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The "Wish Upon a North Star" organization learned of Meghan's plight, and of her dream. Seeking out ways to help dying children enjoy their wishes come true, this group of volunteer money raisers and facilitators tried to send Meghan and her family to ride horses several times over the past year, but were always thwarted by Meghan suffering a crisis with her health. Fortuitously, in August Meghan's strength rallied, and I was producing a Redwood Coast Riding Vacation at my Ricochet Ridge Ranch in Mendocino, California.
Phone calls were exchanged; hurried plans were made. Wish Upon a North Star would send the entire family for the week-long riding trek: Meghan, parents Jim and Pat, seventeen year old brother Brandon, and twelve year old sister, Katie, none of whom had ever ridden a horse, but all of whom are adventurous out of door enthusiasts whose family runs a white water rafting business up north.
Paying for five people to fly, rent a car, and join a not-inexpensive riding holiday would greatly deplete the "Wish" foundations available funds and ability to help other children. So my staff and I called the various restaurants, caterers, Bed & Breakfast Inns and Hotels, entertainers and spas which cater to our riding vacations guests during the week, and garnered offers to help the family ranging from 10% off, through half price, to everything for free! Ricochet Ridge Ranch greatly discounted the horsey part of the equation, and put on extra staff to guarantee the safety of five total novices participating in a riding excursion generally lauded as a thrill for experienced riders. The Redwood Coast Riding Vacation is no head-to-tail walking trailride!
The two burning questions in my mind: What horses should the Gonski family ride? And how would I communicate with Meghan in order to teach her, keep her safe and allow her to have fun? An on the air plea through our local NPR radio station (where I accidentally asked for volunteers who "spoke" American Sign Language) brought in Wendy Lea Beak, an ASL interpreter who had worked at a dude ranch in Colorado in her youth, Jeannie Collins, an ASL teacher who was also an accomplished rider, and Ashley Gowen, her 17 ASL student who'd never been on a horse. Between them, they would cover four of the six days, at no charge, with RRR providing them horses. Perfect!
Which brought me back to the most important question: What horses? Of the sixty fit yet kind critters from which to choose, I quickly matched big daddy Jim with smooth gaited 16hh Nature's Ricochet, a successful 50 and 100 mile Russian Orlov/Arabian endurance and Ride & Tie horse. Momma Pat would be taken care of by Nature's Halloween, a 14.2hh, 25 year old Orlov/Arabian ex-endurance horse with plenty of stamina and sense. Brandon paired up with the quarter horse First Class. That left the two little girls. Hmmmmm.
Five days before departing Alaska, Meghan's sister Katie had broken her wrist playing soccer. But nothing daunts this feisty kid, and it was clear she wouldn't want to be in the back of the field. So Prince Asheem, the 1989 AERC Heavyweight National Champion endurance horse (and 2nd place in the nation in Best Condition) was trotted out.
A beautiful gray/white Arabian endurance horse named Faraj would make Meghan's dreams come true. Extraordinarily smooth gaited, with a naturally arched neck and huge black eyes, Faraj epitomizes the saying "spirited but gentle." Trailguide Carolyn would carry an oxygen bottle for Meghan to use when necessary. Patient Faraj would stand stock still when asked.
Meghan will die within the next few months unless she finds a live lung donor. Although she's on the list for a cadaver donor, there are so few lungs available for transplant that her doctors hold no hope for her to live long enough to receive one. But within the last couple years, a few hospitals have begun to have success transplanting one lobe from each of two living donors to children dying of cystic fibrosis. Since success is more sure with an entire set of lungs from a cadaver, this surgery is not attempted unless a child has less than a few months to live. Meghan qualifies...
An article in an Alaskan newspaper brought in 32 potential donors... people who were willing to undergo major surgery to sacrifice one of the five lobes each person has, three on one side, two on the other. Only one of these potential donors is a close enough match, however, so one more donor must be found, very soon, if Meghan is to live. Meghan is blood type "O positive".
On day one of the riding trek, the twelve guests formally introduced themselves by reciting brief equestrian autobiographies, and were introduced to their horses' personalities and quirks, first verbally, and then, after a riding and safety demonstration, by mounting up for a short ride on Ten Mile Beach. With five trailguides instead of the usual two, we felt pretty safe escorting the Gonski family along with the more experienced riders. Besides, the first day is just a "try out the steering and brakes" routine ol' beach trailride, with "no chills, no spills and no thrills."
Meghan's smile told us we'd chosen the right horse |
The next long day's ride in Jackson State Forest meandered among ancient redwood forests and up into the mountains. Riding in a group on trails they've repeated many times, the horses know when they'll be allowed to canter and when they'll be asked to walk again. While my assistant, Cynthia, and trailguide Kyra led the more advanced riders, Carolyn, ASL interpreter, Wendy, and I rode with the Gonski's. Clearly, Jim and the three kids were doing fine, but Pat was terrified. We eventually broke up into two more groups, Pat and Carolyn bonding while Pat learned to relax and trust Halloween. The kids were chafing at the bit~~ But there was a distinct time lag as I'd explain how to ride with a following hand, relax your back to encourage the horse to take a long walking stride, and keep your weight in your heels to keep your center of balance low and make sure your heels didn't nudge the horse faster by mistake. Then Wendy would communicate my instructions to Meghan, we'd answer questions, and all would then ride on to practice what we'd preached. Posting the trot, and eventually flowing with the canter were eventually added to the repertoire. Meghan received her oxygen treatment under a sequoia semperverins ("ever-living redwood") during lunch, but skipped her mid afternoon treatment. At dinner on the Noyo River, everyone was tired but exhilarated. We'd survived the second, long day. Spirits were high at dinner.... I was particularly glad to see that newly weds Paul and Kate LaRoach were not put off by sharing their honeymoon with our expanded group. |
