Recent News:
Director of the STAR Equestrian Center named a Hometown Hero
By DON AINES dona@herald-mail.com
8:41 p.m. EST, December 14, 2011
Ginny Gaylor went to the STAR Community Inc. office near Hagerstown on Wednesday to discover she had been named a Hometown Hero.
The award was presented to the Halfway woman by the fraternal benefits society, Modern Woodmen of America, for her work as director of the STAR Equestrian Center and with Operation Christmas Child.
The presentation was made during a surprise luncheon attended by friends, family and some of those Gaylor helps at the equestrian center.
"She was chosen to represent Maryland this year," said Lynn Bibbee, chapter director of Modern Woodmen of America. "She was chosen for the endless hours she that puts in at STAR Equestrian above and beyond her job duties. She makes a difference in the community .... With her, it's a better place."
"The equestrian center puts together things that are very important to me: Helping people and using horses to do it," said Gaylor, who has been with STAR Community for 25 years and is entering her 14th year as director of the center.
"We see about 100 people a week, and every day is a blessing. I see it as a ministry," Gaylor said.
The benefits of riding for people with disabilities are many, Gaylor said. For people with cerebral palsy or other disabilities, it can serve as physical therapy, she said.
"The way the horse moves causes the person riding to mimic the normal walking gait" and exercising those muscles, Gaylor said.
When Gaylor joined STAR Community Inc., it was known as the Anita Lynn Home, she said. Sharon Landis was the executive director at the time, and "it was her vision to have an equestrian center," Gaylor said.
Landis, Gaylor and many others worked for a decade to make the center a reality, Gaylor said. Today, it sits on about 20 acres on Greencastle Pike and stables about 20 therapeutic riding horses, she said.
Modern Woodmen of America also cited Gaylor for her work locally with Operation Christmas Child. She has been a relay center coordinator for the program, run by Samaritan's Purse International Relief, which fills shoebox-sized Christmas gift packages to distribute to children around the world.
Williamsport teen a STAR volunteer at equestrian center
By MEGAN MOWEN megan.mowen@herald-mail.com
7:49 p.m. EST, November 6, 2011
Emily Hemphill, 13, daughter of Hank and Joey Hemphill of Williamsport, walks into the horse barn at the STAR Equestrian Center on Greencastle Pike in Hagerstown with enthusiasm.
It’s another Saturday — a day that Emily has dedicated to volunteering her time at the stables. Even after accumulating more than 270 volunteer hours in the past year, she wants to keep helping with the horses and riders.
The STAR Equestrian Center has been a part of the community for 13 years and uses its 145-acre campus to provide equine therapy for challenged riders. The center also offers riding lessons and activities for able riders, as well as horse-boarding accommodations.
Emily volunteers three to six hours on Saturdays and during the week if she is needed.
The eighth-grader let her love for horses guide her to the center, where she became a volunteer in October 2010. Emily’s school, Heritage Academy in Hagerstown, requires sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to complete 35 hours of community service each school year.
“When I volunteer, I usually do chores like sweep, feed and bring horses in and out,” Emily said. “I help in lessons with the disabled riders, basically leading horses or side walking next to the people.”
Work orders for the volunteers are written on a dry-erase board with colorful markers.
Serving 120 riders each week, six center employees and 45 weekly volunteers aim to ensure the center is safely and smoothly run, said center Director Ginny Gaylor.
“We could not do anything without them (volunteers),” she said.
Gaylor said Emily is responsible for a young volunteer, and she works well with the challenged riders.
“She handles horses very well,” Gaylor said. “She really seems to have a heart to be here with the challenged riders.”
Over the past year, Emily has grown to love Sierra, a little mustang at the center.
“She can do anything you really want her to. She is fun and really sweet,” Emily said.
During her time as a volunteer, Emily said she has learned to do many tasks, including brushing a horse and helping with the challenged riders.
“I want to keep volunteering because I can learn lots of new things, and it’s always good to volunteer and help people,” she said.
