From Wheelchair To Saddle 24 Years After Car Accident; Molino Ranch Makes It Possible

October 28, 2008

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Debbie Thompson Dawson spent hours riding horses around Barinneau Park. Up and down roads. In the woods. In the river. From sun-up to sundown, she would ride with her friend Patricia Rigel. It was the passion in Debbie’s life.

But in July 1984 that passion to ride her horse hour upon hour came to a crashing end in a major automobile accident. In the blink of an eye, Debbie went from saddle to wheelchair. She could could no longer walk, and she could no longer ride horses around the Barinneau Park countryside.

But recently, Debbie was back in the saddle again for the first time in 24 years, thanks for her friend Patricia and the caring volunteers of The Leaning Post Ranch in Molino.

“I enjoyed being back on the horse,” Debbie said, her speech slow and slurred from a brain injury she suffered in the wreck. But through the speech difficulty, there was a smile in her voice. “It had been a long time. I did not thing I would ever get back on a horse. But I did. It was the best thing that happened to me in a long time. I love being on the horse.”

Twenty-four years after the accident, Debbie now spend her time confined to a wheelchair at her home in Gonzalez, someone assisting her with everyday life. Patricia is now the librarian at the Century Branch Library and a volunteer at The Leaning Post. The Leaning Post brought the two childhood friends back together.

“It felt like we had gone back to being 16 year olds,” Patricia said. “She was back in the saddle, back holding the reigns.  That was probably one of the happiest moments in her life.”

“Pat is a good friend,” Debbie said. “We loved to ride horses together.” I love the horse.”

The horse that Debbie rode for the first time after all those years? It was Patricia’s horse Minnie, a registered Appaloosa that she had donated to The Leaning Post.

Debbie’s ride almost two and half decades after her accident was made possible by The Leaning Post, directors Fran and Newman Gersin and a host of volunteers at the Molino’s Leaning Post Ranch,  a state-licensed facility and prevention program for developmentally disabled and at-risk young people.

The facility was established in 1992 by Fran and Newman Gersin. They started with one horse, and a dream to use that horse to encourage kids and keep them off drugs.

Now The Leaning Post Ranch has 40 acres, a barn, a new open-air arena, a multipurpose facility, a house, 16 horses and a pony…thanks to generosity of several local organizations. And the Gersins are quick to thank God for what happens at The Leaning Post.

Above all to God by the glory,” Fran Gersin said at a dedication ceremony in May. “There is no way two people could do all of this. Only God could do this.”

Debbie is now scheduled for her third session and her doctor is thrilled and has told her to keep it up. It not only is good for healthy bones but the therapeutic riding helps move all of the muscles in the body, Patricia said.

The Leaning Post is in need of Certified NARHA Instructors (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) and volunteers who can work Monday through Friday.

The Leaning Post Ranch is located at 4150 Cedar Springs Road in Molino. For more information, visit http://www.theleaningpostranch.com.

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Comments

2 Responses to “From Wheelchair To Saddle 24 Years After Car Accident; Molino Ranch Makes It Possible”

  1. Trish on October 29th, 2008 4:14 pm

    When possible, never stop doing what you love. Good going Debbie, keep it up and enjoy every minute of it.

  2. Cindy on October 28th, 2008 8:42 am

    Great story! Bless you all at Leaning Post Ranch!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News