Instead of being forced to slow to a trot as in summers past, O.A.T.S.? (Offering Alternative Therapy and Smiles) riders can now gallop into the hot and dry season ? thanks to the generosity of the Ford Motor Company and local dealer Szott Ford.
With close to 54 tons of crumb rubber spread across two riding arenas at O.A.T.S. facilities on June 9, Executive Director Nancy Heussner does not need to worry about dust kicked up by the horses becoming a health hazard anymore.
Heussner and her all-volunteer staff can now focus on helping people overcome their handicaps, which range from muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and a wide array of other physical and mental maladies.
?(The crumb rubber) will be like tennis shoes for the horses and we have a lot of riders with breathing problems and it will cut out all of the dust in the air,? said O.A.T.S. instructor Beth Pellerito. ‘My son Nicholas had been riding for seven years. When he started riding he couldn’t walk.?
In terms of patrons, O.A.T.S. is the largest facility of its kind in Michigan. In summer months riders were escorted along trails, the dust keeping them away from the freedom of the riding arena.
‘We used to water the ground at 3 p.m. and by 5 p.m. it would be like the beach,? said Heussner.
The story of the crumb rubber’s path to O.A.T.S. started last fall when Heussner contacted Ford Motor Company after hearing the company installed a new surface at a California-based therapeutic riding facility. Heussner was told Ford would search for a local dealer to help with a grant, which is where Szott Ford came into the picture.
‘I jumped at the chance to be a part of this,? said Todd Szott, Dealer Partner of Szott Ford. ‘It’s wonderful what (Heussner) does for the kids.?
While O.A.T.S. was invoiced for the cost of the crumb rubber, Szott Ford made sure none of the $11,300 spent came out of Heussner’s pockets.
The raw materials were just the tip of the iceberg however, as employees from Ford Motor Company and Szott Ford volunteered their time to help rake the new surface across the arenas. In total, ten Ford employees volunteered for the project including five from Ford Employees Dealing with disAbilities.
‘We focus on the A of abilities,? said FEDA Chair Karen Dukatz-DeVitis.
Ford offers employees 16 paid hours a year in which to do community service from an approved list. O.A.T.S. was added this year, which made some in the company very pleased.
‘My wife found (O.A.T.S.) once our son was diagnosed with autism. It has helped him verbally. It’s given him a feeling of being in control, something he rarely has,? said John Robertson, a Ford employee who volunteered to help and whose son has been a part of O.A.T.S. since 1997.
While the riders and the trained and licensed volunteers at O.A.T.S. will notice the upgrade the rubber brings right away, the horses still need to get acclimated.
‘It will take Shadow some time to get used to it,? said Warren Anderson of his mount at O.A.T.S..
When Anderson came to O.A.T.S. a year ago, he was in a wheelchair, still stung by the diagnosis he would never ride again after being struck by a car while repairing a fence ten years ago..
‘Riding has always been my favorite pastime,? said Anderson, who when he heard of O.A.T.S. said ‘Let’s do it, Let’s see if I still have it.?
These days, aside from riding high in the saddle on Shadow, Anderson is thinking about making the leap from a walker to a cane.
Also making the installation of the crumb rubber possible were Ortonville’s The Landscape Connection and Bostwick Excavating from Fenton whose equipment took care of the extremely heavy lifting.
O.A.T.S. is located on M-15, wedged in between Clarkston and Brandon. For more information call 248-620-0505 or 248-620-1775.