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Northern Virginia horse riding program helping disabled kids, adults, recovering military

Cloverleaf Equine Center is a nonprofit in Clifton, Virginia that's grown much larger since starting in 1980.

CLIFTON, Va. — Rachel Lyons has been riding horses in northern Virginia since she was four years old. It's been much more difficult as she's aged, however, because of a rare neuro-muscular condition she has called Rett Syndrome. 

"(Retts) manifests itself between the ages of one and three. She's been riding for 24 years. She's 28," says Rachel's mother Anne-Marie Lyons. "We wanted to find an activity that she loved that helped her physically."

Lyons found that activity at the newly rebranded Cloverleaf Equine Center, a nonprofit facility in Clifton, Virginia that began in 1980. 

"Our mission is to enrich the lives of children and adults with disabilities, youth from marginalized communities and recovering military personnel through horses," said Cloverleaf's Executive Director Kelsey Gallagher.

Gallagher and I spoke while on horseback, slowly trotting in circles around the facility's new indoor riding facility.  

"Our organization has been around for more than 40 years, but we're serving more people and having more services. Our geographic footprint is larger. The horses help our clients get stronger and bring joy and really just make lives better," said Gallagher. 

Rachel Lyons was getting instruction while we were on-site at Cloverleaf. She rides with the assistance of an instructor and two additional volunteers who help to keep her balance on the horse.  

"When I'm working with Rachel it's really to challenge her balance and kind of help with flexibility a little bit," said instructor Nicole Bass. "Riding the horses is mimicking movement of walking almost. So it's loosening up her hips, her legs, her upper body, and it's just fun. She has so much fun out here." 

Cloverleaf Equine Center serves more than 100 weekly clients from the D.C. Metro area with the help of more than 250 active volunteers and a herd of 18 horses on a 17-acre farm.

"Literally started in a field with a borrowed horse and one rider," said Gallagher. "So it's it's quite an operation now."

"It has been amazing. It's the single greatest thing I've ever done for her," says Rachel's mother Anne-Marie Lyons. "This does make a difference. You know, even on her worst day, she has a great time doing this."

It was a much smaller operation when Lyons first found them. 

"When she first started, we were at somebody's house and they had maybe three stalls and three horses. And you know, she just rode whatever horse was available," said Lyons. "She can't walk or talk or use her hands and at this point, she can't really stand or sit independently either. But she can ride a horse and I think that amazes everybody. It amazes me."

Learn more about the Cloverleaf Equine Center HERE.

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