One of the interesting things that comes along with being very visible as an advocate for Dominic is that all sorts of people like to try their stuff with us. This is usually a good thing. A few years ago I met a woman named Jessi at bachelorette party, and we ended up becoming facebook friends. I've watched her post about how she has shifted careers and manifested a life long dream recently and when she sent me a message asking me to bring Dominic to visit Bits and Pieces so she could show it to the population she intends to serve... well, I admit, I squealed.
Bits and Pieces Stables, LLC is the dream of a lifetime. Jessi plans to bring together her love of horses and her love of children (she was a teacher when I met her) to offer equestrian experiences to our special needs community specifically and summer camp experiences to the greater front range area. HUGE dream. And let me tell you folks - she's got this. Its definitely going to be an evolution but as things stand, she is absolutely set up to have camps and work with kids right now.
Here's how our visit went:
We gathered our friends, had lunch, and headed south. She is located just outside of Pueblo, CO - about an hour away.
When we arrived, we were greeted by a great dane named George. George is hilarious. We went out to the paddock to meet the therapy horses, and then we headed over to get the tack so they could be worked.
Jessi informed me that horses don't take selfies well. I think I proved that wrong....
Obligatory group picture with the chicken...
On their way from paddock to saddling.
He was so very proud of himself. And if you listen to that video with sound, you'll here that apparently he's pretty good. Jessi told me after I stopped recording that he was trotting without stirrups and maintaining balance and that that was a THING for horse people. He and his friend took turns riding and by the end, he was able to lead Night with Tyler riding. It was a very cool moment.
So - Local and Local-ish folks, I've never seen prices for an hour of informal* Hippotherapy as low as Jessi has set them (and you find her on facebook under Bits and Pieces Stables LLC). And she's done that intentionally because she wants to be of service to our community.
We left after a packed hour. George the great dane attempted to come with us - he and Dominic had a wonderful time chasing each other, until George decided it wasn't worth the effort. We took Dominic and Tyler down to a cute little dessert place along the riverwalk called of all things Bite Me Cake Shop where we indulged in ridiculously decadent ice cream and pinball before we came home.
*She's in process of becoming a formal occupational therapy place, but that will take time. So for now... its an equestrian experience
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