Meet Our Horses

It takes a special horse to be a Lift Me Up! horse.   To safely and gently carry a handicapped rider whose balance is frequently fragile and muscles unfit, a LMU! horse must be kind and steady.   Absolutely unflappable, as all of our horses are.

Our mounts are experienced veterans from a variety of previous careers. Many are wise senior citizens enjoying a productive golden age.

VALENTINE

Can you see the ‘heart’?

Lift Me Up! program participants, volunteers, and staff alike have a soft spot in their hearts for Valentine, our Belgian cross mare. Valentine joined the program as her first career, when she was only 6 years old. She has become an indispensable part of our program, carrying our taller riders cheerfully through ring exercises, dressage tests, trail rides, and state and local competitions. One of her more memorable appearances was as a ballerina in the costume class portion of a horse show held by the Therapeutic Riding Association of Virginia. Valentine is sweet and placid, gently reassuring her riders with her excellent ground manners and smooth, steady gaits.

Our own Valentine has received the NARHA 2005 Region 3 Horse of the Year Award by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). The award was presented at the 2005 NARHA Awards Banquet held on November 12 in Houston, Texas. Each year NARHA recognizes outstanding horses that make a lasting impact at a NARHA center. Although Valentine had little formal training in any discipline before arriving at Lift Me Up! four years ago, her quiet, willing attitude and forgiving temperament quickly made her an indispensable part of the program. She offers her riders, as well as the staff and volunteers who work with her, her own “valentine” each and every day: the gift of roots and wings, of belonging, acceptance and mobility.

BELLA

Student Melanie prepares for her lesson on our beloved Bella, assisted by volunteer Dodie Borland.

The largest member of our equine team, truly is the belle of the ball. Bella is a 17 year old Shire-Thoroughbred cross mare whose training includes eventing up to the training level, and dressage up to second level. The Shire is a draft horse breed that has been used throughout Great Britain. Shires are noted for their versatility and strength. They can be seen proudly transporting the carriages of royalty, or stoically toiling in the plowed fields. Bella comes to us through Judy G of Marshall, Virginia, where she was used primarily for trail riding. Bella has been an immediate favorite since arriving at Lift Me Up! in August 2005; her kind nature, broad back, and steady work ethic have helped riders’ balance, stability, and confidence immeasurably. This Black Beauty is worth her weight in gold…about 2,000 pounds!

FINN

GOT CARROTS?

One of our most distinctive equine partners, especially noteworthy for his Mohawk-style mane, is Finn, our fabulous Norwegian Fjord pony. Finn is strong and hardy enough to carry children and adults alike, yet he stands only 14.2 hands high. He is known as the “lap horse” of the program, always happy to welcome a rider or to take a participant on a jaunt down the trail. Left to his own devices, Finn has been known to play with our ring setups, open gates and doors, and engage in boisterous play with his field-mates. Finn was foaled in Osceola, Wisconsin, where he was trained to pull a sleigh, among other things. Our intrepid program founder, Colleen Zanin, found him in Virginia through the Internet and brought him to Lift Me Up!

TRAVELER

Traveler has been integral to us since he arrived at the farm in early September 2004. He is a tall, flea-bitten gray Appendix Quarter Horse with a particular affinity for rolling in mud, to the chagrin of our horse care staff. He was donated to Lift Me Up by Allyson L., who enjoyed years of foxhunting with him in the Charlottesville area. His foxhunting experience is a tremendous asset to us, rendering him calm and unflappable in the face of unfamiliar and unpredictable sounds, sights, and activities in the therapeutic riding arena. Traveler thrives on the attention he receives from
program riders and staff.

MO

Mo arrived at the farm in December 2006, and quickly staked her claim to the first stall in the barn. She happily presides there as the first horse to greet visitors to the program. Mo is a Clydesdale/Thoroughbred cross mare standing 16.2 hands tall, on lease to the program from Lynda Johnston of Gone to Ground Farm in Lovettsville, Virginia. She was foaled in 1986, and spent 14 of her 21 years in the hunt field, jumping and galloping cross-country. Mo is enjoying an active and vigorous retirement at Lift Me Up!, where she adroitly teaches our older and taller riders the finer points of equitation and dressage; despite her tall stature, she is able to collect her movement to carry even the most anxious riders surely and safely. She also enjoys trail rides to Great Falls Park and Riverbend Park, where she eagerly jumps fallen logs and other natural obstacles. We recently discovered that Mo has a real knack for musical dressage – she practically dances through rides set to music, matching the rhythm of the selected music like a metronome.

LEE

Lee (short for Leroy) is a Shire/Quarter Horse cross gelding owned by Anne Busseniers, who has generously made him available to the program. He stands at approximately 15.3 hands high, and was foaled in 1991. He displays the kind, quiet, and forgiving temperament that is characteristic of both his Shire and Quarter Horse forebears. Lee has experience with trail riding and fox hunting, and he still enjoys rides to the park when schedules permit. With his broad back and his steady, sure manner, Lee is a versatile horse, working equally well in walk-only lessons with physically challenged riders, and in trotting lessons with more independent riders. Lee thoroughly enjoys visiting with program riders and volunteers, and he is frequently surrounded by amused onlookers as he savors each treat he receives.

MELODY

FRENCHY

Horses Needed !!

LMU! does, on occasion, accept donations of safe, sane, and sound horses and ponies. Since we are a 501(c)(3) organization, any
such donation would be tax deductible.