Released Oct. 3, 2007
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Let´s visit a ranch where a horse and rider are trotting across an arena. The onlookers smile, because this is the first time in this rider´s life that she has been able to trot her horse all by herself.
The rider is Jane Phillips, who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. She will never walk unaided, but she is laughing with joy as she trots on this horse by herself.
Today we´ll learn about the therapeutic riding center that is providing new confidence and encouragement for Jane and others with special challenges.
Ken Scroggs founded the therapeutic equine riding center near Manhattan, Kan., calling it Hope Ranch. Ken was born in Topeka and grew up in North Carolina, where he showed horses and dairy cattle. He found he loved horses and youth activities, so went on to earn college degrees in education and psychology.
For a time, Ken showed horses in the Southwest, was a coach, and then went into business in Las Vegas. His business was real estate property management -- managing some 4,000 units and working like crazy, but saying to himself, "There´s got to be more to life than this."
In 1998, he moved back to Kansas and came to Manhattan, where he was director of Big Brothers Big Sisters for three years. By 2003, however, he was doing some in-depth Bible study and thinking about combining his interest in horses and his heart for kids. He still describes taking a trip to Iola, where he felt God was calling him to operate a therapeutic riding center.
"I was saying, `I´m too old for this. I don´t have the resources!" he recalled.
But, Ken continued to feel the calling, so decided to give it a try. He found some like-minded people in the Manhattan area and went to work to organize an equine riding center for the handicapped and disabled.
A board of directors was organized. A location was identified. Papers were filed, so the new organization would have non-profit status with the IRS.
Just as operations were about to begin, however, came this news: The owner of the horse facility that they had identified had changed his mind. The group would not be able to operate a therapeutic riding program there after all.
Some people would have panicked. After all, the group that was about ready to begin riding suddenly had no facility.
But Ken said, "Look, God got us into this. He will see us through it."
Within a month, a new facility had been identified. The project was back on track.
In September 2006, riding began at Hope Ranch, a leased facility in a rural setting between Manhattan and Riley, Kan. Riley itself is a town of just 838 people. Now, that´s rural.
Hope Ranch´s therapeutic horseback program now is an amazing way to offer mobility and exercise to people who are mentally or physically challenged. It requires a lot of volunteers, who help each rider mount and then walk alongside the rider's horse.
More information about the program and volunteering is on the Web at http://www.hoperanchks.org .
"When Jane was able to trot that horse all by herself, she laughed out loud as she rode around the arena," said Mary Alice Phillips, whose daughter is otherwise wheelchair-bound. "Riding has improved Jane´s muscle tone and abdominal control. It has built her self esteem and self-confidence."
Phillips added that Ken Scroggs is unfailingly encouraging to all of the kids.
"We are amazingly thankful for Hope Ranch and so grateful for everyone involved. It is such a blessing to these kids," she said.
Although we now must leave this ranch, we were privileged to see a very special rider trotting a horse for the first time. We salute Ken Scroggs and all of the volunteers and directors of Hope Ranch for making such a difference in the lives of others. They don´t run a typical Kansas ranch that raises horses, cattle or hay. Their ranch produces something even more important -- hope.
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http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/
Contact: Ron Wilson, (785) 532-7690, rwilson@ksu.edu
