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
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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.
Longaberger Raffle Winners
Congratulations to our raffle winners. We will post winners here as the month progresses. Please check back to see if your name is picked!
5/31 – Alvey Hose Sr. (#185)
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5/25 – Amanda Brooks (#203)
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5/21 – Vickie Frantz (#293)
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5/17 - Bill Kline (#078)
5/16 - Deb Jolliffe (#270)
5/15 - Millie Lowman (#136)
5/14 - Tara Grove (#068)
5/13 - Carol Elliott (#300)
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5/10 - Tammy Vinson (#006)
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5/2 - Norma Knepper (#012)
5/1 - Misty Harmon (#232)
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STAR Community chosen for Pepsi Refresh Challenge
Star Community has been chosen as a part of the Pepsi Refresh Grant Challenge. This is the very last cycle for this funding, and Star has requested $25,000 to be used for the Character Reins program of the STAR Equestrian Center. This program focuses on at-risk youth by helping them learn beneficial character traits which will aide them in today's society. Every vote Star receives is vital to being awarded this money.
You can vote using the link below, and/or you can vote via text messaging. To vote from your mobile phone text 105054 to Pepsi (73774). Standard text messaging rates apply.
Outstretched hands to STAR Equestrian Center
STAR Equestrian Center, a program of Star Community, Inc., is humbled by the outstretched hands of support shown by a Clear Spring family, Colby & Bonnie Rohrer, sponsors of Danny, a 14-year old Cleveland Bay horse in STAR’s horseback riding program which provides lessons to abled and disabled riders. The cost of sponsoring a horse is $1,000.
When asked why the Rohrer’s chose to sponsor a horse at STAR Equestrian Center, they said, “We came to know the STAR Equestrian Program in January 2009, and have had the opportunity to experience first hand the communication between horse and their rider. It has been an enlightening learning journey for us, and the Star horses’ connection to their students is mystical. The therapy provided to the students is so beneficial, from medical to building greater self esteem and confidence for both disabled and abled riders. The instructors and volunteers are fantastic as well. Even though all the horses are very special, we chose to sponsor Danny because he generates such understanding, gentleness and always steps up to the plate with his riders, and we feel he reflects what STAR Equestrian Center’s mission is all about.”
“Danny is a gentle giant,” says STAR Equestrian Center Director, Ginny Gaylor. “He stands 16.2 hands tall and has been leased from Margaret Liskey since 2009. He is one of the most requested horses by our little riders!”
Star Community currently has other horses that are in need of sponsorships to help offset the costs of the program. A sponsorship entitles a business or individual to a plaque with a photograph and description of the horse being sponsored, a press release and photograph submitted to the media, recognition as a sponsor displayed at STAR Equestrian Center, and special recognition in the most recent edition of the INSIDE STAR, Star Community’s organizational newsletter.
“Without the help of sponsors, we just could not do what we do. We are so thankful for each and every one of them,” said Gaylor.
If interested in becoming a horse sponsor, please contact Star Community at 301-791-0011 x113.
Star Equestrian Center provides equine assisted activities and lessons for all. The challenged rider program serves children and adults with behavioral, emotional, cognitive, mental, or physical disabilities, and the abled rider program is for beginner to intermediate riders. It is located on Greencastle Pike, just north of Huyett’s Crossroads, in Hagerstown, Maryland.
Families and businesses show support for Star Equestrian Center
HAGERSTOWN, MD- Star Equestrian Center, a program of Star Community, Inc., is humbled at the outpouring of support shown by an area family in honor of a loved one, and two local businesses who have donated funds to support the horse sponsorship program at Star.
Sanford & Connie Walters and their children decided to honor Dorothy Kuckuda, Mrs. Walters’ sister, on her 80th birthday, March 2nd, by sponsoring “Tracey”, a 10-year old Halflinger mare, for $1,000.
Miss Kuckuda retired in 1995 from the Maryland State Health Department after 25 years. Prior to that, she was employed at various banks in the Baltimore area. She now resides in Shepherdstown with the Walters’.
Over the years, Miss Kuckuda read everything about horses and collected numerous statues and replicas of them.
“Tracey,” the horse sponsored by the Walters Family, “is a huge asset to our therapy program, but will give a more advanced rider a run for their money,” said Star Equestrian Director, Ginny Gaylor. Tracey was purchased for the Center by Joseph Jacques and family in 2008 in honor of his sister, Margaret Jacques.
