Hearing What Most People Never Learn to
See
- Part 2
Story by Karen Brown
Sam
Madden lost her sight to diabetes at age 30. Since then, her passion for horses
was re-ignited. Through the horse Sam has traveled a road of discovery about
herself, her horses, and the world of competition.
An accomplished rider before losing her sight, Sam Madden has fine-tuned her
ability to feel her horse. She amazes people by riding round circles and symmetrical
serpentines. Sam explains, “I’ve just learned to pay a lot closer
attention. I can feel my circle is round. Feeling is one of my only clues
as to what is going on. Most people receive 90 percent of their input visually;
I get 90 percent of my information on a horse from a ‘lower seat of
learning!’ I can’t see if the horse is on the bit or which way
he is bent, let alone something as subtle as where the corner of his inside
eye is; and I can’t see whether the distraction outside the arena is
just a curiosity or a horse-eating monster. I’ve become acutely aware
of the cues through my seat and hands that convey the same things other people
see with their eyes.”
Sam has mastered several different methods of orientation. She rides completely
independently in a round pen by holding a long whip in her outside hand as
a “curb feeler” against the rail. She is able to ride a very round
circle around a person by listening to the distance from a steady-speaking
voice. On trails, Ralph wears jingle-bobs on his spurs and rides in front
of her. In rail classes at horse shows, Sam will get directions via a two-way
radio from her navigator in the stands.
For dressage competition, USAE rules allow blind riders to utilize “living
letters” in order to navigate the arena. In a discipline where no outside
assistance is allowed, this rule provides that eight people may be stationed
at each of the primary letter markers around the arena so they may call out
that letter to the rider as she negotiates the course. Sam found some difficulties
with this system, “The quieter voices of women and children tend to
get lost in the wind - and just try to find eight MEN at a dressage show!
Plus there is no clause that says if any one of those nine people makes a
mistake, the rider gets to call ‘Do over!’”
So Ralph went to work to design an electronic, portable speaker system he
christened Alphabet-Eyes. This innovative system is considered adaptive equipment
and is allowed in competition under USAE “living letters” rule
1922.4.1. The system consists of eight separate units in which there are three
speakers, an MP3 player with a recording of Ralph’s voice announcing
the name of the letter, an amplifier, a voltage regulator, a receiver, a servo
(electromechanical converter), and a 12-volt battery. One unit is placed at
each of the main perimeter letters around the dressage arena. Ralph uses an
eight-channel radio transmitter to signal the receiver in any of the eight
units (up to four at once) to repeat the name of that letter at the appropriate
time to orient Sam to her location in the arena.
Sam and Zoe were so successful competing and winning in open dressage competitions
with able riders, that Sam set her sights on the Paralympics. However, Sam
was persuaded by her trainers that Zoe could not take her there as she did
not have the movement and conformation needed to compete on an international
level in dressage. Even though she had already secured a place on the NDSA
Developing Riders List for 2003, Sam made the hard decision to sell Zoe. She
tried a couple of highly qualified warmbloods but found them to be unacceptable
for a variety of reasons.
She continued her search for an acceptable mount, while she waited for another
young horse to grow up. Sam laughs, “I went through my mid life crisis
a few years ago at age 40 and decided I wanted a baby. So I bought a nine-month-old
Pinto/Paint stud colt I named Danny (registered as Dare To Dream In Color).
We got home at 5:30am on a Monday morning from a horrendous icy trip trailering
him home from Colorado. There was a message on the answering machine that
a pancreas was waiting for me if I responded within an hour. The message had
been left only a half hour earlier. That evening I was in surgery.”
That young 9-month-old stud colt has fulfilled the promise of his American
Warmblood Society sire by filling out to 17.2 hands of muscle, power, and
grace. A gorgeous dark bay tobiano Pinto/Paint gelding, Danny has matured
into a gentle giant who seems to know his job is to take care of Sam. At 4
years old, Danny has benefited from spending his early years in the hands
of a natural horseman who taught Danny that there is fun to be had with the
two-leggeds. Ralph took the opportunity during Danny’s pre-saddle days
to teach him natural ground maneuvers as well as a number of tricks. While
much of this provides fun and entertainment the real bonus is the mental agility
and emotional control Danny has gained by challenging his mind while his body
developed.
Sam was the first on Danny’s back when the time came for saddle training
to begin. She says, “Of course, Ralph had done two years of natural
horsemanship with him, and I had already developed a trusting relationship
with Danny on the ground. There was no doubt in my mind that when I got on
him the first time he’d be a perfect gentleman and treat the whole thing
as some fun new game! I do all Danny’s handling: finding his stall,
haltering and leading him to the cross ties, getting my equipment from the
tack room and grooming and tacking him up, bathing him in the wash rack, and
turning him out for a romp.”
Sam originally planned to pursue international competition. But, in the years
she and Danny have been together, Sam has felt a shift in her perception of
the qualification process for NDSA (National Disability Sports Alliance) riders.
“I was nationally ranked on the NDSA Developing Riders list for dressage
in 2003, having qualified with Zoe in 2002. But I’m becoming reticent
about pursuing the Paralympics as a goal because riders have to submit qualifying
scores from showing two different horses. Also, riders often have to qualify
at major championships - even compete in the Paralympics - on strange horses.
