On November 5th, LifeStriders' instructors and volunteers were treated to a Parelli Horsemanship demonstration by Two Star Parelli Professional Gretchen Arndt.  Parelli Horsemanship is also referred to as natural horsemanship because it is based on the way that horses relate and communicate in their natural world.  It appeals to horse enthusiasts worldwide, and especially LifeStriders, because of the focus on forming partnerships with our horses without using force, dominance, or intimidation.  Gretchen partnered with our very own Marky for her demonstration, and went through three games to play with horses to build a foundation of trust and confidence with our equine stars.  We want to keep our herd happy and healthy so we are very grateful to Gretchen for volunteering her time!  Thank you to Linda Deppe for connecting us with Gretchen, and thank you  to everyone who attended.

LifeStriders is offering to meet with individuals to give them a private tour of our facility. Come see how we are putting dollars to work for children, adults, seniors and veterans with disabilities. LifeStriders is so grateful for all of the community support we have received over the years and very much needs your continued support to meet the growing demands for services. Please call Veronica Sosa Agnoli, LifeStriders' Executive Director to schedule a tour today!

"From our first moment at LifeStriders we found ourselves embraced in a warm Wisconsin Welcome. It was our first time in the state and we were charmed by the beauty of the countryside and the hospitality of the people. Rob, Veronica and their team are running something very beautiful at LifeStriders. They showed us much that we did not know – our emphasis being on autism and neuro-psychiatric conditions, LifeStriders educated us on working with physical disabilities. For example seeing one young boy who was supposed to never be able to walk get off his horse and take confident steps back to his mount, was truly inspirational.

The quality of the horses as well as the staff was also exceptional and the physical environment – the park like surroundings and availability of trails - make this an ideal place for autism spectrum children (and those with other sensory conditions) to come and heal.

The dedicated staff and volunteers also showed great openness of mind when it came to learning new techniques and picked things up fast; always a sign of professionalism - curiosity over new techniques ensures that things stay live and fluid. Put simply, LifeStriders is clearly dedicated to retaining its place at the leading edge of therapeutic riding: so for families in need of these services it would be hard to do better.

We look forward to working with LifeStriders over the coming years and to watching their program grow. We look forward to future projects together. " 

The Wisconsin Association of Legal Administrators (WALA) has partnered with LifeStriders as one of this year’s community service partners.  On October 22nd, we are so grateful to have had the assistance of 11 people, from WALA, who graciously volunteer their tools and charitable spirit to help us construct our horse sheds.  Also, special thanks goes out to Dan Swineheart for volunteering to supervise the project.  Thank you all!



More help last Saturday from Dan, Julie, Jorge, Jeremy, Jesus, and Sean Beres.  We appreciate all of your efforts!!!  Thank you.  

More Help from Luis, Manuel, Bob and Sean today. Thank you everyone.

 LifeStriders August 2011 newsletter is available for download here.

Since 2005, LifeStriders has been working towards starting a Heroes riding program for service members and their families.  On July 15, 2011 we had the honor of serving Navy veterans in our first LifeStriders Heroes lesson!

It was a great lesson that started in the indoor arena with grooming and tacking, basic horsemanship, and learning more about the horse human connection.  The veterans and recreation therapists, from the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at Zeblocki VA Medical Center, and volunteers topped off the lesson with a peaceful hike and trail ride.   

Special thanks go out to all the volunteers, Liz (LifeStriders’ own service member) for her connections through the Army National Guard, and Veronica for taking time out of her schedule to help teach the class.

We are so honored to be able to provide horseback riding therapy to those who have given so much for our country!

The Ariens Company, in Brillion, WI, supports LifeStriders efforts to provide therapeutic riding lessons to families with special needs.  The Ariens Company owns Gravely, and donated a Gravely Pro 260 (see picture below) to LifeStriders for its use in cutting and grooming the new 23 Acre facility in Waukesha.  LifeStriders is extremely grateful to Ariens company for the generous donation to its program and appreciates its support of the LifeStriders mission.  Thank you Airens family.