Secondly, DOT Foods, Inc., also saddled up and sponsored “Patche” at $1,000. Patch is a 21-year old Paint gelding. He is a leased horse in the program.
According to Gaylor, “Patch used to be a cutting horse, so many riders enjoy his spinning and tricks. Patch is a great horse to learn on!”
And, finally, the Columbia Bank became a $500 partial sponsor of “Kallie.”
Kallie is a 13-year old Appaloosa pony with a buckskin coloring. She is leased to the program.
“Kallie can do it all from jumping to helping riders with cerebral palsy become independent. We have been blessed to be a part of Kallie’s life since 2007.”
Star Community currently has 9 other horses that are in need of sponsorships to help offset the costs of the program. A sponsorship entitles a business or individual to a plaque with a photograph and description of the horse being sponsored, a press release and photograph submitted to the media, recognition as a sponsor displayed at Star Equestrian Center, and special recognition in the most recent edition of the INSIDE STAR, Star Community’s organizational newsletter.
“Without the help of sponsors, we just could not do what we do. We are so thankful for each and every one of them,” said Gaylor.
If interested in becoming a horse sponsor, please contact Star Community at 301-791-0011 x113.
Bocce Court Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to be held
Star Community, along with Special Olympics, and MIHI is very pleased to announce a ribbon cutting ceremony to be held at 1:00 p.m. on April 17, 2010, at 13674 Greencastle Pike, Hagerstown, Maryland, to honor the opening of Star Community and Special Olympics of Washington County’s recently constructed bocce courts.
In a collaborative effort between Special Olympics of Washington County, Many Individuals Helping Individuals (MIHI), Star Community, and some “muscle” from the local Kiwanis Club, these bocce courts were a dream that became reality for individuals with disabilities yearning for a location to practice their bocce skills and play the game.
Bocce is a sport closely related to bowling which originated in Rome, Italy. It is played on a court which is traditionally 65 feet to 89 feet long and 8 feet to 13 feet wide constructed from wooden boards. It is played with spherical balls and can be between two players or teams of 2 to 4 players. A jack is thrown down the court and the object of the players is to get his or her bocce ball closest to the jack. The scoring team receives one point for each ball that is closer to the jack than the opposing team. A typical game is from 7 to 13 points. The Bocce season usually runs from March through June.
Special Olympics bocce players were in need of a court that was stationary and reliable. For a period of time, the team would spray paint lines in the grass at various locations to get by through their practices, but this became a disadvantage once they reached competition level because many other teams were practicing with a more professional court under normal conditions. Toni Nelson, a Special Olympics coordinator and also a member of MIHI, pitched the idea to the MIHI Club and they made a unanimous decision to fund this project for the athletes.
According to Nelson, the question became, “Where do we put this court? And that is where Star Community came into play.”
Star Community was contacted by Nelson and the idea was discussed with great enthusiasm and an agreement was made that Star Community would provide the ground for the bocce courts. Upon reaching that decision, Kiwanis came to the aid of all three organizations and volunteered the manpower to construct the courts.
Star Community and Special Olympics are very excited to be able to provide this unique opportunity to individuals with disabilities. At this time, courts are only open to athletes of Special Olympics with supervision and Star Community consumers.
“We are so thankful to everyone who helped with this project and for providing this opportunity,” said Dallas Hopkins, executive director of Star Community, Inc.
Meet Star Community’s newest house managers – Ella Messersmith and Karen Pompell!
Ella (Ellie) Messersmith is Star Community’s newest house manager. She was previously a Life Skills Mentor (LSM) at Trinity, one of Star’s eight homes, and regularly helped out at Hope Cottage. She has recently taken over the House Manager position at Smith Farm. Ellie brings over 5 years of experience in the field.She lives in Cascade, Maryland with her husband of 12 years, one daughter, two sons, three dogs and three cats!
Ellie loves spring and summer because she loves outdoor activities and watching her two sons play baseball. She loves working with people with disabilities because it gives her a feeling of appreciation. She loves her job and she has already formed strong attachments to the ladies who reside at Smith Farm.
“With the skills that Ellie brings to Star, we are thrilled to have her in her new position at Smith Farm,” says Residential Director, Deanna Kunkel.
Karen Pompell is the current House Manager at Parvilla. She came to Star Community over one year ago, bringing with her 20 years of experience in the field of developmental disabilities. She became the House Manager at Parvilla in July 2009, making her the second newest manager at Star.
