Newspaper Article on LifeHorse from
the August 10, 2005 Oxford Leader
News Horse farm seeks 3 wishes
Isabel Williams, 7, of
Grosse Pointe, is part of the LifeHorse program and rides
Biscuit as part of an application video for NBC's new
reality show 3 Wishes. Photo by Casey Curtis.
August 10, 2005 - When
children participate in the LifeHorse program at the Grand Review
Farm in Oxford, they say their lives are changed.
Children aged 3 to 21 with terminal, emotional and chronic
illnesses attend the horse farm to find happiness and
companionship through riding the equines.
And now, LifeHorse might have the chance to help the children even
more by getting their biggest wish granted – make that three
wishes.
NBC's latest reality show slated to run this fall, 3 Wishes, is
hosted by singer Amy Grant. The show grants three wishes to
various individuals and communities around the nation that are in
need.
Huston
LifeHorse's founder, Stacy Huston, said the three wishes she had
was to have an indoor arena, services to clean the horses hooves
for a year and grain and hay to feed the horses for a year.
The twenty-six-year-old horse lover started LifeHorse in 2002 when
she heard about a similar program at the Covenant Farm in
Maryland.
She said she kind of just dropped everything she was doing in her
life to start the program.
"I had just graduated from law school and knew that it wasn't
really what I wanted to do," she said.
With the help of her parents Robert and Sparkle, they turned
their farm on N. Baldwin Rd. into a therapeutic sanctuary for
children.
Seven horses are boarded at the farm and approximately 20
volunteers help Stacy in her quest to bring joy to the children's
lives.
Huston said she has about 11 children from all over southeast
Michigan who she works one on one with.
Children who qualify for the LifeHorse program may have arthritis,
cancer, diabetes and selective mutism, among other things.
One such student who has selective mutism is 7-year-old Isabel
Williams from Grosse Pointe. She is unable to speak in any social
situation other than at home.
Her mother Sarah submitted the application for LifeHorse to be
featured on 3 Wishes and said she was "shocked" when the
producer actually called her saying they were interested.
"You see things like that happen in California, you never
think about a little town in Michigan," she said.
Williams said the LifeHorse program has made a huge difference in
her daughter's life.
"This has just been a big confidence booster for her,"
she said. "It's reflecting in her relationships at school
too."
This past Sunday, families, volunteers and students all gathered
at the farm to create an application video sharing stories and
showing their love of LifeHorse for the producers of the
television show.
For the students, who always have private riding, this was their
first time meeting each other.
"I thought it was going to be so chaotic, but it went very
smoothly," Huston said.
Huston only had five minutes to explain why they want their three
wishes granted. Some students even shared their reasonings for the
video.
"I love LifeHorse because it gives me self-confidence,"
said Michael Duvall, 12, of Armada.
Seven-year-old Terrance Beebe, of Rochester Hills, made it clear
what he wanted even though he was a little camera shy.
"I would like to have an indoor arena because it could be too
cold and too hot or if it's raining I wouldn't be able to
(ride)," he said.
Huston said the main importance for wanting an indoor arena is
because her students going through chemotherapy can't be in the
heat or cold for too long.
LifeHorse is a non-profit program and is free of charge to those
who qualify. It is through donations, child sponsorships, horse
sponsorships and grants that the program exists.
Huston said she's really excited that LifeHorse was even
recognized for 3 Wishes and that she hopes the application video
will show the producers how much they care about the children and
their wishes.
"We have a lot of fun and the kids love being here," she
said.
For more information on the LifeHorse program, call Stacy at (248)
343-8432.
Stacy
Huston, ’01, Founds
a therapeutic riding program
The
law will have to wait. The chronically ill children of
Oakland County need her more. BY
PATRICIA MAJHER
Stacy Huston and CL Blues Man, "Hunter" at a
horse show in Corunna, MI.
When
Stacy Huston was given Ele—an American Quarter
Horse—on her eighth birthday, little did she know
that, 17 years later, that horse would play a pivotal
role in shaping her career.
Huston grew up surrounded by horses at her parents’
12-acre farm in Ortonville, Michigan. Riding for
pleasure and show consumed much of her childhood. But
when it came time to think about careers, she set aside
her love for all things equine and looked to her father
for inspiration instead. “He was a police officer,”
she explained, “and that’s what got me interested in
the law.”
She was particularly drawn to the language of law, so
it’s no surprise that she earned a BA in English. With
that under her belt, she applied to MSU-DCL: “I liked
the feeling of attending a small, private school within
a large, Big 10 university.”
After completing her JD in December 2001, she took time
off to study for the bar exam. That spring, though, some
disturbing news made her postpone her plans: “I made a
new friend whose sister had nemaline myopathy [a rare
neuromuscular disease], and I immediately tried to
figure out what I could do to help.”
What Huston came up with was a therapeutic riding
program for the little girl. “It came naturally to
me,” Huston explained. “I’d been teaching
horseback riding since I was in high school.”
The experience really seemed to lift the girl’s
spirits and to distract her from her pain. And that made
Huston think about extending her riding program to other
kids in need.
At first, she considered reaching out to autistic
children. But a bit of research revealed that two other
instructors in her area already satisfied that niche.
An article in Horse Illustrated convinced her to
cast her net in a different direction: “I read about a
Maryland program called LifeHorse that catered to
chronically and terminally ill kids. So I contacted the
owners to see if I could set up a similar thing in
Michigan.”
Huston opened the doors to her own LifeHorse program in
April 2002. To get the word out about her program, she
visited doctors’ offices and hospitals and set up her
own website at www.lifehorse.com.
The publicity generated a steady stream of
children—ages 3 to 21—who began to come out to her
parents’ farm each week.
What can a child in pain do with a horse, you might ask?
From Huston’s perspective, the answer is simple:
“Anything they’re comfortable with. Some kids feel
well enough to ride and some can only manage to help
groom the horses.” She recounts the story of one
little boy who was in such discomfort one day that all
he did was cry. “Then he started petting one of the
horses and just loved her for an hour. He seemed happy
enough just doing that.”
Kids participate in LifeHorse on their own
schedules—whenever they feel well enough to visit.
Upon their arrival, Huston quickly assesses their needs,
then pairs them with the perfect horse: “We’ve got
seven horses here, from four months to 20 years old.
There’s really something for everybody.”
Not surprisingly, one of the most popular mounts is Ele—the
horse from her childhood. “She’s an older, calmer
horse now,” Huston explained. “The kids really take
to her.”
Although Huston is the primary riding instructor, her
father, mother, sister and brother-in-law also play a
part in the operation of LifeHorse. “It’s a real
family affair,” she says with a laugh. During her down
time, Huston works on soliciting business sponsorships
to help defray the cost of caring for the horses.
“This program is free to the children who need it,”
explained Huston, and she aims to keep it that way.
With the program running smoothly, Huston recently
returned to her bar exam studies and is contemplating a
career in estate planning. That specialty would allow
her to exercise her legal skills while keeping a hand in
the development of LifeHorse: “My goal is to see it
grow throughout the state and the country. There are so
many kids who could use it.”
