102 SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 120
John LeCain, a pastor from New York, is learning to operate
an electric wheelchair while therapy horse Wakanda practices
adjusting her speed to walk with him at the University of Florida
Health Rehab Hospital (formerly Shands Rehab Hospital) in
Gainesville, Florida.
Therapy horse Magic demonstrates rehab training stairs and
ramps for the patients.
Although Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy emphasizes that
the organization does not chase disasters, they knew they needed
to help the people in Oklahoma. “Going to Oklahoma really fit
what our horses do,” Debbie explained. “People were homeless.
There was so much sadness. Seven children had died and others
were injured when the first tornado destroyed the two schools.
Our horses bring joy and comfort to people who have suffered
great loss. They feel encouraged, they’re excited and smiling,
their parents are smiling. They go home with happier memories,
plush toy horses and a photo of them with their therapy horse.”
The help offered by Gentle Carousel isn’t limited to towns that
have been decimated by major tornados. Every year the 501(c)
(3) non-profit charity’s miniature therapy horses work with more
than 20,000 people. They visit hospitals, hospices, rehab centers
and schools, as well as communities and families recovering from
traumatic events.
When Gentle Carousel received requests to visit Moore in the
aftermath of the EF-5 tornado that blasted that initial mile and
a half wide swath, various volunteers discussed the calls with
Debbie and Jorge. They all agreed that the importance of this road
trip outweighed Gentle Carousel’s budget.
“We are an all-volunteer non-profit, and probably our greatest
challenge is finances,” Jorge said. “We’ve been doing this for
about 15 years, and our little horses are trained to go anywhere
and give joy, inspiration and hope to people. But there are times
when we have to consider the expenses of travel and lodging. We
hadn’t planned on going to Oklahoma. We did it out of pocket,
A Magical Book –
Magic Loves Me
Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, a former school principal,
wrote a children’s book about Magic, one of Gentle Carousel
Miniature Therapy Horses, to read to children at Sandy Hook
Elementary School.
Magic Loves Me
is about how Magic
loves friends facing different kinds of challenges. Many
children have asked to keep the book, but Gentle Carousel
has only the one copy.
“We would love to be able to give the book to the children
– we have used
Magic Loves Me
to help children who need
desperately to heal,” said Debbie. “It will cost around $5,000
to publish, but we need help meeting the printing costs.”
The demand for
Magic Loves Me
would exceed the supply
in no time, considering how many people Gentle Carousel
helps annually. Debbie pointed out that “sponsorship on the
local and national level would be a godsend to keep the little
book in print.”
Therapy horse Magic reads with Taylor Kimmel, a survivor of
Briarwood Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma. Taylor’s
father, Toby Kimmel, was driving to the school to pick up his
first grader when he saw the tornado destroy the school. Just
hours after this photo was taken Taylor was in a storm shelter
and became a two-time tornado survivor.
