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Sunday, April 29, 2012|
Palmyra, Virginia 45° Feels Like: 44° Fog And Mist
Lifestyles
Fairhunt riders find security in the saddle
Credit: The Daily Progress/Andrew Shurtleff
Louie Fusaro has a good laugh with Stormy the horse before his riding lesson at Fairhunt in Scottsville.
By:
|
Daily Progress
Published: April 29, 2012
Published: April 29, 2012
As Stormy nibbled sweet spring clover, his dismounted rider, Louie Fusaro, rubbed the horse’s sweaty neck and smiled.
For a half-hour, they had enjoyed a training session
under the guidance of Susan Skolnick-Lozano, owner of Fairhunt, a farm
near Scottsville. In the afterglow that often accompanies an enjoyable
accomplishment, the 42-year old horseman expressed his feelings for his
equine friend.
“Stormy is my guy,” Fusaro said as he held the slack rope attached to the horse’s leather halter. “I love being with him.
“It’s a lot of work to get him to trot and stuff
like that — it’s like pulling teeth — but it’s worth it in the end. We
have a ball. It’s comical.”
It also has been a lot of work for Fusaro to reach
the level of functionality he has achieved since suffering neurological
damage as an infant. Much of that has come from the loving relationships
he has had with horses.
“Louie has gone through a lot of therapy,” his
father, Lou Fusaro, said as he watched his son masterfully guiding the
horse around the riding ring. “Most movements that he knows he has had
to work on and learn.
“When he was eight, one of his therapists said she
wanted him to start riding in order to help his balance and
coordination. We were living in New York at the time and found this
absolutely magnificent place on Long Island called Caumsett [State
Historic] Park.
“We didn’t choose it because it’s magnificent, but
because of the instruction Louie got there. The husband-and-wife
instructors he had were fantastic.”
When Fusaro and his family moved to Lake Monticello
10 years ago, he immediately started looking for a riding facility for
his son. For a time they bounced from one to another without finding the
chemistry they were looking for.
When a friend living in Scottsville suggested they
check out Fairhunt, they did. For 12 years the nonprofit facility has
used gentle horses like Stormy to help children and adults with special
needs excel.
It took only one visit for father and son to know they had found exactly what they had been searching for.
“We were so glad to find Susan, and it has been a
perfect match,” Lou Fusaro said. “We’ve been coming here once a week for
10 years, and it’s because Susan is such a terrific instructor and this
is certainly an attractive place to ride.
“I’ll sit in my car and listen to the lesson, and I
hear a lot of encouragement through all of it with never a harsh tone.
To me, that’s a real instructor.
“Riding has been very good for Louie physically, but
it has also given him a lot of confidence. I tried it once and said,
‘That’s it for me,’ but he loves it, and it’s something that makes him
very happy.”
Skolnick-Lozano has been involved with horses all
her life. With a degree in education and psychology from Wayne State
University in Michigan she has more than 20 years of experience teaching
in public and private schools.
The mother of seven brought her love of horses and
education together in 2000, when she started teaching horseback riding
and horsemanship on her farm. Riders of all ages and abilities receive
what she terms “life lessons” there.
“My dad always told us that to work was an honor,”
Skolnick-Lozano said. “And I think there isn’t any place you can work
and see such tangible results as you can on a farm.
“I like to feel I’m helping my participants help
themselves, whether it’s the general public or those with special needs.
Everything is tailored to what works best for that particular
individual.
“The nice thing about working with horses is that
they present different levels at which you can interact with them. If a
student doesn’t want to ride, that’s fine, they can feed the horse a
carrot, walk them around or go for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.”
It’s hard to exaggerate the boundless thrill a child
feels when his little hands successfully guide a large animal like a
horse. And only his heart can measure the fulfillment that comes from
providing a horse with care, be it a brushing or a handful of grain.
There’s also the indefinable magic that occurs when
horse and rider enjoy a leisurely walk along a tree-skirted trail or an
exhilarating gallop across a field. With access to 300 acres on which to
ride, Fairhunt offers all these opportunities.
The farm also partners with Fertile Foundation, a
nonprofit that connects individuals and folks with special needs with
nature and animals. Chickens, goats, ducks and a large garden all add to
the atmosphere.
Skolnick-Lozano started offering equine activities
at the farm to help others. She couldn’t have imagined that a family
member would become one of its greatest success stories.
The riding school was well established nine years
ago when Skolnick-Lozano’s daughter, Rebekah Lozano, was in a near-fatal
car accident. The crash left her partially paralyzed and fighting for her life.
“When Rebekah had her accident, I just wanted her to
live,” Skolnick-Lozano said. “I asked a doctor how he saw the recovery
of people like this, because she was intubated at the time and in the
intensive care unit.
“He said to me the best thing I had ever heard. He
said, ‘It’s a lifetime of recovery.’ I thought, ‘Thank God, I can do
that,’ and I knew Rebekah could, too.
“She came home to the farm in a wheelchair when she
was 20 years old. Since then, she has inspired a lot of people with the
progress she has made with the help of the horses.”
Mother and daughter instinctively knew that an
important element in her recovery process would be provided by the
horses. At first, with her left side paralyzed, Lozano needed a spotter
on each side of the horse to keep her from falling off.
The 29-year-old has come a long way since then. She
said the trick has been not to give up, to stay determined and to figure
out ways around a problem, like using special reins that allow her to
ride with one hand.
“Riding has been so important for me after my
accident,” said Lozano, who, since her injuries, has won dressage
competitions against riders with normal abilities. “I can now stand,
walk and kind of run.
“There is so much therapy and different exercises I
do religiously every day. But riding is so amazing, because it makes me
enthusiastic. It’s much different than just working with myself, because
the horse becomes my partner.
“Horses are telepathic in a way. They will sense
there’s a difference with you and they will work with you, which is
great. They have a spirit that they give to you.
“I need people to help me with a lot of things, and
horses need things from me. I make myself able to help the horse, and
that’s a very encouraging thing.”
Those interested in sponsoring a horse, rider or learning more about Fairhunt can go to its website, www.fairhunt.com.
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