During a therapy session, a 5-year-old girl with Autism speaks her first word while on the back of a horse. Tears of joy stream down her mother’s face.
Mollie Trainum had heard about this scene, which occurred at Dream Catchers at the Cori Sikich Therapeutic Riding Center. It served as the inspiration for a story that placed runner-up in a national competition.
The Gloucester teen has been involved with Dream Catchers since about 2005, both as a rider and as volunteer. Her second passion is writing, which led Trainum to enter a short fiction content by Horse Illustrated.
Her story, “Miracle Mare,” was selected from hundreds of entries as one of just 10 finalists. Read the story here.
Therapeutic riding provides recreation, socialization and skill-building for people with physical, mental and psychological challenges.
“Just being a volunteer in the lesson is a really powerful experience,” Trainum said.
While Trainum is well-versed in therapeutic riding, she said it’s not an activity many people are aware of, which made her want to share its power through her story. Drawing on her experiences, “Miracle Mare” did not take very long to write.
Dream Catchers at the Cori Sikich Therapeutic Riding Center was established in 1993, and the nonprofit organization serves an average of 120 students per week. They have 26 staff members, many of them certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, but rely heavily on volunteers to support their lessons and camps.
Trainum was drawn to the center as a place to fulfill her love for horses, while protecting her health — Trainum has Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. Her aorta is especially vulnerable, making it critical she not fall off a horse, or her aorta might rupture.
The horses at Dream Catchers are very well trained, Trainum said, patient and cautious not to move sharply for riders of any skill level.
Because Marfan Syndrome limits her physical activities, Trainum cannot participate in all the activities available to a typical 16-year-old.
“When all of my friends can go and play sports that I can’t play, I know that I can come here,” she said.
Through her lessons, she can walk, trot and cantor on a horse without assistance.
Trainum’s objectives with the center have always been riding-based, but she explained that other individuals use them to accomplish “life goals” like speaking or fine motor skills.
As a volunteer, every lesson has been special to Trainum. She often acts as a horse leader, like the narrator in “Miracle Mare,” or as a sidewalker to protect riders if they should lose balance.
In additions to the services it provides to both children and adults, the Dream Catchers team is like a family, Trainum explained.
She plans to stay involved with the center at least until she graduates from high school next year, and continue to witness how therapeutic riding can “change people’s lives.”
For more information on Dream Catchers at the Cori Sikich Therapeutic Riding Center, go to their website.
