i
Nothing does as
‘ muclafor the insides
of ez mom as the
outsicles of cz horse. ‘
—Theodore Roosevelt   ~  l 3  
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` A l·`  -. . 2 ··
l - "{° xv ll ff ., ·    '  A   - ' ~
l whose lives depend on ll . 1 } = ` V S    V—· ·~  
l ag1iculture...and the farmer’s ev-   , _,     lar" "“  
l eryday triumphs and tragedies." ‘"      lf. `* ·· `
A She remembers retired Veteii-     P Q
nary Science Professor Ward   “   * ` E
Crowe as "most inspi1·ing." Nieto    
recalls his courses in anatomy and   E
h siolo and disease and h -   ‘   CL
glgla Of ga fam allllllal, alldya A student rider participates in a stretching exercise facing backward.
$;Of(§haEthl?S Sefeg her Wen' ments provide only a fraction of operating dollars needed. Dedicated volunteers and l
thill b?f2d0?§$O.$WE2¥2$§€‘Z.0 Otheffuedmgmakcitwork-. . J
lookgit u ,, g "I notice how well these kids respond to a rout1ne," says Suzanne Bowman, a middle l
She nliéimams an eclectic mix school counselor at Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville and recently certified l
~ f f . 1 . Sh lb C therapeutic riding instructor. "They corne 1n, get a helmet, mount the horse and go
O am emma S m e X Oumy through warm—ups. They know what to do next. I absolutely love the experience. That’s
to the dehght of the fann s young why Fm here On my day Off ,,
clients and to conserve land by ro- `
  :2512% ;?l¥§;};%e§f§°g$§r2i§L;` erhaps most telling is reaction of parents, who witness the struggle of their
l d h . . N. special needs children day in and day out. Listen to Fred Moore, parent of 6-
l rea sr W en Ume P erm1tS’ lem year—old Jonathan, in the program for two years: "This has been such a blessing.
l game; Egllulgals fg anthem J h That little kid, on that gigantic horse, has grown in muscle strength and tone and confi-
Stéiibgck S35 D  O H dence level. We never thought it possible."
Ernest Hclmn ga and E B’ Sharon Potter says 9-year-old daughter Sarah was in the first group at the farm four
Wh. . g f y f h ` ‘ years ago. “She knows many of the commands for the horse. We’ve seen an improve-
lte are lust 8 GW O t e names ment in language skills and her ability to work with other people."
elf gOate’ HamaS’ COWS eugjd Sheep Brian and Allison Jones say son, Bailey, 7, has been in the program for three years:
t at reside at The Luci enter' "He likes the one—on—one activities (with teacher/volunteers)," says Brian. "His muscle
4 Nlete matches names based OH tone and posture have improved to where we now also have him enrolled in golf les-
the animals’ (and authors’) per- Sousa,
Senalmee . . Debbie Cannon, whose son Cameron, 4, is autistic and is one of the most recent en-
Heefather Werked Wlth ehll` rollees, says, “The people are caring and loving...so good to him. When we pull up to the
dren W‘lh.d‘Sab'l“‘€S and helpee farm, he claps his hands, he is so excited to be here."
Stem 8 Hdmg program fer the els` Cold weather closes the center each winter, when fund-raising events are held. A
A advarltagedet Mastersen Semen horse show in the fall lets the children show what they have learned.
Park m Lexmgtcm She Says beth "Luci" is an acronym. The letters represent love, understanding, care and involve-
parents are "wonderful role mod- mam.
l‘ els}, _ But there’s more to the name. Remember the yellow lab — Paula Nieto’s "best
The farm 1S operated by a fdcndy,
board of directors, which sets Har Hama was Lucll
policy and helps raise funding,
glghmlgteagglifgiguggglglrggion It John Scharfenberger isa retired assistant director of public relations at UK, once assigned P
Nonprofit Excellence Client pay_ to the UK Alurnni Association, He canlbe reechedet jgschal @eerthlink.net. A portion of this article
` first appeared in The Record, the Louisville Catholic Archdiocesan newspaper.
KENTUCKY ALUMNI 23