She believes fate placed her on the path she now follows; what allowed her to combine her experience with horses and nursing to help children with physical and mental disabilities.
'You know sometimes when you have that feeling that this is what you are meant to do?' she said. 'All paths led the way and all the pieces just fell together. In retrospect, I see that all things led me to this point.'
In 1994, Lauffer's daughter, Alesia, qualified to show her horse in the state 4-H show in Harrisburg. The show was spread out across a three-day period. The Lauffers, waiting for Alesia's class to compete, were looking for ways to pass the time.
'We were just tired from everything, both the children were hungry, and my husband was tired,' Lauffer said. 'I thought I would just go and sit down some place, so I went to the coliseum to watch some of the classes compete.'
As Lauffer relaxed in the stands, she noticed that the coliseum was being used for therapeutic riding classes for children with physical and mental disabilities.
'Some of the kids were severely disabled. The more I watched, the more I thought of how hard it was for my daughter, who had no disabilities, to achieve what she had done,' Lauffer said. 'And I knew how hard these kids were working. I became so overwhelmed.'
Lauffer soon located her husband, Larry, at the show and told him what she witnessed.
'I decided this was what I wanted to do,' she said. 'I wanted to be able to combine the passion that I had for the horses and my background as a nurse to do something like this. I think there was a reason why I went there. I was supposed to see that. There was a reason why all the pieces fell together.'
Lauffer began reading about therapeutic riding and approached the county's 4-H board about establishing the program. She trained through the Pennsylvania Council of Therapeutic Horsemanship. This is the program's third year of operation, in affiliation with the 4-H program.
A similar program was developed in the county about 20 years ago, she said, but it eventually fazed out. Other counties in the state have therapeutic riding programs, including Fayette County.
What makes Lauffer's program unique, she said, is that her therapeutic riders, if they are age 8 or older, may opt to participate in 4-H programs that allow them to ride and show their horses in competitions.
Other riders who are younger, or choose not to compete, still arrive at the Lauffers' Stony Ridge Stables for weekly sessions.
'We have all levels,' Lauffer said. 'We kind of gear the program toward what their parents want them to achieve. We never lose sight that we're having fun. We never want them to think they're having therapy.'
BARNYARD BENEFITS
During the sessions, riders stretch and exercise both their upper and lower extremities. Some riders participate in Lauffer's classes for recreational activity; others for social interaction or mental stimulation.
The participants are usually led outside on horseback, with the help of 4-H volunteers who walk beside the horses. On rainy days, the riders may play beach ball volleyball inside the stables, exercising their upper bodies.
'There are a lot of things they can do,' Lauffer said. 'What they can't do with the use of their own legs, they can do on horseback.'
Lauffer said some schools of research found that horseback riding is the only activity that simulates the human walk.
'If you were to watch a horse from its hindquarters, you would see the same hip action you'd see in a human,' she said.
Other research has stated that horseback riding rejuvenates a human's nervous system, builds upper and lower body strength and defines a center of gravity through stretching and external rotation of the hips.
'It's amazing to me to see the improvements and the progress that every one of these kids makes in their unique way,' she said. 'Some of them are very, very minuscule. But I always see them making progress, even if it's just improving their self-esteem.'
Lauffer makes sure that the riders who participate in the therapeutic classes are working alongside other riders in the barn. The constant activity stimulates the therapeutic riders and urges them to mimic the same behavior.
'It helps them feel as if they are part of the group,' she said. 'The riders (who participate in the standard riding lessons) learn about individuals with disabilities, about accepting them. They act as volunteer sidewalkers; some donated their horses to be used. Some pair up together for shows. They even wear matching outfits in the competition.'
LESSONS LEARNED
Lauffer said her program has taught her patience, tolerance and acceptance.
'We go through life every day complaining. And almost every day these kids walk in here and they come in with a smile,' she said. 'It doesn't matter how they place or how they did. They go out with a smile and you think, do I really have it that bad?'
Besides the children, Lauffer's greatest teachers are the horses.
'There is such an unconditional love there,' she said, of the relationship between the children with disabilities and the horses. 'The horses do indeed sense that the child needs some extra support and extra attention.'
Some ponies Lauffer uses for therapeutic riding prove this theory. Sir Charles, for example, seemed to think something was amiss when Lauffer placed the rider backwards upon his back.
'We were doing some stretching, a kind of push-up, but the child was sitting backwards, facing the rear of the horse,' Lauffer said. 'The pony would reach over and whack me with his head, then look back at the child as if to say, 'You got this kid on me backwards.' They sense there is a little extra need there.'
Even horses that tend to be a bit stubborn with their owners are perfect angels for the therapeutic riders.
'My daughter's horse tends to give her a rough time, but is absolutely wonderful with the little girl that rides him and does whatever she wants him to do,' she said. 'He seems to know not to give her a hard time.'
Lauffer said she evaluates the children when they first begin taking therapeutic riding classes to determine what horse best suits their personality or need.
'An autistic child who is very, very hyperactive tends to like horses that give him a lot of action,' she said. 'At the same token, you have to have a horse that is very tolerant of all that movement.'
Lauffer said she is touched by the friendships that form between child and animal.
'They know their horse's name. They bring them treats and carry on conversations as if they are talking to another human being,' she said. 'They build a bond. There's a friend there that doesn't care whether or not they have a speech impediment or whether or not they can walk. It's almost like the horse has a sense that this individual needs a little more of this love and care.'
She is equally impressed with the children.
'We had a little boy who placed fourth in competition, and didn't advance to states, because they only take the top three. But he said he wasn't disappointed. ... He said it doesn't matter whether he wins or not, as long as he's having fun.'
RICH REWARDS
Lauffer has seen progress.
A child with autism who was uncomfortable with an outsider's touch, eventually greeted Lauffer with an accepting hug. Others with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder and developmental delays have increased their muscular strength and mobility and improved their social skills.
Lauffer teaches sessions on evenings and weekends at her stables. She said her therapeutic riders often visit the barn during their off-time to help bathe and brush the horses and help other riders prepare for shows.
'We expect them to do as much as possible,' Lauffer said. 'We let them do as much as they can.'
But while Lauffer knows the program helps the children, she believes she benefits the most.
'They probably give me more than I give to them,' she said. 'They give me things that no money in this world could ever give me.'
