Second Place
Amanda Perry
Rock Bridge High School
Columbia Missouri

A shrill giggle escapes the lips of a woman on a horse.  Adrenaline rushes through her from the thrill of galloping over the jump.  The invincibility that she feels riding this huge animal is crystal clear upon her face; etched into the smile that she wears like a first place ribbon.  You wouldn’t know that this woman has a mental disability.  You wouldn’t know that her fellow riders are also disabled, some mentally and some physically.  This woman represents everyone; everyone who has ever ridden a horse and everyone that has felt the rush of adrenaline that comes from achieving the impossible.  At Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center I experienced first hand the truth to the statement “Inclusion leads to opportunity.”  Cedar Creek is a riding center that not only promotes diversity, but also promotes inclusion.  Inclusion truly exists at Cedar Creek because people with disabilities of all types are able to experience horseback riding just as any other rider without a disability would.  Volunteers help lead the horses and walk next to the rider for support in order to ensure a safe and enjoyable riding experience.  As the riders improve, many need only one or even no side walkers to assist them.  Inclusion benefits us all through both opportunity and understanding.
            Inclusion leads to opportunity for the riders.  Physically disabled riders, such as those who are paraplegic, are able to gain strength in muscles not normally used.  Mentally disabled riders are given the opportunity to learn and grow by following directions from leaders and side walkers, and all riders benefit from riding horses because they are given a sense of control.  They are able to take the reins and command this 900-pound animal to walk, run, turn or gallop despite the handicap that limits their lives in many other ways.  The horse does not know that the rider is paraplegic; the horse does not know that the rider is autistic; the horse knows that the rider is a person, giving directions that it should follow.
            Inclusion doesn’t only benefit people with mental and physical disabilities, but people without disabilities as well.  As a volunteer side walker at Cedar Creek I learned a lot.  I learned that there is little difference between all of us no matter our handicap.  These little differences, if can let them, become what make life real and beautiful.  If everyone was the same and we all had perfect lives without obstacles to overcome, our triumphs (like learning to gallop for the first time or acing a hard test) wouldn’t mean as much as they do.  By talking with people that aren’t exactly like me and who have different and more challenging obstacles that I do, I have been given the opportunity to understand the importance of inclusion.  I made some wonderful connections as a volunteer at Cedar Creek.  I met people who made me smile, made me empathize, made me laugh, made me think, made me grow.  Truly special people were there every week with a smile and a helmet ready to ride.  I will never forget the friendships that I made and when I volunteer again in the spring, I know that I will make new friendships and learn new things.
            Inclusion really does lead to opportunity; the opportunity to understand, the opportunity to learn, the opportunity to feel and the opportunity to succeed.  As a volunteer I have witnessed the effects of inclusion on others and I have felt the effects of inclusion myself.  By realizing that we aren’t so different and celebrating the differences we have, we can include everyone, so that everyone grows, learns and succeeds together