Seven-year-old Crysta Evans loves riding horses. Like many youngsters her age, it’s her favorite thing to do.
“She’s in awe of it. She lives for it,” says her father, Dublin Evans.
Jack Pistonetti also loves to ride horses. He’s been visiting the Saugus Heads Up Ranch for the past 12 years.
“Riding does a lot for Jack physically and mentally. It’s instilled his personality and made him who he is today,” says Sherri Pistonetti about her 16-year-old son.
For these two children and hundreds of others who have ridden and groomed horses at the Heads Up Therapy Ranch in Saugus, it’s more than pleasure, it’s a way to keep their muscle memory strong, develop hand-and-eye coordination and self confidence. It’s a way to exercise in a way that they might not otherwise have been able to do. That’s because they are special needs children, some paralyzed from the waist down, others autistic and still others with rare disorders, like leucodystrophy, the one Jack was diagnosed with before the age of four. Hundreds and hundreds of children like Jack and Crysta, have seen a vast improvement in their quality of life exclusively because of the ranch started by Nancy Pitchard 20 years ago.
On Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12, you can do your part to make sure the Heads Up Therapy Ranch continues to make a difference in the lives of children in the Santa Clarita Valley when you join in the fun planned by Spring Fling event chairs Valerie Daldah and Deanne Dahl.
“Valerie is a horse show person. She really likes being involved in Heads Up because it enables her to help other people who can’t walk to be a part of the horse lifestyle,” says Dahl.
But, the Spring Fling cause is grander than that for the literally thousands of children and adults in the SCV who could benefit from horse therapy.
“It could be helping the 4000 to 5000 children in the Santa Clarita Valley who are autistic. I’ve been told by doctors that we have the highest rate of autism here than anywhere else in the State of California,” says Dahl, “We want to raise money to expand the ranch and meet the demands of these children.”
She hopes the event will raise at least $25,000 and with the agenda they have planned, that goal could be realized.
The Friday night event will be held at the Alcole Equestrian facility in Sand Canyon and will feature the sounds of Hillbilly Idol and the tastes of a full barbeque dinner from the Stone Fire Grill as well as extraordinary exhibitions from some of the finest horses and riders in the world. A silent and live auction will also be held.
On Saturday, be dazzled by the showmanship of the old western-style cowboys, the California Desperados, who are donating their time to the cause. Their demonstration promises to be spectacular, as always. Also, on Saturday included in the carnival festivities will be the usual fare of hot dogs, sandwiches, wine and beer, clowns, jugglers, balloon-makers, pony rides and a petting zoo.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event will go towards all of the programs at the Heads Up Therapy Ranch, including their therapeutic riding program, special education workshops for William S. Hart students, rehabilitation programs for youth at risk and boy and girl scout horse badge workshops.
Tickets for the Friday, May 11th event are $50. Saturdays admission is free, with nominal ticket fees for all of the activities. Special thanks to Vino 100 for their generosity.
To purchase tickets for the event, call 661-803-3652. Also, if you have an auction item you’d like to donate or would like to be a sponsor for Saturday’s activities, call 661-803-3652.
