Charity Spotlight: Wheatland Farms
The Heisman Trophy Trust supports many organizations that cater to children with special needs. One such example is the Faith and Family Foundation based at Wheatland Farm in Purcellville, Va.
Begun in 1999 by Irish tenor Mark Forrest and his wife, Muriel, the Faith & Family Foundation serves children with disabilities and their families throughout the United States and the world. The Forrests have personal experience with the challenges of raising special needs kids. They are the parents of eight boys – one who passed away as a baby – and three of them have special needs.
Throughout the year, Wheatland Farm offers therapeutic riding, an adaptive hair salon, a wheelchair lending and detailing program and fun activities, all designed to include siblings and family members. These excellent programs and services are provided in a warm, loving, family centered, all-inclusive environment.
In 2014, a grant from the Heisman Trophy Trust allowed the farm to purchase a Sure Hands Therapeutic Riding Lift, which allows many of Wheatland’s most physically challenged riders to access horseback riding, a sport previously inaccessible to them due to their inability to climb up on a horse. Previous grants by the Trust also contributed to the purchase of the adaptive equipement and tack the farm needed to continue its therapeutic riding program, as well as two riding horses.
To join the Heisman Trophy Trust in helping the Faith and Family Foundation to continue its mission, click here.
How the Sure Hands machine works at Wheatland
Many of the students, especially those who are very little, visually impaired or unable to stand, find mounting from the ground scary.
Lifting students up onto the horse can be risky for the student and the staff, and makes it impossible to provide riding lessons to teens or adults, or those who are completely unable to walk.
The Sure Hands lift helps Wheatland mount its teen and adult riders, and children who are completely wheelchair bound safely and comfortably. This mean it can serve triple the number of riders who generally can’t be put on a horse with a traditional mounting block.
The Sure Hands Lift is the wind beneath those wings! Thank you Heisman! — Wheatland Farm.
Here is a video showcasing the great work being done by Wheatland:
