Lis Hartel, Danish Equestrian Legend, Dies

Lis Hartel and Jubilee

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Lis Hartel, an equestrian who won two Olympic silver medals for Denmark in the 1950s despite being paralyzed below the knees because of polio, has recently died, according to the Danish Equestrian Federation. She was 87.

Lis Hartel’s equestrian career was one of true heroism.

In 1944, at age 23, Hartel was paralyzed by polio.

She gradually regained use of most of her muscles, although she remained paralyzed below the knees.  Her arms and hands also were affected.

Against medical advice, she continued to ride but needed help to get on and off the horses.

After three years of rehabilitation, she was able to compete in the Scandinavian riding championships.

In 1952, she was chosen to represent Denmark in the Helsinki Olympics.   Prior to this time women were not permitted to compete in the Olympic Equestrian events.

Even though she required help on and off her horse, Jubilee, she won the Olympic Silver Medal.

Lis Hartel and Jubilee
with Gold Medalist, Henri St-Cyr

Following her stunning performance, as Lis was helped down from her horse, a gentleman rushed to her side. It was the Gold medal winner, Henri Saint Cyr. He carried her to the victory platform for the medal presentation.

It was one of the most emotional moments in Olympic history.

Lis Hartel at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.
She became the first woman ever to share
an Olympic podium with men.

In 1954, Lis Hartel won the unofficial World Championships in Aachen, and the Olympic Silver Medal in the 1956 Olympics held in Stockholm. She became the Danish National Dressage Champion seven times.

Lis Hartel was the first Scandinavian woman entered into The International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in New York, and was named one of Denmark’s all-time top 10 athletes in 2005.

In 1992, Hartel was included in the Scandinavian country’s Hall of Fame.

Lis Hartel is widely credited with inspiring the therapeutic riding schools that are now located throughout the world.

Shortly after winning the Olympic medal, Lis Hartel and her therapist founded Europe’s first Therapeutic Riding Center. This soon came to the attention of the medical community and Therapy Riding Centers spread throughout Europe.

By the late 1960’s equine riding was accepted by the America Medical Association as an “invaluable therapeutic tool”.

Today, the spirit of Lis Hartel lives on around the world.

Through her inspiration countless handicapped children and adults have become heroes in their own lives through their work with horses.

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Re-written from news sources

Draft Horses Make Dream Come True

 

Amos and Andy

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At 82 years old, you might think that “Harry,” a resident at ManorCare Health Services – Lebanon, Pennsylvania, might want to spend his time relaxing. 

After farming until he was 24, and eventually retiring from a local macaroni factory, Harry had done his share of hard work. 

But when asked what his Heart’s Desire was, he thought back to those simpler days when he was working the farm with horses, mules and single tractor. 

He told the staff at ManorCare that he would once again like to drive a team of mules. The staff at ManorCare worked with a local farmer and an Amish driver to arrange a wagon. 

But instead of mules, they arranged for two black Percheron draft horses named Amos and Andy. 

According to Harry, that was okay because horses were easier to drive than mules, and he remembers that sometimes mules would run away from him and he would end up just “holding on.” 

With the help of a step stool, Harry climbed into the wagon and took a 15-minute lap around the farm, and then returned to pick up some friends from ManorCare and several reporters for the second lap.  

He reminisced about growing corn, oats, wheat and barley when he was younger, and kept the gentle giants Amos and Andy, who stood 17 hands high, under control. 

According to ManorCare Lebanon‘s admissions director, the event was a wonderful example of how the residents at ManorCare, and nursing homes around the country, still get a kick out of reliving simple pleasures. 

The staff looks forward to fulfilling more wishes in the near future. 

ManorCare Heart’s Desire

Archie, The Loveable Newfoundland ~ Update

Archie Has Successful Surgery

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Archie, a Newfoundland, provides smiles and laughter to children at Casa Pacifica, a Ventura County, California oasis for abused, neglected and emotionally disturbed children.

But this therapy dog recently needed help of his own. He needed an expensive surgery from an injury sustained while playing with another dog. But the non-profit organization did not have any funds for Archie’s surgery.

News got out about Archie’s need for surgery and donations flooded Casa Pacifica. They received $6,000 in donations and even received donations from the UK. Even a student at Casa Pacifica’s school saved $5 in pennies to help pay for Archie’s surgery.

When Archie sustained something similar to an ACL injury in a human, newspapers and television stations ran stories, and donations started coming in to Casa Pacifica. The Associated Press picked up Archie’s story, and it was soon appearing nationwide.

“We’ve met probably 150 new people we never heard from before,” said Vicky Murphy, Archie’s caretaker and director of operations and development for Casa Pacifica.

“There are messages on a Newfoundland blog, and other dogs write to him. It’s adorable. They all talk about the kids and all the work he does to take care of the kids.”

Archie has received 60 pieces of fan mail in a single day

Veterinarians recently performed surgery on Archie. The beloved dog will need six to eight weeks of rest before he’ll be able to use both legs again, and three to four months for a full recovery.

Then Archie should be back at Casa Pacifica to bring smiles to the children and give them some big hugs.

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If you’ve not heard about Archie, be sure to read this earlier post “Archie … Almost A Pony“.

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Link: Archie’s Website

Link: News Report

Have A Spooky Horse? Try Tchaikovsky!

