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Friday, April 05 2019 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

Great and Small: Using Horses to Ensure All Know They’re Great

Great and Small therapeutic riding center serves the Washington, D.C. area from Boyds, Maryland.

By Britney Grover

Some hope to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. For others, it would be far more valuable to find a horse. Even just a few minutes with a horse can do wonders for someone emotionally, mentally and even physically — especially if that person or child doesn’t have the benefit of a typical body, mind, family situation or they have another difficulty. That’s why Sarah Phelps, a lawyer doing pro-bono work in the Washington D.C. Family Courts, began offering riding to a few foster children: In 1998, Great and Small was born.

Great and Small serves more than 55 participants weekly.

“What began with one horse and a handful of foster children quickly grew into a full-scale therapeutic riding program serving children and adults with a variety of needs,” said Center Director Rachel Neff. “Great and Small originally operated out of a public boarding stable, but grew to the point that a separate facility was required. In 2004, Great and Small found a permanent home at the Rickman Farm Horse Park, a property owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.”

From their facility in Boyds, Maryland, Great and Small now offers a wide range of equine-assisted activities including therapeutic riding, unmounted lessons, summer camps, visits to senior centers and programs for visiting groups. Partnering with medical professionals allows Great and Small to help even more, such as in hippotherapy with occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists or equine-facilitated psychotherapy with counselors and social workers. Last fall, Great and Small served 55 weekly participants with even more joining for one-time group horse experiences — a far cry from its humble beginnings over 20 years ago.

Great Development

Rachel joined Great and Small as the farm manager in 2010. “I was horse-crazy from the time I could talk, and I started taking weekly riding lessons at 8 years old,” she said. “I took lessons all the way through school, mostly riding hunter/equitation-type horses. Once I got a driver’s license, I started volunteering at a therapeutic riding center. I started out mucking stalls, then helped with leading and sidewalking in lessons, and eventually did a little paid work in the barn as well.”

Participants at Great and Small rely on the help of up to three volunteers at once.

Rachel went to college at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, where she rode on the IHSA hunt-seat team and was co-captain her senior year — Stella, an off-the-track Thoroughbred who was Murray State’s mascot, is now retired and owned by Rachel. During the summers, she learned the ins and outs of managing therapy horses at another therapeutic riding center in Texas. “After graduation, I was hired to be the farm manager at Great and Small, and a few years later my role transitioned to Center Director, as it is today.”

In her position with Great and Small, Rachel has seen hundreds of individuals benefit from the program, especially children. “My children are in better physical shape because they ride at Great and Small,” one parent shared. “I’ve noticed that my daughter sits unsupported for much longer periods of time now that she is participating in therapeutic riding. My son, who also participates, has much more confidence around all kinds of animals.”

“Noah is very proud of his ability to ride horses and likes to talk to others about his horseback riding,” another parent shared. “We love that he has something that he feels like is his own. Horseback riding has helped him to improve his confidence and his posture, and has helped him to feel special.”

“Jenna has been riding at Great and Small for three years and the feedback from her occupational therapist has been very positive for the strengthening of her core muscles,” yet another relayed. “In addition, the experience of riding at two of Great and Small’s horse shows has added tremendously to Jenna’s confidence.”

Reaching Out

The annual Spring Horse Show gives participants the unique opportunity to show what they’ve learned over the course of the year, and is open to the public. Great and Small also hosts two other major fundraising events. “The Mystery Trail Ride is a fun day for teams of two to five riders to solve a mystery by collecting clues spread across 200 acres of Potomac Hunt territory,” Rachel explained. “This event is a fundraiser and a great opportunity to engage people in our regional horse community.”

Great and Small’s largest fundraising event is Horses on Pointe, a biennial event that will be held again October 19, 2019, with ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and donations all benefiting the program. “Horses on Pointe is an evening of drinks, desserts and dancing horses,” Rachel said. “Guests enjoy dressage musical freestyles and other riding performances set to music, interspersed with stories about Great and Small. The highlight of the night is a quadrille performance by Great and Small riders.”

Great and Small’s major goal is to become a center of excellence in the mid-Atlantic region. “That overarching goal encompasses increasing the number of participants we serve, training our staff to the highest level to enable them to best meet the needs of our participants, and raising the funds necessary to provide top-notch care to our equine team members and make improvements to our facility,” Rachel shared.

The first improvement project is to repair the base of the indoor arena and replace the footing, a $12,000 cost. After the footing is replaced, they will assume a multi-year project to replace aging fencing on the property, totaling around $75,000. “We are also constantly recruiting new volunteers to help with our programs,” Rachel said. “Each participant needs the support of up to three volunteers, without whom none of this would be possible. Volunteers are always welcome, at all levels of horse experience.”

Those volunteers are what help to make Great and Small so successful. “The culture of Great and Small is what makes it so special,” Rachel summarized. “Everyone volunteers, from staff to board members, and is focused on doing the absolute best for the participants while also being deeply honoring the incredible horses that partner with us to make our mission possible.”

For more information, visit greatandsmallride.org

Photos by Margot Pettijohn

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Tagged under: britney grover, great and small therapeutic riding center, Hippotherapy

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The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

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