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The county's Agricultural Center
indoor arena where Erin Strevig rides horses was cool and
quiet late Wednesday afternoon. A few rows of folding chairs
lined up at the entrance for people to watch their family or
friends ride around the 20- by 50-meter barn.
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.
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