Lucy Carter on Bella with volunteers Siena Ventura and Barb Peters
When Debbie Brodsky talks about The Retreat at Beckleysville, her voice brims with emotion. “It is the most wonderful place, and we are so glad we found it,” she said.
Brodsky is one of many parents who speak highly of the Retreat and how therapeutic riding has benefitted their children, all of whom who deal with a myriad of varied disabilities. And now, the nonprofit Retreat is working to raise money for a covered riding arena.
Parental praise of the Retreat seems to go hand-in-hand with praise of the owner and director, Mary Shunk, but Shunk waves off the compliments, saying it’s her team. Still, you can’t mistake her commitment.
Shunk’s involvement began as a volunteer for the Carroll County 4-H Therapeutic Riding Program (4-H TRP of CC) more than 35 years ago. The program only ran seasonally. Shunk knew these children needed an outlet for therapeutic riding year-round.
“I’ve always felt horses and ponies were beneficial for children and adults in so many ways besides the physical skill of riding a horse,” she said. “And not the least of which is self-esteem, responsibility, commitment, perseverance, dedication, and helping others. Therapeutic riding is a win-win situation all the way around for all – [for the] rider, horse, and volunteer.”
Not long after she started with 4-H TRP of CC, Shunk became a Certified Advanced Instructor through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International and opened The Retreat at Beckleysville. Today, she continues her volunteer position as Head Instructor with 4-H TRP of CC and is also the co-director of Equestrian Sports for Maryland Special Olympics.
Brodsky’s 19-year-old twin sons Tyler and Matthew both ride at The Retreat.
“Tyler is blind - he only has light perception - and has multiple disabilities including medical disabilities and orthopedic, and he is on the spectrum,” Brodsky said. “He actually started out with Hippotherapy at the age of 2 ½ when we were still in Virginia. Hippotherapy is therapeutic riding instructed by a physical therapist or an occupational therapist. He transitioned to therapeutic riding before we left Virginia in 2009.”
Matthew’s disabilities are less severe, but Brodsky said it took a while for Matthew to gain the confidence to get on a horse and join his brother.
“Matthew has asthma, anxiety, ADHD and allergies. They were both born at 24 weeks, so they had a medically challenged beginning. We actually moved to Maryland so Tyler could attend the Maryland School for the Blind.”
After arriving in Maryland, the Brodsky family found the Maryland Therapeutic Riding Program in Crownsville, where Tyler rode for three years. They were looking for a center closer to their Lutherville home, when a neighbor recommended The Retreat at Beckleysville.
“We started at the Retreat in 2012,” Brodsky said. “They were huge in helping Matthew gain confidence. Mary enrolls the kids in shows, so they go to different locations where they win ribbons and applause. They didn’t care what color the ribbon was.”
Tyler’s advancements have been more dramatic, including learning to walk.
“They never thought he would walk [and he did not walk until therapeutic riding] but now he is walking,” Brodsky said. “It helped with his gait and balance issues. He also has low [muscle] tone, so for him to sit in the [correct riding] posture he needs to have his legs in a certain position. Having to hold that and get his muscles used to that has helped his ab muscles support his low [muscle] tone.
Shunk’s creative methods and her dedication to the students stands out.
“She knows when to tell the parent to back off because she always advocates for the kid, and that is so much to her credit,” Brodsky said. “I am more of a helicopter parent because of how my kids started out. She’s also very creative. When Tyler wasn’t sitting up straight, she got a pool noodle and put it behind him, held by his arms while he still had to hold the reins. That was a constant cue to him that he had to sit up. She also went out and got wind chimes that she had adults hold in different locations in the ring, telling him to ride toward the chimes. That made it fun, a game. She has helped Tyler figure out right and left, with the right rein and the left rein. When he is engaged, his brain works faster. Mary has brought him from the walk and sitting trot to a posting trot. He did not steer the horse on his own when he came to Mary and now, he does. She is amazing... so in tune with each kid.”
