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

Advice Column For Horses ~ Chapter Two

Dear Mane Mare
A “Dear Abby” for horses
and their problems with people … (us).

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Dear Mane Mare,
We’ve been doing dressage for a while now, but apparently we need to have more collection. That’s according to the new coach. But I think that collection is what is causing all the sore muscles I have since we switched coaches.  What do you recommend?
*Achy

Dear Achy,
I think you’re right about the cause of your aches and pains. Make it perfectly clear to both rider and coach that if they want collection, they should hire an agency. For some reason, people don’t think collection is quite so desirable if it comes through an agency.

~~

Dear Mane Mare,
My owner is the trendsetter at our stable, which means that I am the first one to wear the newest trend in tack, suffer through the “improved” training methods and try to eat the hottest supplements on the market. She’s driving me nuts! I’m just a …
*Routine Guy

Dear Routine Guy,
Set your own trend: refuse to eat any supplements, refuse to go along with the new training methods and destroy all new tack.

~~
 

Dear Mane Mare,
The instructor says that I should be put into a better frame. What does that mean? Will it hurt?  Will I like it? Is a frame a good thing, or a bad thing?
*Frameless

Dear Frameless,
For those of us who do not naturally possess the desired frame, yes, it can hurt, and it is always hard work.  If the instructor demands a good frame, tell her to go to a gallery.  She’ll fit right in there once you add a little color to her. Black and blue are nice colors.

~~

From Ride Magazine

Unruly Stallion Calms Down Playing Football

Kariba the horse has become a regular Mane Rooney – after his trainer discovered his amazing passion for football.

The troubled stallion was once so unruly, it regularly threw its riders and was nearly left on the bench permanently. But thanks to horse psychologist Emma Massingale, he has been placated – by his love of soccer.

The 16-year-old animal has mastered passing, shooting, dribbling and hoofing a ball around his field. He has even moved on to nudging his large blue ball with his nose – in a horsey-style header.

Emma, 25, rehabilitates dangerous steeds at her training school, Natural Equine, based in Bradworthy, Devon, England.

She said: “I’m not interested in football myself. But I looked at the players and thought ‘my horse could do that’. “We started by leading him to the ball with a rope and I rewarded him with a pat if he touched or kicked it.

“Horses naturally shy away from unusual, bright objects that move towards them, so that had to be overcome. “Luckily, he is such a show-off, he took to it immediately and there was no looking back.

“He loves to learn new tricks and will parade around showing off his skills without any instruction. If you leave him in the pen with a football, he is happy there for hours kicking and heading it about on his own.

Kariba, who stands 16.2 hands high, was Emma’s first-ever horse after he was bought by her father for her to ride eight years ago.

Named after a town on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, the steed is a thoroughbred Irish Draft Cross. But the jet-black stallion had such a bad attitude, the local pony club told Emma she should sell him straight away because he would never be safe to ride.

Emma later discovered Kariba’s previous owners decided to get rid of him after he threw off his rider during a public parade.

She said: “When I first got him, he was out of control and I spent most of the time on my backside after he’d thrown me off. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, I already loved him too much.

“Instead I travelled to Australia to a camp in the outback where I learned to understand the psyche of each horse.”  On her return, she set her new skills in action on Kariba, who is now the star pupil among the 13 horses being trained at the school.

The horse soon began playing with the ball by himself – known as “training at liberty” – and even invented his own moves.

Kariba favours a larger than average football – a 65cm version so he can get a good boot down the field.

Emma said: “He will take a shot at goal, but seems to prefer playing about in a midfield position. I personally think he’d do best as a goalkeeper – you wouldn’t get much past him.”

Story Link:

Many Ways To Enjoy A Shire

Legally-Blind Rider Competes In National Horse Show

Galloping toward an obstacle during a jumping competition, rider Tory Watters suddenly realized something had gone wrong. The triple combination she and her horse were approaching was much too high.

There were gasps from the spectators, then the only sound was the horse’s hoofs pounding the ground as the pair closed in on the towering triple jump.

Too close to turn away, she had to go for it. Even then, she knew the horse could still crash while attempting to jump high and long enough to clear it.  

“You could have heard a pin drop,” she said. “It was a triple setup for the afternoon grand prix riders. We got over it. Thank goodness I was on a retired grand prix horse.

“Afterwards, I pulled up and walked out of the ring hyperventilating. The photographer later told me he couldn’t even pick up his camera to take a picture, he was in such shock.”

She calls it the most spectacular wrong jump she has made in more than 20 years of competing.

Though she walks the courses and memorizes the layout before each competition, she admits it could happen again. 

 After all, she’s legally blind.     

Teaming up with a powerful, spirited horse and guiding it over an intricate course of obstacles is no easy sport for the sighted, let alone a person who can only see shadows in a small, limited area of one eye.

