Mega Arte Dressage Riding Academy in Elfin Forest and The Make-A-Wish Foundation first became affiliated when a 13 year old girl, named Melanie, chose Mega Arte to fulfill her wish.
Melanie had been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer of the Lymph nodes, a diagnosis that turned her life upside down. At one point she was given only a 20 to 30 percent chance of survival. She rose up against the odds and fought valiantly to beat the aggressive cancer. It has been three years since the original diagnosis and Melanie is now in remission. Melanie’s lifetime dream was to learn how to ride a horse and to be a part of its training. The Make-A-Wish Foundation made Melanie’s dream come true.
Meg Brown, owner of Mega Arte Dressage Riding Academy, chose a Morgan filly, named Jasmine, to be Melanie’s partner because of her size and temperament. When Melanie started coming to Meg’s facility, she was very weak from the aggressive regimen of eight rounds of chemotherapy. She had no experience around horses and was hesitant to even be around Jasmine. However, through careful and patient instruction, Meg succeeded in leading Melanie to overcome her ambivalence. Meg guided Melanie from the basic skills of grooming and caring for Jasmine to riding this filly at Introductory and Training Level dressage.
“The experience of working with Melanie has enriched my life and touched me,” Meg comments. “Melanie has inspired me because of her courage and determination to learn the skills of riding and, at the same time, continues to undergo regular testing to make sure the cancer doesn’t resurface. She faced this demanding challenge head-on, in spite of her illness and the stresses it creates.” Meg feels therefore that the learning process has been reciprocal both for her and Melanie.
According to Meg, working with Melanie and the members of The Make-A-Wish Foundation has added another dimension to her life. Meg has now started a program which invites the children of The Make-A-Wish Foundation to visit her ranch four times a year for a day of fun and learning. During these events the children tour the facility to learn about the other residents of the ranch, such as a llama, goats, bunnies, peacocks and chicks. They meet with horses of different sizes and breeds, varying from miniature horses to many different breeds including Welsh ponies, Arabs, Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds, and a Dutch Warmblood that Meg will be riding in the Del Mar Nationals this spring. These visits will be at no cost to The Make-A-Wish Foundation. During these visits Meg donates her time to also give a training session in basic riding to each child who wants to do it.
The first visit of The Make-A-Wish Foundation children occurred on Jan. 13. The pictures show that the children enjoyed themselves. Melanie happily demonstrated her newly-learned riding skills on Jasmine. It is apparent how much she has learned during her two years with Meg’s instruction.
Henry’s of Carlsbad, one of Mega Arte’s sponsors, donated the fruits and vegetables the children were very happy to feed to Meg’s farm animals.
The alliance between Mega Arte Dressage Riding Academy and The Make-A-Wish Foundation has benefited all concerned and serves as an outstanding example of community service within our riding community.
Melanie, who is now in remission and is much stronger mentally and physically, continues her dressage lessons on Jasmine at Mega Arte Dressage Riding Academy twice a week. She is now working at Training Level and would like to begin showing this year.
Anyone interested in getting more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation program at Mega Arte can visit the academy’s website at www.ridingacademy.biz.