TULLAHOMA, Tenn. (WTVF) — Families say one midstate organization is changing the lives of their children. Now, people are working to save it from an uncertain future.
There's something so rewarding about a place in rural Tullahoma for Ken Mackay.
"It is just so uplifting," he said, speaking from a farm with horses grazing in the distance. "It's just a wonderful feeling when I leave from here."
He's not just talking about the peacefulness and views.
Three children named Wyatt, Benjamin, and Jaylee got ready to go riding on the horses.
Ken is the president of HorsePlay Inc., a nonprofit.
"It started over 25 years ago," he said. "We provide therapeutic horseback riding for kids 4-18. It's a wonderful thing."
In fact, for Jaylee's parents, it's life-changing.
"She was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome, and through that, she has low muscle tone," said Jaylee's father, Jonathan Swinford. "There have been multiple therapies that we've tried but nothing more motivating."
"They ride on the horse, and it's core strengthening," said Ken. "They're not on a mat in a clinic. They're on top of a horse, and they're having fun. In an 8-10 week session, you can see the progress that these kids make."
"We've found something that she's able to do," said Jaylee's mother, Mallori Swinford. "She doesn't feel she's any different than any other kid."
HorsePlay Inc. has hit hard times.
"Our expenses, like most people's, have gone up," Ken said. "Our donations are really, really low. The service that we provide to these families, we don't charge them anything. They've got enough on their shoulders. They don't need this. We're doing everything we can. We're knocking on doors. We're trying new people. We have to go by our budget, and right now, we're hurting. We need money."
Ken doesn't want to think about the possibility of this not being offered anymore.
"That'd be terrible," he said.
Ken's looking for donations for the day-to-day operations. He's also looking for grant writers.
"We want to not just survive, but we want to grow," Ken continued. "We want to serve more kids. I'm going to do my best to get this thing back on its feet and growing again."
If you want to learn more about HorsePlay Inc, you can find their Facebook page here. Their site can be found here.
