Kim Smith watches her trainer, Thierry Viard, work with her horses. Smith practices spins, left and right, and a sliding stop, center, with BoJac. She bought her first horse, Moses, so named because Kim had come out of bondage to sickness and death. The riding therapy immediately took effect. “Little did I know that one purchase would set on fire a desire so hot that I would work hard walking on a treadmill so that I’d not lose energy while riding,” she says. “I started lifting weights so that I’d be able to lift the heavy saddles on my own. It was all very hard at first.” Motivated to work with Moses every day, Kim grew stronger as her family watched and supported her. Eventually, she and Moses began competing in reining. “Reining is not too blingy and not too stuffy and not too hard and not too easy. Once hooked, you have to chase it,” she says. Only two months after the heart failure, Kim was weaned off of her medication. After four months, she was taken completely off. She describes it as a miracle. Kim’s passion and strength continue to grow. The stable has enhanced her therapy as she keeps up with grooming and riding, and chasing her feisty border collie from the horse stalls. “I love my horses. I love coming out here,” she says. “It’s that love that drove me. It turned my circumstances around. I can ride and take care of my horses when before no one was even sure I was able to live. I just never gave up or gave in.” 52 WBM february 2014
2014-2
To see the actual publication please follow the link above