That goes against my ‘natural’ instincts.”
“All my hard work is towards forming a partnership with my own horse.
It’s not about advancing my own skills so I can sit on any horse and
make him go through the motions. My horse is not a tool, and it takes months
to develop the unspoken bond of trust we have. My goals right now are more
domestic (the Pinto World Championships in Tulsa) so I can afford them, do
them with my own horse with whom I’ve been working so hard to make this
look easy, and not have to spend more time fund raising and campaigning for
sponsors than I spend with my horse!”
Given her accomplishments to date and her will to succeed, there’s no
doubt Sam and Danny will excel in their bid for glory in whatever venue they
enter. “I guess what makes me determined is that I see no reason to
NOT be determined. I don’t see myself as any different from anyone else.
I’m not blind; I just can’t see!”
While Danny’s foundation training progresses, Sam and Ralph have recently
realized a mutual dream with the grand opening of Moonreach Ranch. Both have
boarded their horses for years, but as their lives revolve so much around
the horses it was an obvious leap to create a ranch design to provide a natural
home for horses with subtle adaptations to help Sam find her way independently
around her own barn.
“Ralph and I decided to create our dream place from scratch and thought
we’d tack on a few extra stalls to offer the same luxury to a few select
boarders - and help pay the mortgage! I came up with all the major design
features, and Ralph did all the detail work and figured out how to accomplish
what I wanted done.”
Being the all-around jack of all trades with a background in engineering,
Ralph spent the first 8 months of 2004 single-handedly building the uniquely
designed 8 stall barn and renovating the existing house she and Ralph purchased
in Peoria, AZ.
“And it is a completely friendly facility for a blind person!”
exclaims Sam.
“Too many times I’ve walked face-first into the edge of a swinging
door left half open, so we have all sliding doors. The floor plan is very
simple, and everything has its place. Ralph put in a rope from the house for
me to follow to the barn. No horse can stick its head into the aisle for me
to run into, and I can get around just by feeling the walls. The barn aisle
at one end opens into the round pen, and across from the tack room are sliding
doors into the arena, so I can find my way to either place.”
“We have ‘don’t move the furniture on the blind woman’
rules for the boarders. Everything has a place. Now, if we could just teach
the rules to the dogs, I wouldn’t be tripping over anything!”
exclaims Sam. The quality of the facility speaks for itself, as the 6 stalls
open for boarding were filled within days of the grand opening.
While there is still much work to be done on the ranch and their home, Sam
and Ralph are settling into a comfortable routine. By day she works at her
computer while Ralph manages the barn and horses, gives lessons, and continues
his renovation projects. Each evening, Danny’s trainer arrives just
as Sam has completed his grooming and tacking up. Sam stays ringside during
his workout where she can “watch” his ride. She can hear what
most people never learn to see. “I can hear if Danny is relaxed or rushing,
forward or lethargic, focused or distracted, in a frame or strung out. After
the ride, the trainer and I discuss how it went and the plan for the next
day.” While they talk, Ralph will hose the sweat off Danny and take
him out for a good roll in the sand.
“My life is a story of hope. But it’s not about me. It’s
about letting others know they have the potential to overcome their own challenges.
My hope is that I will touch people’s lives and help others see that
no obstacle is insurmountable. Each of us has the choice to regard life’s
challenges as formidable roadblocks or simply speed bumps; and if you do your
best and believe in yourself, you can lasso the moon!”
At this point, Sam’s personal goal is to take Danny to his full potential
and to make Moonreach Ranch a quality facility to be proud of. “By achieving
my personal goals, I hope to achieve the greater goal of being able to share
the gifts I’ve been given in life with others. My enthusiasm and determination
in the face of adversity seem to be contagious in making people forget their
own trivial troubles. And I hope to enlighten riders to the natural approach
to dressage, about which I am passionate; to help them and their horses establish
a relationship of natural respect, trust, and understanding.”
Sam concludes, “My true joy comes not from winning ribbons but from
inspiring others by demonstrating the ABILITIES of the DISabled to those who
are caught up in their own seemingly insurmountable challenges. I don’t
want people to come away saying, ‘Wow, look what Sam did,’ but
rather, ‘Wow, think what I could do!’” You can learn more
about Sam, Ralph, Danny, and Moonreach Ranch at www.LassoTheMoon.TVHeaven.com.
Some people judge their worth by the color of ribbons. Sam has proven she’s
a winner by meeting every challenge face-on. “When I say I’m a
winner I mean, I’m strong. I’m a survivor. I refuse to be a victim.
I’m in control. I’m happy because I take responsibility for my
own happiness. I do not blame others or my circumstances. No matter what life
throws at me, I know I’m going to find a way to adapt and meet the challenge.”
“Life is about adapting and overcoming, not only overcoming my own problems,
but overcoming people not believing in me. One of my philosophies is that
success means believing in yourself and surrounding yourself with others who
do. I have no time for negative thinkers.”
Thanks to Sam Madden and Ralph Carr for working with Karen
Brown on this article.
You can reach Karen Brown at Solitaire Ranch in Bandera at 830-796-4764.
Click here to read Part 1 of Sam
Madden's story.