New program at horse farm
Bert Welker is busy the entire day every day, but she's living her dream. The dream was made possible by her husband.
Although she's been involved with horses in many different aspects for about 20 years, she and her husband bought a farm on Chaintown Road in Scottdale five years ago.
"We did a lot of work on the place to make it a training and boarding facility," said Welker. "Our goal was to try and meet the needs of trail riders as well as those who wanted to show."
In order to purchase the farm and make the necessary changes, Welker's husband took an early retirement from Westinghouse. A year later he died from a rare form of cancer.
"His dream was to make this an equestrian center," said Welker. When he passed away she and her daughters worked hard to accomplish that.
Today, the 92-acre Regency Horse Ranch has an indoor arena, one of the largest outdoor arenas in Fayette County, heated and non-heated stalls for boarding, trails to ride on, a hot/cold bathing rack and offers lessons and hauling.
But the newest endeavor is equestrian therapies. This is a specialized form of rehabilitation, which uses the horse as a therapy tool to address the movement disorders associated with various neurological and neuromuscular conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Cerebral Vascular Accidents, Multiple Sclerosis and traumatic brain injury.
According to Welker, the goals of the program include: strengthening postural muscles, normalizing muscle tone, increasing strength, balance and coordination, as well as increasing confidence, self-esteem and verbal communication.
"Each session consists of therapeutic activity on horseback, which is tailored to the needs of each participant," said Welker. "The sessions are directed by our qualified therapist with the help of volunteer side-walker and an experienced horse handler."
There is actually an entire treatment team made up of a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist and a registered nurse.
"Because of the fun and interactive nature of the sessions, therapy burn out is practically nonexistent," said Welker.
Not including the therapy sessions, there are about 15 people that are currently taking riding lessons and range from ages 6 and up.
Christine Gantner is the professional trainer at the Regency Horse Ranch
"I've been riding horses since I was 7 (years old)," said Gantner. "I took time off for a couple of years and then Bert (Welker) called me in May and offered me a job here."
Besides giving riding lessons, Gantner also takes the horses out, grooms them and exercises them. "Some we're getting ready to show...others we're getting ready to ride and others we're getting ready to sell," she said.
Right now there are about 60 horses that are boarded at the ranch and about 20 of them are Welker's.
She allows her horses to be used for riding lessons and Welker also has no problem with allowing someone else to participate in horse shows with one of her horses. In addition, the ranch is the home of the Blazing Saddles 4-H Club.
"What we have, we try to share with anybody," said Welker.
Welker has always been interested in horses, but it wasn't until her daughters came along that she finally had one.
"I grew up on a farm in Oregon," said Welker. "We had dairy cattle and I wasn't allowed to have a horse. When my daughters were around 6 (years old) and wanted to ride, I let them do what I couldn't."
And they've shown horses for about 20 years - with good results and lots of trophies.
Dawn Welker-Shafer has been very competitive in Western Pleasure. She's shown at the Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio. It's the largest horse show for an individual breed in the world.
Carmen Welker-CoFrancesco began riding "reigning horses" when she was in high school.
"It's a sport all its own," said Bert Welker. "It's like a routine that ice skaters do, but on the back of a horse."
She learned the sport by watching and learning through the American Quarter Horse Association.
CoFrancesco also showed halter and is one of many futurities at the American Quarter Horse Congress.
"She placed as high as fourth in the nation in halter geldings," said Bert Welker. She showed Kidclusive. She was invited to the world show in Oklahoma - a show that you have to be invited to by earning so many points throughout the year. It is the most prestigious show.
Lynn Waugaman is a permanent fixture at the ranch. She worked on the farm before the Welker's purchased it and she stayed on to help with the Regency Horse Ranch.
"You get here, you get involved and you become part of us," said Waugaman.
For more information on the equestrian therapy program, call (724) 837-5703. For information on boarding and lessons, call (724) 887-7200.
