Special needs met through horseback riding

ANTIOCH – When Rhiannon Huffman is on a horse, it may be difficult to tell the strides she has made to get where she is now.

Before the 10-year-old with autism began therapeutic equine training with Partners for Progress, her vocabulary was greatly limited and she had trouble making transitions between activities.

“I had been looking to get my daughter involved in therapeutic riding after finding out about her challenges,” said Anne Margaret, Rhiannon’s mother and part-time contractor for Partners for Progress, about getting her daughter started with the center six years ago.

After getting involved with Partners For Progress, a Mundelein-based therapeutic riding center for children with physical, mental and emotional disabilities, Anne Margaret said the progress was so great that her daughter was able to discontinue all other outside occupational therapies.

“In my personal opinion, if she was not doing the horseback therapy she would not be as advanced as she is,” Anne Margaret said, adding that Rhiannon can transition between activities much more easily than before.

“This has done more for her than anything that I have ever seen,” she said. “Riding encompasses the physical, the social and the emotional.”

Rhiannon was one of 50 riders who participated in Partners for Progress’ 2011 Family Summerfest & Participant Horse Show on Aug. 28.

Family and friends watched as their loved ones showed off the skills they’ve acquired while being a member of Partners for Progress during the event at Brighton Farm in Antioch.

The Polek family also watched from the sidelines as their daughter, Nadilee Polek, 15, who has Down syndrome, participated in the horse show event.

Nadilee, who moved with her family to Grayslake from Virginia four years ago, began riding with Partners for Progress three years ago, said her mother Jennifer Polek.

“It’s just good therapy,” Jennifer said.

Her father, Rich Polek, agreed.

“It gives a lot of confidence to all the kids. I don’t just see it in my daughter,” Rich said. “It’s a big animal that they control. It’s a confidence thing.”

He said the show is especially helpful in encouraging the participants’ progress.

“Everyone is celebrated for different talents and that encourages the kids,” he said. “It reinforces their desire to keep doing it.”

Diane Helgeland, executive director of Partners for Progress, said that overall, the center services about 165 riders with highly trained horses.

She said the center strives to provide challenging and effective therapy and a more functional daily life.

"By using quality trained horses, each participant will have the opportunity to receive the highest quality ride providing maximum benefits," Helgeland said. "Our overall goal is to help each person achieve their maximum personal potential, welfare and self-achievement."
Helgeland said the reaction from parents whose children have used the program is joyous and emotional.

“[It’s] the best therapy ever. [There are] tears of joy as their child reaches a goal,” she said. “Some parents have said that this is a therapy that they will never give up.”

To learn more about Partners for Progress, visit www.partnersforprogressnfp.org.