But Tory never has considered giving up riding and competing. She thrives on challenges, and horses are her passion.

Tory Watters was a happy, athletic, horse-crazy teenager, living in Cincinnati with her parents, when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and damaged optic nerves.

Tory had been riding horses since the age of two and had been winning blue ribbons in the children’s hunter division for many years. At the age of 14, major headaches and blurred vision resulted in a life-changing operation.

But Tory went right back to what she always loved and knew best: horses, jumping and competition. While Tory sees life as a big, impressionist painting, she learned to adjust. Her positive attitude has made Tory a winner in more ways than one.

Tory competes at the highest amateur hunter levels. Tory’s riding success has been so great that she was selected to compete in the National Horse Show in Wellington – only the top 20 or so horse and rider teams in the United States, in each division, are invited to compete at The National.

Before a competition, she usually walks the course with trainer Ken Smith of Ashland Farms in Wellington, where she has lived for six years.

Smith will tell her things she can’t see that might slow her down or be a problem. “He might say, you can’t see it, but the footing is kind of deep in front of jump No.1, so help your horse a little bit, give him a little more leg,” she said. “Or he might say, ‘By the way, the photographer is standing right next to Jump 3, don’t run him over.”

She looks for horses, she said, that “won’t have a meltdown if I meet the jump at a little bit of a wrong angle. Or, if I jump a jump backwards, it’s not going to shatter their confidence in me.”

With her wry sense of humor, she always gives her horses eye-related names, like Eyewitness, See For Yourself or Eye Remember Rio.

“I thank God every day for this life. Who knew at 14 that I would have a brain tumor? I know how precious every day is. I could not be here tomorrow.”

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:

 

Archie … Almost A Pony

The 165-pound Newfoundland works his magic daily with abused and neglected children.

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The toddlers spot him the instant he steps out of his office. They swarm him like bees, shouting his name:

“Archie! Archie! Archie!”

He drops to the ground, eye-level with 3-year-olds. They lean into him, hug him, climb on him.

At Casa Pacifica, a Ventura County, California oasis for abused, neglected and emotionally disturbed children, patience and calm aren’t just virtues; they’re job requirements.

Archie has worked at the leafy campus in Camarillo for two years, and he doesn’t flinch when small hands pull his ears and wandering fingers poke his nostrils.

Instead, he bestows slobbery kisses with a pink tongue as large as a hand towel.

“Yucky!” the kids squeal, hugging the 165-pound dog all the harder.

Archie was Vicki Murphy’s idea. Her boss, Steven Elson, a psychologist and Casa Pacifica’s executive director, was initially skeptical of so-called therapy dogs.

Her husband was doubtful for different reasons; he knew where the massive canine, who looks like an extra-fuzzy black bear but is actually a Newfoundland, would spend nights and weekends.

But Murphy, 51, Casa Pacifica’s director of operations and development, had watched dogs work magic with children before. A former private school teacher, she once raised a puppy in her classroom.  

If dogs could teach privileged children about responsibility and nurturing, Murphy mused, maybe they could help kids whose human role models had failed them utterly.

Besides, she’d said to her husband when they picked up the 9-week-old Archie, then a cubbish 26 pounds, “How big can he get?” 

Some children are initially frightened of Archie. They quickly get over it.“When we see really large creatures, we tend at first to be taken aback,” said Howard Miller, a Casa Pacifica therapist. “But Archie is a very lovable-looking and acting dog. Immediately the kids sense someone who is warm and cuddly. Being near him gives them a great sense of security.”

Wired teenagers walk out their frustrations next to Archie. Lonely adolescents sit beside him on the green lawn, arms draped across his broad back.

Kids who are having trouble in school practice reading aloud to him, choosing from a library of books about Newfies.

A toddler who was 11 months old when she arrived at Casa Pacifica spoke her first word there: “Archie.”

As for the drooling, Murphy and the other staffers have learned to live with what the kids call Archie’s “schnarf.” Murphy bought stacks of white cotton shop towels, and everyone from the receptionist to Elson keeps one nearby to wipe slobber off walls, desks and laps.A local quilting group has made 20 Newfoundland-size bibs, embroidered with Archie’s name or phrases such as “World’s Greatest Smoocher.” He has a Valentine’s bib and one for St. Patrick’s Day. For the Casa Pacifica “prom,” Archie wore a tuxedo bib with a boutonniere. 

At Casa Pacifica, Archie starts each day by greeting everyone who works there. Unfolding from the back seat of Murphy’s Chrysler in the morning (her husband was right about those nights and weekends), he pokes his big, square head into every office before posting himself at the door to await the children.

Archie Update

Story Link: LA Times