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There's a buzz of activity 12 hours a day, seven days a week at the Whispers of Hope Horse Farm. Above, youth volunteers work with challenged children. The children are scheduled for a once-a-week visit, and a specific horse is assigned to each youth so they may develop a bond of trust with the horse.
A year in the program has made a big difference in the life of Abbi Richards (mounted). Last year she couldn't sit a horse. This year, her mother, Reggie, says "Everything's better..."
By Mike Barnett
Editor
Brianna Wiest was a puzzle. At four years of age she didn't talk.Young Brianna wouldn't play. She was antisocial to those she didn't know and clingy to those who loved her. Developmental delay was the diagnosis. A dark world for a young child, perhaps. Who knew? No one could reach her.
Today, a year and a half later, Brianna's a totally different child. She's talking on a limited basis. As important, social skills are improving. Grandmother Diane Wiest sees a big change in the young girl's life, what she terms a "total turn around." And she gives thanks every day to Mary Elizabeth Pearce and her wonderful horses.
Welcome to Whispers of Hope, a nonprofit, therapeutic riding facility for mentally and physically challenged youth in the Wichita Falls area. Hang around the busy arena most any day and you'll hear wonderful stories about Mary Elizabeth, who founded the facility four years ago, and the magic she, her horses and volunteers have worked with children with physical disabilities resulting from birth defects, injuries or accidents. Challenges have been great. Students with Spinal Bifida, Multiple Sclerosis, autism, hearing impairment, mental retardation, CVA, Cerebral Palsy, brain injury, blindness, Down Syndrome, paraplegia, and ADHD have all benefited from the loving care and attention of the Whispers of Hope program.
"A year and a half ago Brianna wouldn't go near a horse, wouldn't touch them, wouldn't have anything to do with the horses or people," grandmother Diane recalls. "Mary Elizabeth totally turned her around, made a great improvement in her social skills and the pleasure in her life."
Maybe it's that gift of pleasure to those less fortunate that drives Mary Elizabeth and her crew to 12 hour days, seven days a week. And seeds of her success have spawned a great demand. In four years Whispers of Hope has gone from six horses to 35; from 15 challenged children to 236; to 26 junior volunteers ages 10 to 16, which give their time, energy and sweat to the effort, to 94.
"We've grown so fast and so much," Mary Elizabeth says, "and it's a good thing. We've done okay. But it's still hard."
Hard, yes, but rewarding.
Mary Elizabeth tells the story of a 10-year-old autistic child who was scared, panicky, couldn't sit still and didn't talk when she first saw him.
"We finally set him on a horse and he was just calm, serene...he just smiled," she recalls. "And his parents said they'd never seen that...not even in his sleep. We rode and he kept coming..."
Mary Elizabeth says she talks to all the children in the program the same way... "whether they hear, whether we think they do, it doesn't matter," she explains. "We tell them to tell your horse to 'go,' 'look at the tree', 'look at the blue sky', something of that nature.
"Well one day he just got on his horse and said 'Go.' And everyone on the ground was crying and his parents couldn't believe that he actually spoke a word. Now he can say 'mom' and 'daddy'...'thank you'...he doesn't have a big vocabulary but it's a start."
Research has proven that students who participate in therapeutic riding can experience physical, emotional and mental rewards.
"Horses are one of the greatest attributes we ever have," Mary Elizabeth says. "The horses teach calmness, they teach the ability to say, 'I can do something nobody else can do.' They're a big animal yet they're very responsive. If you treat them well they treat you well."
Individuals with impaired mobility can benefit from the gentle and rhythmic movements of their bodies with the horse, similar to a human walking gait. These riders can experience increased balance, muscle control and strength. Ask Reggie Richards. She's seen the results first hand with her daughter, Abbi.
Abbi, who has participated in the Whispers of Hope program for a year, was born with Spinal Bifida. She also has some paralysis on her left side.
"If you could have seen her a year ago, she couldn't even sit on the horse," Reggi says. "She slid. She could not stay on the horse, much less sit up straight."
"This has improved her walking, the way she sits...her back is straighter," Reggie says as she proudly watches her daughter ride around the arena. "Everything's better...emotionally, mentally, physically, the whole banana."
But there's another side Mary Elizabeth loves to tell about Whispers of Hope. It's a story about the youth volunteers. It's a story of their inner goodness. It's a story about how some youth have straightened out their own lives helping others.
"We have children that were having trouble in school, having trouble fighting and talking with others. We have people having trouble with school grades," Mary Elizabeth says. "Now they have an incentive, something they can look forward to, where they can actually do a better job of working with the community, learning to be partners, and teamwork. And that's really, really important."
Others, like 16-year-old Rachel Ehrsam, originally came to Whispers of Hope as a volunteer to be with the horses.
"Then, when I started working with the challenged riders, I fell in love with them, too. I feel like a big sister out here," she says. "It feels really nice at the end of the day. I love it and wish more people would come out."
Regardless of why they're there, Mary Elizabeth has high expectations. Children pay $10 a week—about the price for a bag of feed their horse needs in a week—for the privilege of working there. They labor a minimum of four hours of week—most of them much more—cleaning stalls, water troughs, grooming and cleaning the horses. And they're expected to toe the line.
"I am the disciplinarian," Mary Elizabeth says. "I am the one that teaches them to maintain a goal and to maintain it with honor. They have to stay out of trouble or they lose their privileges here at the barn.
"They may get chewed on a bit but they also know that every single day they're told they're appreciated. They're given a hug before they leave. They know I care for them and that somebody loves them and really wants them to succeed."
Great plans are in the works for Whispers of Hope expansion. A covered riding arena is set for construction. Challenged adults might be accepted in the program's future.
But horses have to be fed. Vet bills have to be paid. Funds have to be raised to buy neighboring land, already discounted for the organization.
Tommy Henderson, secretary of the Clay County Farm Bureau, has taken an active interest in the program and has donated a horse and hay.
"It's a program that's unbelievable," Tommy says. "I've never seen anything like it. The challenged children receive so much, but the volunteers do too. And these volunteers are the kiddos that are going to be a great help in society in their lifetimes. These are the leaders of tomorrow."
Monna Kline, whose two children volunteer for the program, is on the Whispers of Hope board of directors. The 501 C3 nonprofit is run by volunteers and donations.
"There's not a paid person out here, and everything is donation," she says. "We're looking at grants and other things in the future to help expand the program. It's wonderful. We've seen it grow and we see the children that participate in it have grown."
Editor's note:
Want to make a donation to Whispers of Hope? Horses, feed, supplies, your time, financial resources...all are needed to keep the operation running. Write or call Whispers of Hope, 3545 Parkhills Road, Wichita Falls, TX 76310 or phone 940-696-8044 to find out how you can help.
