After lunch we headed over to the NAC ranch and had a horse therapy session. Horse therapy or hippotherapy has a lot of benefits for a wide range of therapy needs. V has riding a horse for therapy before, but this is the first time she’s been with a group that were really comfortable with her needs. In fact, I am so used to showing people how to work with her, that I started to explain a few things, but I quickly saw that this was not their first rodeo and were more than equipped to work with V’s muscle tone issues, etc. They started the session with Veronica brushing the horse and helping as they got it saddled. She was a little stressed out to begin with, but the team working with her (one leading, one on each side) knew exactly how to get her in to her best position and by the end of her 40 minute session she was relaxed and I think ready for a nap! The NAC has riders of all abilities, my older daughter happily took a lesson at the same time. The lessons ended after the girls helped remove the saddles, brushed their horses and gave them a treat.
Next we headed over to the NAC climbing wall. I’ll be honest, I really couldn’t see how this would work for V, but I think she enjoyed this as much as anything else. She does like heights, crazy girl, but she also really enjoyed feeling the wall and was reaching up for the next place to grab hold. Kim got her in a harness, than a sling that hung from the ceiling, the rope was held by her sister. As Veronica reached her hands up to the next rock, and her feet looked for a rock to step on, her sister would pull her up a little higher so that Veronica could climb the wall. The wall is 32-feet – she did not climb THAT high, but got a few feet off the ground and she loved it. All smiles. Kim was awesome, so knowledgeable and knew just how to help Veronica reach her potential in that session. She explained that blind people often have a better perception about the climbing wall and I could see how the weightlessness and things to feel and reach for allowed for an experience that pushed V to do more. We left with Veronica laughing and nodding her head yes, which was her way of saying she liked it – and Veronica’s dad figuring out how we can set up our own climbing wall. It might just end up in my living room…that’s another story.
While we were at the NAC we met Evan, our guide tomorrow for Nordic skiing. He showed us the equipment and asked some questions to make sure we were all prepared for our next adventure. This should be interesting; Todd and Syd have never skied and I haven’t since college. At least we know Veronica will be safe with Evan guiding her!
On the way home my 15 year old was on her phone Googling homes for sale in Park City – that’s when you know it’s been a good trip.
With Sundance in town we’ve been wanting to go to Main Street and see the action. I was hoping to get some tickets for a film, but haven’t really had the time. It was cold out, so we bundled up and checked out the scene. It was really fun looking at shops and people watching. We didn’t see anyone famous, OK, I think I saw Sandra Bullock, but nobody else thought was her so maybe not. And I heard some guys talking about Kim Kardashian at the Moo ice cream shop…
Now it’s to bed to rest up for another adventure tomorrow.
Disclaimer: Park City Mountain Resort provided me and my family with free ski passes and other compensation as part of its invitation for me to participate as a Snowmama. The opinions and experiences are my own.
Fabulous trip!