Ponies soothed by classical music

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Horses and ponies at a Derbyshire stables are being acclimatized to the noises of bonfire night – by listening to Tchaikovsky.

It is well known that fireworks can startle and frighten many pets.

But Kenstud Pony Rescue, near Belper, England, is employing Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 Overture, complete with cannons and explosions.

The music is played to the animals in the stable block to steady their nerves in the run-up to bonfire night.

Lesley Manger, of Kenstud Pony Rescue, said: “If there’s music like that playing all the while, they don’t hear the fireworks, they’re not bothered about them.

“So it’s better to make sure there’s enough background noise before the fireworks are let off.

“I’ve used it for 30 odd years, so it does work!”

Story Link:

Horses Get Second Chance

Lucy ambles slowly through the middle of a big barn at Harmony Farms near Poulsbo, Washington. The thin white mare’s back is bowed and you can count every rib. But her soft brown eyes turn a trusting gaze toward farm manager Allen Warren. 

The mare has gained 39 pounds since she arrived here three weeks ago and is well on the road to recovery from a neglect situation. Lucy is the latest addition to the 19 horses that have been taken in permanently at Horse Harbor Foundation at Harmony Farms, an 11-acre horse sanctuary for abandoned, neglected and abused horses.

These are the horses that no one wants and that the Humane Society of Kitsap County has not been able to place for adoption. Here, thanks to Allen, his wife Maryann Peachey-Warren, and their group of dedicated Foundation volunteers, these animals can live out their natural lives in safety, peace and dignity.

Choco is blind; Desi has a clubfoot; Honey is a former racehorse with severe arthritis and Buckshot nearly starved to death.  Without the intervention of Horse Harbor Foundation and most of the horses on this farm would likely have perished.

Many of these horses are now amazingly fit and able to help pay for their feed and care by providing mounts for Foundation student members who pay to ride them.

The emphasis of this student program is to teach responsible horse ownership such as anatomy, grooming, checking for medical conditions, riding styles, saddling and bridling. Scouting badges can also be earned and public clinics

“Two of our students on two of our rescued horses walked off with three ribbons each at a local horse show recently,” says Warren proudly.

But the main emphasis here is on the care of the horses and creating a harmonious relationship between humans and horses.

Story Link:

Horses Help Injured GIs Walk Again

Army Sgt. Christian Valle, who lost both his legs in Iraq, trots on a white Percheron horse, with help from members of the Old Guard at Arlington, Va. 

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The soldiers and the horses from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment at Arlington, also known as The Old Guard, are part of a pilot program at the WalterReedArmyMedicalCenter in nearby Washington to see if troops with prosthetic legs can regain some mobility through horseback riding.

The black and white horses usually are used to pull caissons during military funerals at neighboring ArlingtonNationalCemetery.

They are now also being used to help soldiers in their long struggle to learn to walk again, to regain strength and to believe in their new limbs.

Therapeutic riding is widely used for people with physical, emotional and mental disabilities, said Mary Jo Beckman, a therapeutic riding instructor.

People and horses walk using the same circular motion in their hips, she said, and riding on the back of a horse can help a person feel and recall that movement.

“Their bodies are getting moved as if they are walking when they are sitting on the horse,” Beckman said.

Spec. Maxwell Ramsey made small kissing sounds as he tried to coax Wylie, a muscular black Percheron horse, over to the platform where the soldier stood.

He swung the metal and plastic limb that is his new left leg over Wylie’s back and sat down in the saddle.

Soldiers from the unit walked alongside Ramsey and Wylie throughout the session in the yard surrounded by the brick stables that house the horses.

“It’s all about soldiers helping soldiers,” said Col. Bob Pricone, commander of the Old Guard.

Story Link:

 

New Starting Gate for Inmates, Retired Race Horses

For ex-racehorses, new life; for the inmates, new skills.

The newest residents at Putnamville Correctional Facility aren’t there for bad behavior.

Prison officials this week brought in the first six of 50 retired racehorses that will take up residence at a neighboring farm, sparing them from likely death.

The Thoroughbreds will be made available for adoption. They also will be trained so they can be placed in riding programs for the handicapped and other therapeutic programs.

“It’s a win-win situation for the state, the horses and the offenders,” prison Superintendent Al Parke said Friday.

“We’ll be providing a viable alternative for horses that would otherwise be ending up in the slaughterhouse.”

What’s more, prisoners will be trained in how to care for horses.

At least initially, about 20 inmates will work with the horses, learning how to groom them and spot health problems. Eventually, more will participate.

Because the farm is across the highway from the prison, only nonviolent offenders cleared for off-site work will be allowed to participate.

Other states that have created similar programs have seen the good it does for prisoners, many of whom have never had another creature that depends on them, said Barbara Holcomb, the prison’s equine instructor.

“It will, I’m sure, fill some voids,” she said. “It’s going to make them feel like they’re worth something.

They’re giving back to some animal that wasn’t going to have a chance at life. They know how it feels to be given a second chance.”

Two of the six horses that arrived this week had been slated to be killed, she said.

Prisoners and prison staff jointly built the barns that will house the horses, mostly from lumber milled from trees on the prison grounds.

Prisoners who go through the program will learn not only how to care for horses, but also business skills required to run a stable, which could be a viable occupation for them once they’re released, Holcomb said.

Indianapolis Star, Andy Gammill