Karen has a number of college credits under belt and continues those pursuits when time allows. She lives in the Hagerstown area with her husband of 32 years. They have three children, one grandson and their first granddaughter is on the way. Karen’s hobbies are reading and sewing.
Karen’s philosophy is that we need patience because change is slow in coming. She inspires and motivates the people for whom she works to increase their independence.
Her supervisor, Deanna, expressed, “My favorite thing to hear her say is, ‘I love my job,’ which she says often and her positive attitude shows in everything she does. She is a true asset to Star Community in general and to Parvilla’s ladies in particular.”
STAR Equestrian Center Finds Support in Local Community
HAGERSTOWN, MD – Star Equestrian Center, a program of Star Community, Inc. was thrilled to receive a letter and a $1,000 check from the “God’s Grace Fund”, a donor advised fund of the Community Foundation of Washington County, stating that it would like to support the care of a single horse in the riding program with a horse sponsorship. One thousand dollars will support one horse for an entire year with food, boarding, and routine health care at the center.
The “God’s Grace Fund” was partnered with Murphy, a Percheron Thoroughbred, who has been with the program since March of 2005. Because of Murphy’s size, he is the mount for many specialized riders that Star would not be able to serve otherwise.
Equestrian Center Director, Ginny Gaylor said, “Murphy has a personality that he loves everybody. He’s just like a very large stuffed animal; calm and willing.”
Murphy has been to Maryland Special Olympics for many years, participated in local shows and costume demonstrations, and can be used for trail rides as well.
“He’s just beautiful! He’s loved by many, whether riding or not. He’s just a good therapy animal, whether mounted or unmounted, because of his personality. Even though, he’s big he’s not intimidating, but kind of inviting,”said Gaylor.
Star Community currently has 11 other horses that are in need of sponsorships to help offset the costs of the program. A sponsorship entitles a business or individual to a plaque with a photograph and description of the horse being sponsored, a press release and photograph submitted to the media, recognition as a sponsor displayed at Star Equestrian Center, and special recognition in the most recent edition of the INSIDE STAR, Star Community’s organizational newsletter.
In regards to the horse sponsorship from “God’s Grace Fund”, Gaylor said, “Star Community is blessed to have such tremendous support from the local community.”
If interested in becoming a horse sponsor, please contact Star Community at 301-791-0011 x113.
Star Equestrian Center provides equine assisted activities and lessons for children and adults with behavioral, emotional, cognitive, mental, or physical disabilities. It is located on Greencastle Pike, just north of Huyett’s Crossroads.
Teamwork makes "SENSE"!
Citi partners with Star Community, Inc. to construct Sensory Trail
HAGERSTOWN, MD – Star Community, Inc. not only embraces teamwork in its programs, it also partners with local businesses and organizations to promote teamwork in the community. On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, Citi and Star exhibited just that! Twenty-six people from Citi worked together at Star building items for the equestrian program’s new Sensory Trail geared for children and adults with disabilities.
Ginny Gaylor, director of the equestrian program at Star, put together eight stations for eight different projects with donated items from basketball hoops to PVC pipe, plywood to mailboxes, and golf balls to chalkboard paint that could be used to construct items for the Sensory Trail. Saws, hammers, and drills were in full working order for nearly three hours that afternoon, until a severe thunderstorm hit the area.
“We always try to do two team building exercises a year for our departments at Citi and we were excited to make this connection with Ginny,” said Tara Woiccak of Citi. Michelle Baranowski, a volunteer instructor at Star Equestrian Center and employee of Citi helped to make the connection between the team and the center. Tara further shared that upper level management was also participating in the projects for the day.
The Sensory Trail will be used to help riders with disabilities focus on their senses. For instance, riders will be able to enhance their visual skills by identifying assorted vibrant colors and various shapes, use their auditory skills to hear sounds made by a ball dropping, music made from PVC pipes, and the sounds made by a horse’s hooves on different textured footing, and develop their tactile skills by handling diverse textured items from basketballs to golf balls and other objects. This trail will also help with developing some physical and motor skills.
After about an hour of working on the projects, Gaylor enthusiastically expressed “This is so great! The projects are turning out even better than I expected!”
Gaylor expressed her sincerest appreciation to the Citi volunteers for all of their hardwork, because “without them this project would have taken a very long time to complete.” She informed that once the horses are desensitized to the equipment, it should be up and running in just a few weeks, and riders would greatly benefit from the teamwork and efforts put forth that day.
