Welcome to Saddles and Smiles Therapeutic Riding Group
Saddles and Smiles is a Jefferson County 4-H Club.
Established in Jefferson County, WV, it is a Therapeutic Riding
Club for disabled children. Our club is unique in that we work
with both abled and disabled children.  The 4-H members
work directly with the horses and disabled participants,
teaching and learning from each other- children helping
children-
Saddles and Smiles 4-H club allows disabled children to ride
ponies while giving the abled child the opportunity to help.

Saddles and smiles also has a community project called
Ponies and Promises - It provides therapeutic riding to
disabled children and adults that are not of 4-H age.  We work
together to make sure that everyone can take advantage of this
wonderful opportunity!

Please visit all of our pages - in our photos you'll see our
monthly meetings, parades, our summer camp and our fun
shows. You'll see children helping children, and you'll see the
wonderful horses and volunteers that help to make this a very
rewarding exprience!
If you would like to join us, visit our "Want to Help?" page!
See stories and bios of our wonderful horses,
kids and volunteers on our "About Us" page
This Month's featured rider...
Darby Patterson
Pd-6
8/29/2010



Leading My Way
Throughout my life I have learned many valuable lessons from my
peers. They have taught me lessons that I could never live without. My
peers have guided my way through the hard times and challenges that
I have faced. These people mean a great deal to me and they could
never be thanked enough. There are three people in particular that
have really helped shape my life. These people might not mean
anything to anyone else, and they might not be at all alike, but they still
have been a huge value in my life for many of the same reasons.
One of those very valuable people in my life is Jordan Liskey. Jordan is
definitely over looked by many people due to her disabilities. However,
she will never be over looked by me. Jordan has never had an easy
life, from the start she was born prematurely with disabilities. She
never got the chance to run around and play like a real kid or hang out
and have sleepovers. Jordan has been in a wheelchair all of her life,
she cannot walk, nor can she talk, but that has never stopped her
pride that I appreciate in her. If you knew her you would know that a day
with no smile on her face is very unlikely. Jordan loves to laugh and be
surrounded by people. Jordan loves everyone who is willing to accept
her for who she is. Jordan has taught me a great deal of things since I
have met her, and I appreciate all of them. She has taught me to be
optimistic, to take pride in everything that I do, never give up, work hard,
and always wear a smile on your face because chances are, that there
is always going to be someone far worst off than yourself and if that
person can smile, so can you.
Kaitlyn Thorsell is the second person who inspires me; she has been
my role model since the day we met. Kaitlyn is definitely someone you
would call an over achiever. She goes way beyond everyone else in
everything, not because she wants the fame or to be popular but just
because she can, and she likes to. Kate is definitely the hardest
worker I know. She takes on a lot of different hobbies and clubs. She
is in both 4-H and FFA, where she first started showing her cows and
horses. She currently plays softball for her college and has played
sports her whole life while she was growing up. She has held many
important roles in the community and state. She is one of our former
West Virginia Beef Queens among many other things. The phrase “I
can’t” is definitely not in her vocabulary. Her willingness and eager
attitude get her everywhere she wants to go. She never lets drama or
gossip get in her way. She is an extraordinary individual, and there is
no doubt in my mind that she will do many more great things in her life.
For my final person I admire greatly I would have to say Preston
Berkley. Preston is by far the smartest person I know. He has a lot
under his belt all year long but he never lets that faze him. He is an
active 4-H and FFA member, where he serves in many leadership
positions and competes in many contests. He has been on many
academic teams at Jefferson High School in the past few years. He
raises his own sheep herd, and is very knowledgeable about his
lambs and could tell you anything about them that you wanted to know.
He just recently graduated from Jefferson and is now attending
Clemson University. Everyone knows Preston and everyone that
knows him likes him unless they are jealous. Preston is very inspiring
and has helped me more than once make executive decisions about
my lambs and other 4-H projects.
These three people might be very different, but they mean a lot to me
no matter what. They have lead me through the thick and the thin, and
they continue to lead me new places everyday. Some of the valuable
things I have learned from them cannot be taught in a classroom. In
fact many people, even older people might not get a lot of these
concepts they have taught me through the years. Again, I don’t know
what I would do, or who I would be without these three leading my way.
Sometimes people forget where they learned things, or which teacher
taught them that, but I will never forget. I will know some of the most
valuable lessons I learned were taught by some of my favorite people,
my friends, my peers, and my role models. Thank you Jordan, Kaitlyn,
and Preston, for those lessons I never will forget.
Each month we will feature a photo and story on one of our participants.  
This month our featured rider is....
Straight from the horse's mouth...
Up-to-the-minute news and information concerning Club schedules, events
and more...
Thank you, Darby
Be sure to check out our
favorite links on our
"Contact Us" page-
Wellness Wednesday at Shepherd college is the
last Wednesday of the month . . pool is free!
We have some amazing kids . . .
put your child's story here!
Special Needs' Talent show
June 3 at 6 pm
Jefferson county
Fairgrounds

Free, food, fun and frolic!