Karen Cole stepping down from Special Olympics equestrian program

April 21--MOULTRIE, Ga. -- A quietly successful Colquitt County program for youngsters appears to be coming to an end after a 20-year run.

Karen Cole is stepping down from operating the Special Olympics equestrian program, which has helped numerous special needs children since it began in 1996.

And she has been unable to find anyone willing to keep it going.

"I hate it," said Cole, who has led a group of volunteers in operating the program since 1997. "I just hate to let it go. But it's time."

The program, which is under the auspices of the Colquitt County School System'sProgram for Exceptional Children and Special Olympics, is partially funded by the Magnolia Civitan Club and has enabled youngsters with mental and physical disabilities to bond with horses and compete in shows.

But finding someone to put in the time required to operate the program -- which now has six riders -- will be difficult, she says.

"I'd love for someone to take it over," she said "It would be wonderful. But it's time-consuming. You have to feed the horses, water the horses, keep up with vaccinations. You have to be trained.

"And it has to be someone who loves special needs kids."

Geni Akridge started the program in 1996 and called it Magic Riding, after Jeff Whiddon'sMagic Plantation, where the children practiced.

A year later, Cole, who had never owned or ridden a horse, agreed to volunteer with the program. And when Akridge was forced to give it up, she was offered the opportunity to take it over.

Cole has been leading the program ever since.

She enlisted the Magnolia Civitan Club to purchase horses and provide for their care. The local Special Olympics program took care of entering the youngsters in competitions and provide training for the volunteers.

Not long after Cole took over the program, Alex and Sandy Hooks offered the use of one of their pastures and she and her volunteers began working with the children there.

The program has had as many as 15 middle school through high school aged children involved, although now there are just six.

The youngsters who have been involved have reaped the many rewards of bonding with their horses.

Cole says working with horses helps the children's confidence, their motor skills, their balance and their memories as they practice and compete in showmanship, western horsemanship and trail riding events.

"They have to learn to stay on the horse," she says. "They have a pattern they have to do and they have to remember it. They have to go left or right. They have to go to the mail box. We can't instruct them.

"And we had a kid once who didn't talk. But he became very verbal when he was riding a horse."

The horses serve as service animals, she says, much as dogs can.

"The riders connect with the horse," Cole says. "They ride the same horse. That's their horse. And the horse knows the kid and the kid knows the horse. They bond.

"And the horses seem to know the difference between a regular rider and a special rider."

The program trains the youngsters for competitions, including the state show, which for many years was in Perry.

Several years ago, the state show was moved to Gainesville, which created a logistical problem for the local group. It was too long a trip to make, especially for the horses, which were not accustomed to being trailered for that long.

But the young riders missed the opportunity to stay in a hotel, eat in restaurants and compete in the big arena at the state fairgrounds.

Cole took her six riders to three south Georgia-area shows last year. She practices with them two to three times a month until it gets close to a show, when they practice more often.

Special Olympics requires that riders must have at least 10 practices in the six months leading up to the state show.

During shows, each rider has an adult handler and one or two side-walkers, often students.

Cole says that over the years, she has not had many high-maintenance youngsters and never had a serious accident.

"There's always danger," she says. "They're on horses. But we've only had two kids who fell off and neither of them was hurt."

Cole says she's appreciative of the volunteers who have cared for the animals, worked to help train the youngsters and provide transportation to shows.

And, she says, the program could not have survived without the donations of hay, tack, buckets and other necessities.

She says she is surprised when people tell her they were unaware of the program, which she believes has offered so much for youngsters who have benefited so much.

She says that if someone -- or some group -- would like to keep the program alive, they should contact the Colquitt County Program for Exceptional Children.

"I've loved it," she says. "It would be wonderful if someone could take it over."

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