Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Camacho.
Andrew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2008 Sasha and I were blessed with a beautiful little girl, Solana Gracia, who was born with Down syndrome. In March 2014, after several years of trying unsuccessfully to find a therapeutic riding program within our community that offered encouragement, growth, and inspiration while providing consistency in lessons, I had a dream one night: to start a non-profit therapeutic riding program that would benefit ALL individuals with special needs. I envisioned a place where families could gather without judgment or ridicule, a program where those that felt lost could start to feel a glimmer of hope again and where every individual was accepted for who they are with compassion and love.
In July 2016, the dream of SoléAna Stables came true when we opened our doors at Big Wish Farm in Alvin, TX. Today the program serves 32 amazing individuals with special needs, but our waiting list is rapidly growing.
Through our daughter Solana we have a renewed sense of compassion, understanding, unconditional love and, most importantly the importance of service. While Solana was the initial inspiration, it was the realization that SoléAna Stables would also touch the lives of countless other individuals with special needs. Sasha and I are determined to keep SoléAna Stables a place where our riders and their families can feel accepted and not judged, loved not forgotten, encouraged not disheartened.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It certainly has not been the smoothest road, but it has definitely been a road worth taking. One of the biggest challenges that we face each week is volunteer consistency. Each rider needs two to three volunteers that not only ensure their safety, but volunteers also engage with our riders throughout the lesson. This not only helps our riders build relationships with other people but each week our volunteers encourage our riders to reach their highest potential. Without volunteer support, we simply cannot run our program. Volunteers do not need to have horse experience, just a heart to serve our riders and their families.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
The mission of SoléAna Stables is to enrich the lives of people with special needs using the healing power of horses. We use therapeutic horseback riding and equine-assisted activities as a way to achieve goals that enhance physical, emotional, social, cognitive, behavioral and educational skills for people with special needs. We focus on nurturing and developing these unique life skills, as well as develop a distinctive bond between the horse and rider.
We are most proud of seeing that “one moment” when the rider clicks with their equine, and the rush of pride and excitement hits their face immediately after. Witnessing a rider’s breakthrough first hand is life changing and we are so grateful to share those moments with the rider and their family. We are also very thankful for the hour of respite that we can offer our riders’ family, knowing that their rider is in good hands and that they can take some time off from being the primary caretaker.
It is those moments that motivate us to continue and help validate the work that we have set out to do in our very special community.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
When we first started SoléAna Stables, we set out to help people with special needs, but being a 27 year veteran of the United States Air Force, I understand the benefits that this program can have on military veterans coming home from war. Veterans many times return from combat with negative self-esteem and are a shell of the person they used to be. Transitioning to their “ordinary” lives can be very difficult. Our goal is to develop a program specific to our veterans that will help them cope with stress, grief and the various struggles they face upon returning home. While traditional talk-therapy can be very helpful, studies are showing the great benefits equine-assisted activities and therapeutic riding are having on our veterans.
Contact Info:
- Address: 19200 McKay Road
Alvin, Texas 77511 - Website: www.soleanastables.org
- Phone: 713-436-6625
- Email: director@soleanastables.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soleana_stables/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoleAnaStables/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoleAnaStables
- Other: SoleAna Stables
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