“I volunteer for Empowering Strides, it’s a non-profit therapeutic horsemanship program for neurodiverse youth. The idea is to help kids with building and improving mobility, developmental, social, and emotional skills. We teach riding, but we mostly focus on small skills of holding reigns, learning how to sit properly in your saddle, and steer. Small motor skills for some kids, other kids have lessons focused on how to listen and take directions. We see progress in the little things rather than the big things. There’s a kid that I met the first day I started, Luke, and he is very selective with who he talks to and pretty reserved. He really loves the horses and takes a million pictures and videos of them, and when he talks to them, they fully understand him. He said something in one of the horses’ ears, and Snoopy (the horse) started to canter. It was the first genuine smile and laugh I had seen out of Luke, and ever since, he’s been super spunky and has a lot of wit and is not afraid to speak his mind.  It is a testament to how even though it’s not traditional therapy, horses do the same level, if not a better job of healing someone and bringing out their true personality.”