Skyler Payton and Anjali Bass were among the first riders when Magical Meadows started about five years ago. The therapeutic center for riders aged 3 to 88 was little more than one horse and an open field then. On Wednesday, Skyler, now 8, and Anjali, 14, joined other riders, parents and sponsors for the public unveiling of Meadows’ $300,000 riding and activity center. The two-story, red-painted center at 3386 E. CR 525N features stalls for many of Meadows’ 16 horses, an indoor activity room and library, and kitchens, meeting rooms and office space. But through the door from the activity room is the highlight for riders like Skyler and Anjali, a 75-by-120-foot indoor riding arena. “It means the world to them,” said Tony Payton, Skyler’s father and a Meadows volunteer. “The kids get upset when they can’t ride because of the weather, and now they can ride any time.” The spacious arena has room for horse stalls along one wall, a shelf of helmets of all sizes – safety is their number-one concern, volunteer and board member Barry Bylls observed while guiding tours Wednesday – and plenty of space for the barrels, road cones, basketball hoops and other obstacles riders practice leading their horses around or interacting with. “It changed her life to finally find what really she excels at,” said Dawn-Marie Bass, Anjali’s mother. “She can’t ride a bike, she won’t get a driver’s license, but she can ride a horse. To find it so quickly for her – this place changed her life, it means a lot to the whole family.” The girls are just two of the 80 riders that Meadows Director Tammy Stackhouse and a team of six or seven steady volunteers oversee. Stackhouse remarked on the transformation of Meadows and its ability to serve even more riders after the ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday. “We’ve had an amazing journey, and God has bigger plans for these kids than we know what to do with,” she told the gathering. “If you spend any time out here at all, you’ll see they can do amazing things. Don’t feel sorry for these kids, just make sure you learn what they’re all about.” She added that fundraising efforts to pay for the center continue. Plans for the site include raising a chapel and buying 23 acres to grow their own food for the horses. Upcoming Meadows activities include Cowboy Church Sunday at 10:30 a.m., a fundraising meal at Pizza Hut on North Detroit Street Oct. 7, and an open house Oct. 13 starting at 2 p.m. with riders conducting a horse show at 4 p.m.
