Most Wanted.
"When she [first] came here, you would not have seen this personality," Linda Gorman says.
Hoofbeats also offers a social network, and Elizabeth has been able to foster relationships in a safe environment where, her mother said, young people can "be what they want to be with each other.
"This has all given her strength," her mother says. "This has brought her out. It's given her a sense that she can conquer her disability."
At the end of her lesson with Branscome, Elizabeth takes a deep bow high in the saddle and smiles triumphantly.
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Brian Richardson
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd