Page 19 - Flathead Beacon // 5.20.2015

FLATHEADBEACON.COM COVER
MAY 20, 2015 | 19
PASSING
THE REINS
Cornerstone horse therapy program changes hands, opening up expansive possibilities for the future
But what happens when dozens of lives and dreams interconnect, weaving together in a powerful pattern, all pointing in the same direction?
The dream – and the destinies attached to it – becomes stronger, and its materializa- tion more powerful.
That’s how Bob and Timi Burmood think about their former business now, SAMS Riders, which ran for 25 years under their considerable experience and has now changed hands, with an optimistic outlook at the future.
How Bob and Timi ended up together on a 7-acre farm outside of Kalispell leading around children with developmental and physical disabilities on kind, gentle horses is a story of fate and hope, and finding one’s path in this world.
BY MOLLY PRIDDY
There’s an idea in American culture, that we’re all responsible for our own des- tiny. We can manifest what we truly want, and if we work hard enough and have the follow-through necessary to navigate the thin, hard, tough times, we’ll be rewarded with our dreams coming to life.
“It is a story of love,” Timi Burmood said.
Out at the small barn and arena just off Farm to Market, miracles happen all the time. This is where SAMS Riders, a thera- peutic horse-riding program, gets to work.
SAMS stands for Sensory And Motor Stimulation, which is exactly what the cli- ents receive when they climb aboard ther- apy horses Imp’s and Sonny’s backs. The feel and movement of a horse helps with sensory input and the kids perform tasks, like stringing beads together, while in the saddle.
“The mental and emotional wellbeing that comes with working with horses is a given,” Lynnette Holmes, the program’s new owner, said.
A couple weeks ago, Imp and Sonny en- joyed the cool spring air out in the fields as Holmes and her crew got to work fixing fences.
Holmes signed on as the new owner in late April, and there was plenty of work to be done on the farm. But while mainte- nance filled her plate and will for the next few months, Holmes has big plans for the program the Burmoods nurtured for near- ly three decades.
As an occupational therapist with roots in Bozeman, Holmes dreamed of one day working with animals to help people with disabilities. She started volunteering at the Burmood’s ranch a couple summers ago and felt a kinship with what was accom- plished there.
When Bob and Timi decided it was time to retire, they offered to sell the business to Holmes. She didn’t have the cash up front, she said, but felt the strong urge to find a way.
Holmes decided to get in touch with her
former employer, Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen, about getting a loan to buy the land and the business.
While completing OT school in Califor- nia, Holmes had also worked as a nanny for the Goguens’ kids. She pitched the idea for a loan to keep the SAMS Riders program afloat, and Goguen went a step further, of- fering to buy the property and the business, and Holmes could pay him back for the business.
“This was probably meant to be because it was such a coincidental alignment of the stars,” Goguen said in a recent interview. “It just coincidentally lined up with the thing I like to do in Montana.”
Goguen is known for donating millions of dollars for programs that have immedi- ate impacts in the valley, such as Two Bear Air Rescue. Keeping SAMS Riders around made sense, he said, because it has helped so many.
“Here, you donate dollars and kids get therapy that they need and their emo- tional well-being and their lives improve,” Goguen said. “ The project looked interest- ing to me, and I got to help Lynnette, who our family adores, achieve her dream in life.”
With Goguen’s backing, Holmes hopes to expand the capabilities at the SAMS ranch to include an outdoor arena with more space for straight lines, and may in- clude a program for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
She also hopes to include more children who need the horses’ help by adding more horses and trainers, and allow for health insurance to pay for the sessions.
SAMS Riders has about 20 clients right