Blind Love

Blind Love

PEORIA, Ariz. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- She’s a champion rider, a rodeo queen and a savvy businesswoman. This woman sees past her disability and helps others see past theirs.
Sam Madden loves her horses. It was her vision that created Moonreach Ranch. Madden says, “I knew exactly what it was going to look like.” She did it all without ever seeing it. “I went blind from diabetes.”
When Madden lost her vision 15 years ago, she turned to horses for help. Madden says, “It’s nice to feel needed and have someone to take care of and someone who loves you unconditionally:”
“It had never occurred to me in a thousand years that it was possible for me to show a horse.” Not only did she show them … she became a winning rider and rodeo queen. Madden makes her way around the arena by listening to a special device that lets her know where she’s headed. Now she’s helping others find their way.
Madden hopes her student Lauren Andera will see her potential. Andera says, “You know that the horse is nice.” The two talk about horses and they talk about life.
Madden makes sure that Andera leaves knowing “because we’re blind, it may take us twice as long and be twice as much work, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible." She hopes to inspire other blind people to take the lead and follow their dreams.
Moonreach Ranch is near Phoenix. Madden works with the Foundation for Blind Children and believes working with horses give the children the confidence to accomplish anything.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: /newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:

Sam Madden
moonreachranch@cox.net

http://www.ivanhoe.com/smartwoman/p_swstory.cfm?storyid=10884

Blind Love -- Smart Move

BACKGROUND: Sam Madden lost her vision to complications of diabetes 15 years ago, when she was just 29 years old. Her ranch's Web site proclaims, "Sam is the only totally blind, former diabetic, kidney and pancreas transplant recipient with a clotting disorder to become an internationally recognized equestrienne." Being a competitive horseback rider was something Madden says she would have never dreamed of when she first lost her sight. Now one of her tricks is jumping off a running horse and actually landing on her feet! Madden earned the title "Ms. Country Western Arizona." She rides in rodeos, hot laps, parades, and grand entries. Madden says when she first learned how to jump with her horse it felt like she had grown wings. She now uses her gifts to give wings to blind children, giving horseback riding clinics, and encouraging the kids to focus on their abilities ... not their disabilities. Madden helped design Moonreach Ranch in Peoria, Ariz. She made sure the property's lay out would be easy to navigate without vision. Madden co-owns the ranch with her partner, Ralph Carr.
DANCING ON HORSEBACK: Madden competes in horse shows against riders who, unlike her, can see where the horse is headed. One of the horse-riding styles she practices is dressage, an Olympic sport that looks a bit like dancing on horseback. Madden has even achieved national ranking on the National Disabilities Sports Alliance's developing riders list in dressage. The United States Dressage Foundation says the riding style was once the pastime of early European aristocrats. The riding style includes several different kinds of gaits like the trot, canter, canter half-pass (a nearly sideways step), and passage (a slow-motion trot). Visit http://www.usdf.org for more information.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BLIND: Who's better to the lead the blind ... than the blind? Madden works with The Foundation for Blind Children to help kids without sight learn to see their potential. You can help, too. Go to their Web site, http://www.the-fbc.org. The foundation has been around and trying to help blind children in Arizona since 1952. On the national level, the National Federation of the Blind also reaches out to blind children and helps them learn about their potential. The NFB awards scholarships and helps educate parents about raising a blind child. Their Web site is http://www.nfb.org.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: /newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:

Sam Madden
moonreachranch@cox.net

http://www.ivanhoe.com/smartwoman/p_swsmartmove.cfm?storyid=10885&sm=yes