At Northeast Texas therapeutic ranch, ‘We see a miracle just about every day’

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Posted: 2/15/08

Runnin’ WJ Ranch horses seem to imbue their riders with their strength. The special-needs children seem to find a reservoir of strength and confidence within themselves when they mount up.

At Northeast Texas therapeutic ranch,
‘We see a miracle just about every day’

By George Henson

Staff Writer

TEXARKANA—It’s easy to lift the spirits of a special-needs child, Sam Clem insists. Just put the child on the back of a horse ready to do his bidding.

Clem directs the Runnin’ WJ Ranch outside Texarkana, a therapeutic riding ranch that draws more than 90 special-needs children a week from Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Six schools bring children to participate in the program, which draws support from churches throughout the area.

Horseback riding works a variety of upper- and lower-body muscles and joints. In addition, spastic patterns in the muscles are decreased, balance and coordination are challenged, range of motion is enhanced, and strength and endurance gradually improve, according to the Runnin’ WJ’s website, www.runninwjranch.org.

Gracie is helped by three volunteers on her ride.

The ranch has 17 horses for the children to ride. Students enrolled in the equine program of Texas A&M University train the horses.

While the exercise is important and not to be discounted, Clem said, often the intangible benefits are what stir him the most.

“Beyond the exercise, it’s that they’re in control,” Clem said. “When they get on one of these horses, for the first time in their lives, they’re the boss.

“There is one young man whose body has about give out on him, but put him on that horse, and he sticks his chest out, and he thinks he’s John Wayne.”

In addition to working muscles, the children also work on concepts like numbers, letters, colors and right and left. Sometimes obstacles courses are set up, and children follow directions to take their horse from one goal to the next. Each child always has at least one volunteer to offer help and encouragement as they ride.

The ranch’s arena is not enclosed, but it is covered, so children can ride on days when it may be raining a little. They look forward to riding so much, Clem doesn’t like to disappoint them. Some days, however, it is too cold.

“A lot of them have problems with blood circulating real well in their extremities, and their hands get cold so easily,” Clem explained.

Other times, they will ride the trail on the property and get more sensory stimulus from nature as all five of their senses are engaged in different parts of the trail.

“These kids don’t get to get outside a lot and just be a part of nature,” Clem explained. “When they do, they just light up.”

There’s no doubt that the No. 1 draw for the children are the horses themselves. “We have a number of children who are essentially nonverbal—they just do not speak. But a few of those children, on horse-riding day, they may say ‘horse’ or ‘ride.’ This is a pretty amazing place,” Clem said. “We see a miracle just about every day.”

Clem dreams of expanding the ranch’s ministry to the children. Already there are plans to move the ranch’s offices to make room for a expanded therapy center.

But Clem really looks forward to the day when there will be funds to clear some of the timber on the property so weeklong summer camps can be held for special-needs children on the property. He pictures it as combining a Vacation Bible School with the therapeutic benefits a week at the ranch can offer special-needs children. One week might be for blind children, while another for autistic children or other groups of children with special needs, he said.

“We will need to keep it small, because for every child, we will have to have at least one volunteer to help them, if not more,” Clem said.

Maddison saddles up.

The camp receives donations from several area churches, and is affirmed by Bowie Baptist Association, but does not receive funds from the association. Several community organizations also support the ranch, but not to the degree needed for the camps to become a reality.

Toward that end, Clem has mailed letters to churches encouraging them to adopt the ranch as the recipient of their VBS offering as a means of letting children help children. He thinks it particularly would be a good fit for cowboy churches across the state.

Clem, who teaches a Sunday school class for special-needs children at First Baptist Church-Moores Lane in Texarkana, also wants to build a chapel on the property.

“This place is founded on Christ, but we don’t have a place to share Christ,” he said.

But then he recounted a conversation with a pastor a few weeks ago. “One pastor asked us the other day, ‘How do you share Christ?’ Before I could answer, the pastor who was with him said, ‘They live it.’”









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