Tim Moat, of Midwest Power Equipment, in Waukesha, WI has introduced LifeStriders to the Ariens family, and helped facilitate the donation to LifeStriders.  Tim understands and appreciates the community of volunteers that are giving back to those with special needs and wanted to be able to join them and give back some of his own good fortune to the community. By facilitating this new relationship between LifeStriders and Ariens company, and this tractor donation, he has done just that.  Thank you Tim, for being an advocate for LifeStriders and for delivering this awesome machine to the organization.

The next time you are in the market for any power equipment, please consider Ariens, Gravely,and Midwest Power Equipment in Waukesha for your needs, in recognition of the very significant donation they have made to LifeStriders.  Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this contribution happen.

The family and friends of LifeStriders were treated to an exciting blend of perfect weather, overwhelming attendance and support, skillful demonstrations, a heartwarming lesson, and inspiring speakers and authors for its Grand Opening weekend.  It was a weekend we will never forget and a weekend that has ushered in a new era of LifeStrders in this beautiful new facility.

Many people made this event possible and had a hand in donating their time, experience, materials, and money to mark this special occasion. We are thankful to all of you for your contributions.  
Special thanks goes out to:

Volunteers and Sponsors - Everyone who contributed to making this day happen
Stephanie Benz and Judy Pequet (and their help) - For planning, organizing, and executing this flawless event
Lori Voecks, Liz Wolff - For putting on the horse show and volunteer presentation, and for running the first successful programs in the new facility.  You are the new faces of LifeStriders and we are excited to have you aboard.
Jesus Guevara Family - Preparing the facility for the Grand Opening
Rupert Isaacson and Iliane Lorenz - Showcasing the Horse Boy Methods and media for friends of LifeStriders
Barb and Tim Abair Family - For sponsoring the Horse Boy Method Day
Robin Gohsman, Nicole Blemberg, Heidi Miller - Event Promotion, Organization, Graphic Design
Food Donations - Café Manna, La Casa de Esperanza, Mama Mia's
Party Favors and Materials - Sentry Foods, Target-Delafield, Piggly Wiggly, Pick N Save- Wales and Delafield
The Burie Family Band - Great musical talent and spirit.
Don Koepp - For running a first class expansion campaign to make this day happen
Dan Swinehart, Infinity Custom Homes, and Contractors - Volunteer General Contracting for LifeStriders Buildout
Steve Lirette - Volunteer Electrician for buildout of LifeStriders
Dave Schalk of Fantasy Interiors and Sara Eagleboy - Volunteer Painting and Signage
Kathy End - Outstanding volunteer efforts
Presidential Service Award Winners - Nicole Neidinger, Natalie Lirette, Ruthie Barbour
Ribbon Cutters - Omar Benitez, Chris Pequet, Carley Churches, Arianna Worcester, Matthew Knowles, Nicole Neidinger, Becky Manke
Board of Direcors - Dixon Benz II, Carl Barkow, Judy Pequet, Barb Abair, Veronica Sosa, Rob Conley

Here are Excerpts from Rob and Veronica's speeches from the grand opening.  Thank you to everyone who made this day possible:

From Rob:
"First, Lets all thank Stephanie Benz, Judy Pequet, and everyone who contributed to helping get ready for this exciting day.  Thank you."

A recap of The Horse Boy Method Day can be read in a separate post here.

"Many, Many, Many, M A N Y ..people have helped financially to make today possible and there is not enough time in the day to thank you all individually, but we do want to thank every one of you here and many more who are not able to be here, for the incredible gift you have purchased for this community. Together with the help of this group of volunteers and staff here today, all of volunteers who have come before you, this board of directors, our generous advisors, I am very happy to say.....WE DID IT!!! You have all invested, and hopefully will continue to invest a part of your life to the service of your community, and as Rupert so accurately summed up some of his comments yesterday "It Takes a Village to raise a child or adult with special needs." So please give yourselves a round of applause for what you are doing to help your community. Thank you.