Emily is already looking to the future, keeping her time at the center in mind when she considers college plans. She said she wants to take an equine studies program, with the goal of opening her own barn someday.
With her chores on the board marked complete, Emily said goodbye to her friends — volunteers and horses — and climbed into her mother’s van with a smile on her face.
Equine Therapy Becoming More Popular
View the NBC25 video »
HAGERSTOWN, MD - Thirteen-year-old Rhiannon Himelfarb was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. She can't speak, but she had no problem letting her parents know she wanted to ride a horse.
"She just said to us through the use of her board one day that she wanted to do this so we went looking for places," says Adam Himelfarb, Rhiannon's father
That search brought them to Star Equestrian Center in Hagerstown. Set on 20 acres, the center has more than 100 riders a week, ages two to 75.
"We serve riders of all different types of disabilities. Autism, Down Syndrome, people with developmental delays, hearing impairments, visually impaired, Spina Bifida," says Ginny Gaylor, the center's director.
According to Gaylor, unlike clinical therapy, riding as therapy gives three kinds of support.
"The horse makes a three-dimensional movement, which can't be replicated in a clinical setting," says Gaylor. "So, not only do our riders come for the social and emotional benefit, but also for the physical benefit."
Rhiannon's dad says in his daughter's case, it's also about becoming more independent with each lesson.
"We've gone very far from where we started where Rhiannon would just be on the horse and not holding on to anything, didn't want to hold on to the reins or anything," says Rhiannon's dad.
Rhiannon has come a long way, and even competed in riding at the state Special Olympics.
The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association is the governing association for equine therapy and activities around the world.
Volunteers Honored for Good Attendance
In October three volunteers were honored for good attendance at the volunteer Trail Ride and Luncheon. Rachel Higdon, Kara Jones, and Lexie Caldwell.
Baranowske named Region 2
Volunteer of the Year
Michelle Baranowske was named Region 2 Volunteer of the Year and was honored at the 2010 National PATH Convention in November, held in Denver CO. Michelle received donations from parents who are thankful for the part she has played in the lives of their children to help defray the costs of this trip. Michelle is a volunteer instructor and has been involved at STAR Equestrian Center for 13 years. Michelle completed Phase I and II Instructor Certification Status through Wilson College and Pennsylvania Council on Therapeutic Horsemanship (PACTH) in 2000, and has been instructing challenged riders ever since.
"Michelle is a selfless, giving person who is an asset to the instructor team at STAR. Congratulations on this acheivement!" - Ginny Gaylor, STAR Equestrian Center Director
Staff, riders and volunteers at STAR Equestrian Center select Kayla Ridings for the MAC Achievement Award for 2010
Kayla and her family found STAR in 2004. Kayla was 12 years old and had a passion for horses and people. Kayla, diagnosed as globally developmentally delayed, was timid and lacking gross motor coordination skills. Kayla quickly progressed to independence as a rider. Kayla learned to be proficient at both English and Western disciplines of riding. Also, at that time Kayla joined the volunteer program of the equestrian center. Kayla soon became a very trusted volunteer with the staff at STAR.
Kayla is now a confident rider, as well as, caring for her own horse and STAR horses. She has been successful at MD Summer Games Special Olympics many times. Kayla has won many medals in several classes. She was Reserve Champion Rider in 2008. As a volunteer, Kayla is able to complete most stable responsibilities and can handle every horse; she encourages other riders to excel. Kayla has made many friends at STAR that she is very close to.
Last summer Kayla had a paid position at STAR for the summer through the Western Maryland Consortium. That was a great experience for her. She learned the difference between being a volunteer and the increased responsibilities of a paid staff person. Earning her own money enhanced her self image.
Kayla also helps out in our community in other ways, when she is not at STAR. She volunteers at a local retirement center and enjoys helping the Salvation Army during the Christmas season as a bell ringer.
Thanks, Kayla, for all you do for the staff, horses, volunteers and riders of STAR.