Shunk speaks of the kids and the program with passion.
“This year, we were unable to hold Special Olympics [and] we weren’t able to go to the handicap riders event at Devon [due to Covid],” Shunk said. “So we held a Halloween show at the Retreat, with horses and riders in full costume.”
Multiple studies show the benefits of therapeutic riding include: improved muscle tone; improved balance ; increased confidence; speech/language enrichment; sensory integration; physical skills - including coordination, finger dexterity, and agility - and social and daily living skills.
Meg Carter said her 35-year-old daughter, Lucy has been in therapeutic riding since she was 4-years-old, and for the past six years she’s ridden at the Retreat.
“Lucy has bad epilepsy,” Carter said. “When she first started riding, we didn’t know it was that bad, we just knew she was delayed. Then the epilepsy got [worse], causing developmental delays. Therapeutic riding, to me, is one of the best things that people with disabilities, whether physical or mental, can do. The motion of the horse encourages them to use their body in a way that they typically don’t. That’s the physical side. The mental side, for people who have so little control in their lives, it gives them actual control.”
Carter said the fact that her daughter is actually directing her own horse is good for Lucy’s self-esteem.
“From a cognitive point of view, she gets more out of riding than any other cognitive activity. People with developmental disabilities often have a hard time following directions because they’re sometimes abstract,” She said. “But in riding, you put the concrete and the abstract together, and [even though] the tasks are very specific, they require a lot of thinking and planning. The steps all make a lot of sense to her, what she needs to do and how she needs to accomplish it.”
Volunteer, Kathleen Freeburger has served many roles at the Retreat. She’s an instructor, a sidewalker - assisting with the safety of the rider, and she is in the process of becoming a certified therapeutic instructor.
“I instruct individual riders and group lessons under Mary’s supervision,” she said. “I could not have ever accomplished this without Mary’s willingness to share her wealth of knowledge. Mary has been teaching for decades and has devoted her life to therapeutic riding. She has had students compete in the Special Olympics annually and has even taken them to the International Special Olympics. The reason we all help at her farm is because of our love for her, her farm, her horses, and our love of giving back.”
Volunteer, Karen Scott agreed.
“Everything Ms. Mary does at the Retreat is amazing,” Scott said. “There are so many dedicated volunteers that have been there for many years - long after their kids that went there to ride are grown and gone. The horse is a great equalizer. To be in charge of a 1,000 pound animal when you may not have much control over your own life due to a cognitive or physical disability is pretty amazing.”
Martha Sanchez’s 19-year-old son, Daniel rides at the Retreat. She said she saw a difference in Daniel on the very first day he rode a horse.
“Daniel has Downs Syndrome, celiac disease and some other issues,” Sanchez said. “He was 3 1/2 years old when he started walking. He was seven or eight when we tried therapeutic riding. The first time he got on a horse, after he got off, he was walking straight. It improved his posture and his walking. It was amazing,” she said. “We were so happy. I have seen him growing and becoming a little more independent.”
The Retreat operates with dozens of dedicated volunteers, from school students earning service learning hours, to parents of riders, to retirees who help with everything from assisting with lessons to caring for horses and maintaining the facility. Participating horses are never sold but are nurtured and cared for even after retirement.
“This is the only fun thing that my son has,” Sanchez said. “When he gets to the Retreat he jumps right out of the car and can’t wait to get to the fence and the horses. It is the best part of his life.”
Carter echoed those thoughts.
“I live about two miles from Mary and it took me 10 years to find her, which is a real shame,” she said. “The thing about Mary’s program is Mary. She is just a remarkable person and that comes through in everything she does. I think she is a horse whisperer and an autism whisperer. Her program is special because of her.”
Brodsky agreed.
“If I had the money, I would build her that covered arena myself, so more kids could ride throughout the year,” she said.
For more information about the Retreat at Beckleysville or to donate, visit www.retreatatbeckleysville.org.