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Cowboy Ball Lassos a Future for Erin and Others
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Sunday, July 16, 2017
 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

At 21, Erin Marquis should be reveling in the independence that comes with crossing into adulthood.

But the Hailey woman may never be able to navigate the world entirely on her own, thanks to a rare chromosomal disease and issues from epileptic seizures.

“She should be experiencing independence and she’s aware she can’t because of cognitive disabilities and it pisses her off,” says her mother Stephanie Marquis. 

Fortunately, Erin has a couple 1,500-pound friends at Swiftsure Therapeutic Equestrian Center—a place where horses are said to change lives through free therapeutic riding sessions tailored to each child and adult.

“Horses don’t care if you have a disability. They don’t look at a person and say, ‘Oh, here comes that one,’” said Stephanie Marquis.

As Marquis’ words echoed through the riding arena at Swiftsure, people began raising their paddles in support of the ranch, even matching a $50,000 matching grant at one point.

“This is the 26th year for the Cowboy Ball and it gets better every year,” said Esther Ochsman. “And the center is serving more people than ever before—120 people a week now.”

A sell-out crowd of about 400 people attended the Cowboy Ball held at Swiftsure Ranch south of Bellevue. They celebrated past accomplishments and looked forward to future accomplishments as they sat down to a dinner of bison prime rib laced with huckleberry sauce served up by David Fox of Silver Fox Catering.

The ranch retired its mortgage during the first quarter of 2017, said Board President Jeffra Syms. And a capital campaign raised the funds necessary to enclose the riding arena by mid-September.

The walls are being constructed so they can be opened during nice weather, allowing riders to look out onto the woods beyond.

The theme of this year’s ball was Cowboy and Indians, and ball-goers found a life-sized tipi in the center of the arena and 53 handcrafted painted tipis serving as table decorations.

The 2-foot tipis were created by Dianna Beaver, the mother of Swiftsure board member Jennifer Goitiandia and a retired haute couture dressmaker. Beaver lives in Oklahoma City with her husband Harry Beaver, and the two have become immersed in the Indian culture of a land that became the home of the Muscogee Creek and other Indians who followed the Trail of Tears west.

Harry Beaver wore a Muscogee Creek outfit featuring a turban--something he said the Indians copied from India Indians following a visit to Europe.

Gail Stickney and John Miller, meanwhile, extolled the smooth taste of Miller’s Seppen Tequila, which he finishes in whiskey barrels.

Miller found the tequila during a vacation horseback ride a couple hours out of Puerto Vallarta. He and his wife tied 18 bottles of tequila to each of their saddles to take home with them. Then they returned with suitcase that could carry 50 bottles each.

The Baston del Rey Extra Anejo tequila (www.bastondelrey.com) was included in two live auction packages offered at the ball, including one featuring a private tour of the tequila distillery and a week’s stay on Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

Other live auction items included a horseback tour of the Oregon Wine Country and a chance to golf Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, touted as America’s St. Andrews

Margaret Shafron, a Wood River Valley native who recently graduated from Pitzer College in California, donated a handful of charcoal pet portraits for the silent auction. Shafron’s commissioned pet portraits and oil paintings are available in the new Gallery Coco across from the Knob Hill Inn in Ketchum.

And Bellevue leather smith Jack Sept donated yet another pair of riding chaps—this time with Ashley Kelbert, a young woman who learned tooling under him before branching into women’s fringe.

Swiftsure put up three tons of alfalfa hay on the silent auction table. And Equine Manager Kristy Wood and Intern Natalie Sheffer paraded around Moose and Zeus, miniature horses used with small children who are intimidated by the bigger horses.

Gail Stickney has been a longtime volunteer at Swiftsure.

“I love horses and I love working with handicapped kids,” she said. “One of the most memorable was a young girl who had short arms. We attached reins to her arms with Velcro, and she turned her body to direct the horse. It gave me goose bumps the first time I saw her doing that.”

Swiftsure Board President Jeffra Syms was pleased with the response of the crowd: “Everyone enjoyed themselves and they were very generous. Now we’re excited about the impact that an enclosed arena will have. We should be able to accommodate more riders, and it’ll give us so many more other options, as well.”

The more adults and children that can be helped the better, said Stephanie Marquis.

“Horses don’t pass judgment—they work together with their riders as a team,” she said. “I work with the school program and some of the children who come here are behaviorally challenged. They’re children who don’t get a lot of positive feedback. But they come here and get positivity and respect. It’s magic.”

SEARCH FOR DIRECTOR NARROWS

Swiftsure Ranch should be naming a new executive director soon, after narrowing a field of candidates  to two finalists.

“Both of the finalists are phenomenal,” said Board President Jeffra Syms. “Either one would be fabulous for the part.”

Syms said she was surprised at the caliber of talent in the valley. Everyone who applied was phenomenal. I had no idea of the expertise of people in the valley.”

Swiftsure Ranch provides a variety of programs, teaching hippo-therapy, life skills and accountability for a wide range of clients ranging from those with developmental disabilities to physical disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s Disease.

It collaborates with a wide range of organizations, including Camp Rainbow Gold for children with cancer, the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind and Veterans and community service programs.

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