Today we’d like to introduce you to Debby Sabin.
Debby, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Inspired by the recovery process of a high school friend who was severely injured in a car accident, I knew I wanted to be a therapist when “I grew up.” After falling into a job running a special needs horseback riding program, I quickly saw the amazing benefits of this alternative therapy and fell in love with the setting, inspiration, and motivation of combining a sport, an animal, a casual non-institutional setting and a passion.
I founded Lovelane special needs riding program 30 years ago and it grew slowly and steadily over that time. I had not really planned for it to grown as big as it has, nor be my life’s work I started Lovelane with 2 horses and 8 riders a week. We are now serving about 130 weekly special needs students with a large staff and amazing facility. I am happy to say that I have been inspired daily by the students with special needs, their families and the thousands of volunteers, staff, and contributors who have to enable it to succeed and thrive for so long!
At Lovelane, we use the horse and its movement as a modality to work with children with a wide variety of special needs to address their individual therapeutic goals and our aim is to have that translate into their independence, gains, and confidence in their daily lives. We are privileged to see gains and miracles in this setting – large and small. I have witnessed children saying their first words, communicating for the first time or walking when prior therapy had not brought them to that point yet. Lovelane becomes their happy place, where therapy is fun and they are loved by their volunteers and instructors who get to know them over years and you realize that that influence doesn’t end with the child but affects the whole family, which can change a community. There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t loved being in the riding ring with the children at Lovelane.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Creating a therapeutic riding center, especially 30 years ago was new ground. There weren’t a lot of established organizations like Lovelane at the time, so I kind of learned as I went. There were amazing people along the way whose work and help was essential! The bigger we got, the more important it was to create systems, foundations, training, etc.. like any other business. I think the biggest challenges were that it was easy the be an Occupational Therapist, and therapeutic riding instructor and work with the kids and families, but I had to learn as we grew, more about finances, business, managing people etc. My biggest advice for anyone founding their own business or non for profit, is to listen to your gut and stick to your mission. Also, to hire and attract people with essential needed skill sets and a shared passion.
what should we know about Lovelane Special Needs Horseback Riding Program? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Lovelane is a therapeutic horseback riding program that has a dramatic impact on the physical and cognitive development of children with special needs. We serve children from 2 years old to 20, with a wide variety of special needs. For 30 years, Lovelane has been committed to providing an individualized program for children that integrates the pure joy and freedom of riding a horse with a therapeutic approach to achieve the child’s specific gains and goals.
Lovelane’s core programming consists of weekly, year-round, one-on-one therapeutic horseback riding for 100 students. In the course of a year, Lovelane provides over 4000 individual lessons. A licensed therapeutic riding instructor works closely with the family and their other therapeutic and medical professionals to support and enhance specific goals for each child. Many of the children served at Lovelane have multiple therapies in their lives. Lovelane stands out as an effective and therapeutic adjunct that brings joy, love, and empowerment to our clients. In a world where they are sometimes told what they cannot do, Lovelane’s experience focuses on what they CAN do! They can be a rider, they can be independent and they can exceed expectations!
Our objective is to improve each child’s quality of life by incorporating the joy of riding, the emotional impact of working with animals, the freedom of movement that is inherent in this activity and the well-documented clinical successes of therapeutic activities on horseback.
I am proud of the high quality, passion, and love that all our staff brings to their lessons and jobs at Lovelane.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Do something you love and then it becomes a lot easier to put your all into it. The work becomes a passion rather than a task. Also, surround yourself with people with similar values and passion for the work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 40 baker bridge rd. Lincoln, MA 01773
- Website: lovelane.org
- Phone: 781-259-1177
- Email: mail@lovelane.org
- Facebook: facebook.com/lovelaneriding/
- Twitter: @Lovelaneriding
- Other: YouTube: LovelaneLincoln
Image Credit:
lovelane
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