MATTHEW S. GUNBY/STAFF PHOTO Equestrian coach Mary Shunk, right, helps Erin Strevig mount Danza before riding around the barn at the Agricultural Center on Wednesday.

Equestrian coach Mary Shunk chose a horse, Danza, for her to ride on Wednesday.

Strevig, 20, of Westminster, rode for an hour around the barn, practicing dressage - following oral instruction and guiding her horse through maneuvers with slight movements of her hands and legs.

Strevig pulled the reigns to stop Danza about 20 feet from her mother, who watched on a folding chair near the entrance of the barn, and then used her black riding boots to kick Danza into gear again. She smiled as she passed by her watching mother, the wind waving back her blonde hair.

Strevig is one of about 50 students in the county's 4-H Therapeutic Riding Club, which allows students to ride in the spring and fall. The riders vary in their experience, from those who don't pick up the reigns, to those who jump. Strevig, who has Williams syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes developmental problems, has been a member for 12 years.

In the beginning, she was a little afraid of the horses, but after weeks of riding, the fear began to wane.

Then a horse threw her off during a hailstorm once, leaving her weary of horses for a couple weeks. But fear didn't immobilize her; she continued riding.

Her mother, Karen Barrett, said that riding has improved her daughter's self-esteem.

"When you have brothers who achieve and drive cars, it's important that here she has something she can achieve," Barrett said. "She leans over without feeling like she'll fall off. She does so much now that she couldn't before."

Strevig's riding experience is taking her places these days. In June, she and her family members are going to Ireland for the Special Olympic World Games. Special Olympics is the worldwide sports movement for people with a learning disability.

Ireland won't be Strevig's first competition. She has already been to Thorncroft, Pa, Port Deposit, and to the state summer Olympic Games in Prince George's county, Barrett said. Strevig won a gold in equitation last summer, which enabled her to go to Ireland this year, Barrett added.

Shunk said that Strevig has been riding many different horses this year to prepare her for riding a horse strange to her abroad.

"Learning to adapt to different gaits, sizes, temperaments before she goes to Ireland will be an asset to her," she said. "We've had training sessions at other barns where she and the other riders from Maryland have been put on horses they've never been on before to get them ready for their Ireland experience."

Shunk, who has attended previous World Games, is also going to Ireland.

Many in Carroll are already supporting Strevig in her travels and goals. The Mr. Tire store in Eldersburg has been raising money to ease the total costs for Strevig's family. The store has already raised $500.

Store manager Jim Collins said that he wanted to start a fund-raiser to bring Carroll county closer together.

Reach staff writer Jamie Schmidt at 410-857-7876 or jschmidt@lcniofmd.com.