Veronica and I have been dreaming of getting LifeStriders to a larger indoor facility since the winter of 2005 and our Board of directors and advisors have been working tirelessly to try and make this happen for this community.  In 2009, Don Koepp took a look at all of our efforts to date and decided he would volunteer to chair the Expansion Fundraising Effort for LifeStriders and lead it to this day.  Don's commitment to this project has not wavered once, and with the combined effort of everyone here and mentioned, this day of LifeStriders owning its own indoor riding facility has been realized and we are all thankful to Don for helping to make this happen. 

Unfortunately Don could not be here today due to an illness, but his wife Linda is here and if you see her perhaps you could express your gratitude, to her, of Don's and her efforts to guiding and working toward today's glory. Please give a round of applause for Don's volunteer efforts.

LifeStriders has completed phase 1 of a 3 phase build out.  In Phase 1 we needed to first establish a safe an efficient place to give lessons and do work.  Dan Swinehart of Infinity Custom Homes volunteered his time, friends time, and resources to making this happen and we all owe him a debt of gratitude.   Thank you Dan and all of your contractors and friends ,for lending your expertise, time, and materials to continuing to help make this dream a realty for this community.   

I also want to give a special thanks to Steve Lirette for volunteering all of his time and Electrical expertise to building out the electrical for this facility.  This has been a HUGE savings to the organization and we are thankful to you.

Another special thanks goes to Dave Schalk and Sara Eagleboy for their volunteer help painting and creating signage for LifeStriders.  Dave is an accomplished painter and artist and we are lucky to have someone of his caliber helping make the facility look great!

Lastly I want to take take a minute to thank the person who has been the shepherd for this program for the last 6 years.  Veronica Sosa, has braved some interesting days of finding odd shaped potatoes in the paddock, saving baby deer and watching robots diffuse strange packages while giving a lessons, chasing horses around the neighborhood in 40 degree sleet, and putting up with her husband's whims and visions of a therapeutic riding center for the last 6 years.  She is a long way from her homes in Argentina, the Valley,  and her core skill set, and yet throughout this journey she has been a rock and figurehead for LifeStriders and all of you since its beginning.  None of this would have happened without her/your efforts, and as we begin passing the torch to the next generation of shepherds for LifeStriders, we all want her to know that we are all forever thankful for what she has done for this community."

From Veronica:
Many of you have heard the LifeStriders’ Story before and know about how Rob and I envisioned starting a therapeutic program that offered a more integrative approach to working with families and people with special needs. Since LifeStriders began in our back yard in 2005, we dreamed big…really big. Every year since then, many of you have shared in wonderful memories that were created there. You have heard the heartwarming stories and strides that our kids and volunteers have made when we highlight our yearly LifeStrider of the Year recipients at our events. Matthew’s always stand out to me because in our first year, we were able to see him  take those first assisted steps and Omar went from barely being able to sit up, to riding hands-free on his horse. He argued with me every step of the way but I have pictures to prove that he rode with a fabulous smile that touched every one of us. Nicole struggled with a number of social issues. That first summer she cleaned parts of a horse she knew not existed, she mentored young riders and new volunteers, continuously helps us train new staff, now has a real part-time job while maintaining excellent grades at school and was recently represented LifeStriders at the Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon where LifeStriders was recognized and received a grant from the Women and Girls Fund of Waukesha County. This year, Carley bravely climbed back onto her horse following an injury…. Those steps, those smiles, those accomplishments and that bravery defines LifeStriders. This is who we are. LifeStriders are those volunteers who rush here after work and school to help make therapeutic riding happen for over 4000 individual riding lessons since 2005. Lori taught as a volunteer therapeutic riding instructor for 5 years at LifeStriders before coming on board as one of our program coordinators.

