Kylah Cook had to learn to canter before she could gallup.
Now she can’t wait to jump.
Normally skittish and fidgety, the Warsaw 6-year-old is calm and in control for one hour each week when she rides at The Magical Meadows outside of town. Perched five feet up, reins clutched in her hands and a Disney princess bicycle helmet strapped to her head, she guides red-haired Nick or one of the other horses around barrels, down the road or through fields.
Kylah was born with microcephaly and microphthalmia and has had prosthetic eyes since she was 2. But while riding she needs little direction from Tammy Stackhouse, executive director of the Meadows, or one of the other riders-turned-volunteers.
“She has no fear, which is completely different for her,” said her mother, Amanda Cook, while watching Kylah ride Saturday morning. “She wanted to canter after her first lesson and gallup after her second. She wants to try it all, wants to experience it all ... She starts counting down on Saturday night ’til she can ride again.”
“She wants to ride a Belgian,” added her dad, Dave Cook. “I love the fact that horses are stubborn – it mirrors her personality.”
Though she showed no fear at her first lesson, her dad admits to a little unease himself.
“I was very nervous that first time, but she was fine, she had no worries,” he said. “After seeing her ride for 20 minutes I knew I could relax. I said OK, it’s fine.”
He later remarked, “The only problem is that we can’t find a helmet small enough for her head.”
Doctors hadn’t given them a positive outlook when Kylah was born, he said. She developed light perception at one point but also glaucoma, which brought Dave and Amanda to a crossroad.
“It was the hardest decision of my life – remove her eyes or see if they could salvage them,” Amanda said.
Kylah was given prosthetic eyes to help her skull develop. A neurologist said she was fine six months after that, and she stopped needing to see doctors after a year.
Her parents describe her like any 6-year-old, an avid reader who likes school, princesses and swimming. She has an imaginary horse at home named Penny. She proudly told Stackhouse at their first meeting that her favorite color is purple.
“Kylah’s very encouraging, she’s a very sympathetic person,” Dave Cook said. “She’ll cheer you on when you do anything, even odd things like mowing the lawn.”
Besides learning control of both herself and the horse, her parents said riding has helped Kylah’s strength and coordination – both important for typing in braille, which requires strength to press the paper and sometimes awkward key combinations.
She has to lean over and tug at the reins with both hands to turn the horse, using a ribbon tied to either side to know where to grip.
“Pull it toward your pocket,” her dad instructs her as she trots near and turns at the edge of the corral.
During Saturday’s ride she also practiced pulling and planting flags from cones on the ground and atop the barrels.
“Jumping is something I’m hoping to do,” she said during a brief break. “I’m not going to gallup yet; I have to canter first.” She slapped her thighs in rhythm to mimic the sound.
Kylah also feeds and grooms the horse afterward. She knows all the brushes, Stackhouse said, but has trouble reaching up to clean the horse.
Kylah started riding at the Meadows in summer, a dream since she was 3 years old. Her lifelong love of horses was fueled by her parents reading Little House on the Prairie and describing riding events during the Olympics.
Kylah hopes to eventually ride competitively. Her family has no doubt it can happen.
“I think this young lady has every potential to be an equestrian who can compete with able-bodied people,” Stackhouse said. “Her family, they don’t hold her back. That’s what I love, they try to find opportunities for their kids.”
