Meet Alex 2005	Meet Mallory 2004	Meet Jared 2003	Meet Taisha 2002
Meet Sammy 2006	Meet Kayleigh 2008	Meet Austin 2008	Meet Natalie 2008

2006

Sammy:
As told by Sandra Seiden, Florida/Georgia State Director

I clearly remember the very first time I met Sammy! From the moment she stepped out of the car for her first scheduled "Pony Time" she melted me!!!  After embracing me with the BIGGEST hug her small arms could muster, she reached for not only her mother's hand, but mine as well; not to hold on to, but to join together!

  Yes...her first non-verbal request was that her mommy and I hold hands as we walked to the barn together!  It was the start of a very special friendship!

 It didn't take long for Sammy to warm up to our Personal Ponies.  Anyone could see...It was "Love at first sight!"  Sammy wanted to participate in EVERYTHING!!!!! Her enthusiasm was a joy to witness as she joined in to groom, bathe and even muck stalls! When it was time to go, she made sure to kiss each and every pony!  She had the BEST time!!!

 Unfortunately, Sammy's second visit didn't end as well as the first!  When "Pony Time" was over, Sammy ran to the paddock to see our little "Oopsie Daisy"  who was curiously waiting at the fence line for her. In all of the excitement, she tripped and fell, hitting her head on the corner of the trailer hitch!  It was immediately obvious, that Sammy would need several sutures!!! I felt TERRIBLE!!!!  She was having so much fun and I didn't want her to associate getting hurt with the ponies!  But then, my cell phone rang!  It was Tammy, Sammy's mom calling from the emergency to set up Sammy's next "Pony Time"!!! They didn't want to get blocked out!!!!!

Sammy came the very next week!  Nothing was going to keep her from spending time with her special new friends!  Sugar Lips was especially happy to see her friend Sammy!

Sammy never missed a pony  visit!  As months went by, she celebrated her holidays with her special friends!  She is so animated when she is with her ponies.  No words are necessary; her body language speaks for itself! Spending "pony time" each week with Sammy is truly MY PLEASURE!  Her smile is contagious!  Magic goes on between her and the ponies at each and every visit!  She tries with all her might to speak, even if just by forming her lips into the correct position.  She has so much to say!  I look forward to many, many more years with Sammy and "her ponies" so that I can witness this magic!

Sammy:
As told by her proud Parents, Thom and Tammy Hands

Personal Ponies has been a life altering experience for our Sammy.
Each week when she visits “her” ponies… the joy in her eyes, the huge smile on her face and the little voice that says “hi” as loud as she can (over and over again) to her new pony friends warms our hearts so much.  Although Sammy lacks the ability to truly verbalize at this time, she speaks loud and clear with her heart about her ponies.  The first night that she came home from visiting her ponies, Sugar Lips and Cookie Face, she put her little pray hands on and when we thanked God for all the animals in the world as we do every night, she stopped and said “oo oo oo” and pointed to her lips for Sugar Lips and did cookie in sign language for Cookie Face.  It was at that moment that we knew the impact of Personal Ponies.


Sammy was born 2 ½ months premature …she had places to go, people to see, and ponies to take care of!  From that day forward, she has continued to teach us how to appreciate the simplest of things, to slow down and enjoy the moment, and to appreciate every second with her.  We realize now that we as well as all the doctors in the world don't have all the answers and there are so many things that you don't have control over.  When we were able to leave the NICU, we were so happy to simply take her home and love her and be our little family.
 

Sammy’s four years of life have involved numerous surgeries including several eye surgeries, heart surgery, and cleft palate surgery.  She has many rare conditions including eye/facial conditions, kidney/liver conditions and the doctors believe that she has an unknown genetic syndrome of her own.  She received over thirteen therapies a week including OT, PT, ST and Special Instruction. 



Sammy’s love of animals helped us find out about therapeutic horseback riding “hippo-therapy”.  We were amazed by the progress Sammy made with the horses. We didn't realize then that this was just the beginning of the world of equines in Sammy’s life. Some very special ponies were waiting for Sammy to find them. A very wonderful, Special Instruction Therapist and now great friend, Ellen Bloom, happened to be in parking lot and parked beside her was an SUV with a sign that read “Personal Ponies – Bringing Magic to Specially Enabled Children”.  Ellen was always looking for new ideas to help Sammy and called me immediately on her cell phone with the telephone number.


I called and that was when an angel named Sandra Seiden entered our lives with her magical ponies.  We couldn't believe that an organization existed that placed ponies with special children all over the country.  And then, to learn that people like us, with no capability to care for a pony, could still “give” our child her own special pony – how truly amazing!




Sammy holds her head so proud as she walks out to the pony pasture to see her ponies.  Each week, Sandra comes up with a special way for Sammy to care for her ponies.  Sammy cleans out the stalls with her little rake, bathes the ponies, cleans out their hooves, brushes them, walks them, and leads the ponies on obstacle courses. Sandra even set-up a special “pony picnic”.    Sandra comes up with art projects of painting the ponies, making picture frames with the ponies’ pictures, and the list goes on and on.  We are so thankful to Sandra and her son Jacob for sharing their ponies with us and for Sandra’s amazing creativity, dedication, generosity, and huge heart.  These ponies and Sandra do what no therapy session within four walls could do.  It is truly magical what these ponies give our daughter – so different from all other therapies, even hippo-therapy.  They give Sammy unconditional love and acceptance, a feeling of pride and joy, responsibility, independence, self-confidence and an “I can do” attitude.  A special bond like no other is created with a mutual respect of one another.  Thank you just doesn't seem to be enough to Personal Ponies and Sandra – together you have made a tremendous difference in our life and in the lives of all the families that you touch every week during that very special pony visit!