Let’s talk about dreaming big…almost three years ago Barb and I toured this place when we heard that it might be coming on the market. After seeing a number of other places, we knew from the first moment we walked in that this was going to be the home of LifeStriders. We were also very aware that it exceeded what we could afford. I would drive by and say to myself “this is it…we found it”. When my parents visited from Argentina, I would drive them through very slowly explaining why this was it. I wanted this indoor arena so badly every time we had to cancel lessons because the weather was bad or when it became too cold to ride outdoors. It was a big dream for us then…but today, because of the incredible support that we received from so many generous people, the dream is a reality. This March we began lessons and added many new riders. Lifestriders added advanced riding lessons to accommodate our more experienced participants, Liz run’s the Traumatic Brain Injury class for adults and seniors and Is about to launch the LifeStriders Heroes Program that will target veterans with Spinal cord injuries. Ann Carl and Liz plan to expand the social skills program again this year. 

Brenna’s parents were kind enough to share with us the some of the improvements they have seen in their child since she began to ride.  In the first 3 months, we have been amazed and shocked at the positive impact it has had on our daughter and our family.  We, along with her therapists and teachers have noticed significant improvements in her academic skills, communication skills and most importantly with her anxiety. Each week we have been impressed with the different exercises the therapists have put Brenna and her team through.  We have spent years working on throwing and catching with Brenna, she got on a horse and can do both!  LifeStriders has helped us as parents of a child with special needs make connections with other parents.  Riding Cody has given Brenna (and our family) something to look forward to every weekend…

When one of our riders speaks his first words, or when they play catch for the first time, make and sustain eye contact, ride independently…these are big dreams. We are so excited for what is yet to come for LifeStriders. Because of all of the people who have been a part of this great community that has formed around this cause. When I come here and see everyone working hard and coming together for the people we serve, I realize that LifeStriders brings out the best of who we are. It has done that from the very beginning and it will continue to do that for years to come.

Thank you for joining us in this celebration. Thank you for making this possible.

Many of you here at LifeStriders work with children and adults who are on the autism spectrum.  Autism does not appear to be going away and currently is detected in between 1:100 and 1:60 American births.  LifeStriders is having incredible successes with its Autistic clients, as many of them establish their first communications with family and caregivers here. More than ever we are all very interested in continuing to improve our role and ability to serve this clientele with effective equine therapy, and for this reason we brought in someone who is having some great successes in working with this special need.

Those of you that were here yesterday, and for those that were not, we were very lucky to be introduced to The Horse Boy Method's thoughtful champions - Rupert Isaacson and Iliane Lorenz.  A big thank you goes to the Abair family for making their visit possible.

The two of them put on a very thoughtful and polished four and a half hour demo, and took questions during two movie screenings of "A View From the Inside - An Interview with Temple Grandin" and "The Hose Boy", for instuctors and parents in WI and 4 surrounding states, who work with, or are interested in working with, children and adults on the autism spectrum.  The Horse Boy Method is based on Rupert's experiences in working with horses and his own son, who lives with autism, and is the main focus of the Book, and Movie, The Horse Boy.  Rupert, Iliane and Kristen (Rupert's Wife) have been busy sharing their knowledge and experiences in various medias and demonstrations and we were lucky to have Rupert and Iliane here to discuss their successes, to answer your questions about their methods and experiences as we all work to understand, appreciate, and help those with Autism.  Their efforts here, and everywhere, are helping this generation, and many to come, grapple with this pandamic and we all should be very thankful for their work.

The staff and volunteers at LifeStriders are all looking forward to developing their new skills with "Freddy", and in the Horse Boy Methodology, and we are all looking forward to working with The Horse Boy Method Staff again in the near future.  It was an excellent learning experience for everyone who attended and we have had nothing but positive feedback since.

To the staff at the Horse Boy Method:  Thank you for enabling our organization with exciting new insights into people with autism, horses, and ourselves.  You all have inspired us to do more for our community on the autism spectrum.

Here is a Video from the Day: