{"id":7014,"date":"2022-11-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/?p=7014"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:49:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:49:48","slug":"finding-hope-at-horseplay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/franklin-county\/finding-hope-at-horseplay\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding hope at HorsePlay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AS A toddler, 7-year-old Hope Smith babbled like others her age, then, on the autism spectrum disorder, and became non-verbal. When Hope and her adopted sister, Allie, who has cerebral palsy, began taking therapeutic riding lessons at HorsePlay Inc., a miracle took place. \u201cI thought HorsePlay was really just for the physical aspect, which Allie needed,\u201d said their mother, Kim Smith. \u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking of the emotional impact it could have on Hope. At first, she was terrified of the horses. She couldn\u2019t respond to us or demonstrate that she understood we were even around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith said that everything changed after a second session. \u201cWe started noticing the connection she had to a horse named Peck. It was almost like he knew right away this child had no words. But no words were needed. He met Hope right where she was. I\u2019ve never seen an animal bond with a child the way Peck has bonded with Hope. He was the one who first introduced us to our child who\u2019d been locked inside a world of her very own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 5 years old, Hope said her first sentence. Hollie Holder, director of HorsePlay, said, \u201cWhen Hope first came to HorsePlay Inc., she bonded with Peck, one of the best horses God ever created. Over the course of eight weeks, she started saying \u2018walk\u2019 and \u2018Peck.\u2019 Hope not only speaks in complete sentences now, but she\u2019s also bubbly and kind. She shares encouragement with other participants who are afraid to ride, and her compassion towards other riders is admirable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three years have passed. Hope has found her voice, and the effects of time and age have taken their toll on Peck\u2019s health. \u201cHe\u2019s getting older and sometimes doesn’t feel well,\u201d said Holder. \u201cWe put the needs of our horses ahead of riding, so on his bad days, Hope has to ride a different horse. Before she leaves for the day, she always visits Peck, brings him sweet notes for his stall, and prays for him to feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope\u2019s 8-year-old sister, Allie, is also finding her unique voice \u2014 sign language. Holder said, \u201cI love that HorsePlay is not only helping Allie with therapy, but she\u2019s taking the role of teacher. She is teaching us how to sign words, and she\u2019s not afraid to correct us if we make a mistake. I love how confident she\u2019s becoming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sessions at HorsePlay currently span eight weeks and are free to participants. With increased funding and more volunteers, Holder said they could extend lessons. \u201cWe want to serve as many children as possible. I get to watch these children grow in confidence, move past their fear of animals, strengthen muscles, learn to follow directions, express themselves, and take on more responsibility with each lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Hope now says, \u201cThat\u2019s good stuff. Good stuff.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AS A toddler, 7-year-old Hope Smith babbled like others her age, then, on the autism spectrum disorder, and became non-verbal. When Hope and her adopted sister, Allie, who has cerebral palsy, began taking therapeutic riding lessons at HorsePlay Inc., a miracle took place. \u201cI thought HorsePlay was really just for the physical aspect, which Allie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":7024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-7014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-november"],"yoast_head":"\nFinding hope at HorsePlay - Franklin County, TN Good News Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/franklin-county\/finding-hope-at-horseplay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding hope at HorsePlay - Franklin County, TN Good News Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AS A toddler, 7-year-old Hope Smith babbled like others her age, then, on the autism spectrum disorder, and became non-verbal. 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