Lessons Canceled

ALL LESSONS AND PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN CANCELED UNTIL MONDAY, MAY 4th. This decision was made to ensure the safety and health of our participants, volunteers and staff. The state is currently awaiting test results for possible swine flu cases in Park City. Following the decision to cancel school in the Park City School District, we felt it was in everyone's best interest to cancel our activities until next week. The National Ability Center is taking this issue very seriously as many of our participants have sensitive immune systems. Though we have no reason to believe any individual at the NAC may have been infected, we feel it is best to take this precaution. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the National Ability Center at 435.649.3991.

Discovered Abilities, Pt. II

Those of you who attended the Red, White and Snow gala and auction this year had the first chance to see this video. Now it is available for everyone else! In this video, we share with you four stories of individuals from differing circumstances and backgrounds. Each has had a different road to the National Ability Center, but they have all discovered abilities here.



By clicking on the title of this post, you can post this video to your Facebook or MySpace page to share with your friends. You can also tweet the video to your friends via a Twitter link. If you like the video and what we do, don't be shy!

Shelby Prepares for Showtime

by Abby Ferrin

11th Annual Wild Horse and Burro Festival

Shelby’s training is moving to a new level; competitions! He will be showed at the Wild Horse & Burro Festival on Saturday, May 16^th at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park. Because this will be his first show, we decided to let him ease into it and registered him for just one class. He will be competing against other mustangs of all different ages in the Trail in Hand, Adult Combined class. This consists of being led through an obstacle course of poles, bridges, water, gates, and slickers. He will be judged on how well he responds to his handler and each obstacle.

Shelby has eagerly begun his training for this event with the help of his mustang pal, Etta. Etta was adopted at the same time as Shelby to help him successfully make the transition to domesticated life. She is 2 years old and serves as a more mature example for him to learn from. Etta continues her training just steps ahead of Shelby, so he can see what the future holds for him. We hope that she will also gain the skills necessary to be a therapy horse when she is old enough.

For those of you interested in the Wild Horse & Burro Festival, click here.

Developing Amazing Leaders

DEVELOPING AMAZING LEADERS – Paralympic Conference

April 17 - 20, 2009
U.S. Olympic Training Center
Colorado Springs, Colorado

by Ellen Hall-Adams

Amazing Awaits. That is the message that is heard over and over during this three day conference. And, judging by many of the stories told, amazing happens.

More than 230 attendees, with a passion to prove what is possible for people with disabilities, are being treated to three days of learning from the best, compliments of U.S. Paralympics and the Olympic University.

The event kicked off Friday with an opening reception and a sneak preview of the film “Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing.” Filmmakers Brent and Craig Renaud share the emotional and inspiring story of a group of severely wounded American Soldiers as they fight to turn nightmares of war into Paralympic dreams. “Warrior Champions” is a coming home story of struggle and triumph that challenges every notion of what it means to have a disability. It will be coming to select theaters in June, and is a must see.

Saturday opened with Dr. Jim Loehr, the Keynote Speaker. Dr. Loehr is the CEO and co-founder of the Human Performance Institute. Dr. Loehr spoke about learning to rewrite our life stories, and in the process redirecting our energy toward what is really most important. He was impassioned and convincing, and had everyone lining up for a book signing following the presentation.

Following Dr. Loehr’s opening, we were able to choose between five presentations every couple of hours. The choices were difficult, as everything was compelling. The good news is that all presentations were handed to us on a flash drive for later viewing. Among the presenters were Paralympians, Paralympic Coaches, Doctors, Recreational and Physical Therapists, and Leaders of cutting-edge adaptive and rehabilitation organizations.

After many amazing (there’s that word again) presentations about organization, athlete development, equipment technology, recruiting, funding, etc, this attendee got a Goal Ball in the face during a hands on experience in a relatively new Paralympic sport. I think I’ll call it a night. More tomorrow.

Double Dip in the Park Record

The National Ability Center was mentioned in two separate articles in the Park Record newspaper today.

Patrick Parkinson's article about a local family's struggles with Autism gave Tracy Riddleberger Meier the opportunity to talk about the NAC's programs and summer camps. Tracy is the program manager for Discovery Camps and the assistant program manager for the Recreational Ski & Snowboard Program. April is National Autism Awareness Month. The NAC will be working joining Utah's Walk Now for Autism on May 2nd, and more details will be coming soon about our pariticpation in that event.

Alisha Self also wrote an article about Shelby Mustang's arrival to the NAC. She spoke with Jan Drake about the process of bringing a mustang in from the wild and training it to become a therapy horse. Jan is the Equestrian Resource Manager at the NAC. In the article you can learn about Shelby's progress since his arrival, and you will be introduced to his stallmate, Miss Etta.

Both articles are good reads! Thanks, Pat and Alisha.

NARHA Region 10 Gallops Through

by Raeshell Sorensen, Horseback Riding Program Manager

The National Ability Center hosted the 2009 NARHA Region 10 Conference last weekend. This was the first conference of its kind hosted by the NAC. It was a great opportunity for therapeutic riding instructors, therapists, horse handlers and volunteers from five different states to gain more knowledge and network with other professionals in their field. Classes focused on topics related to administrative job tasks, instructor skills, horse knowledge and ability awareness. Presentations included topics such as “How to Plan for Volunteer Turnover”, “Grant Writing, Putting the Puzzle Together” and “Preparing a Rider to Be Independent”. The conference was educational and entertaining for all who attended.

Winter Ability Bulletin Newsletter Available!

The new Winter 2008-09 Ability Bulletin newsletter is now available for download! You can click on the graphic above or the title of this blog post to get your copy right on your computer!

If you are on the National Ability Center's email list, you should have received an email announcing the Ability Bulletin's availability in your inbox earlier today. If you didn't, make sure you're on our list by filling out the form on our homepage. Signing up for our emails will let you in on the inside scoop at the NAC. The latest information on program schedules, special events, registration deadlines and more can be sent straight to your email by signing up. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

If you have suggestions of articles you'd like to see included in future editions of the Ability Bulletin, please leave us a Comment below.

Silver & Bronze at USASA National Champtionships

by Lucas Grossi

Dan Monzo and and Nicole Roundy are killin' it at the2009 USASA National Championships in Copper Mountain In the Halfpipe competition, Monzo (left) took third place and Nicole (right) rocked a silver metal! NAC Rippers!!!

More to come...

Shelby's Grand Adventure

by Abby Ferrin

Shelby Mustang is still hard at work. Last Wednesday Shelby had his first major outing. In order to improve his leading skills, he had to move to a bigger area. He very bravely put his halter on and ventured out of his stall, through the barn, and into the arena. This was such an accomplishment that he had to celebrate with a few victory laps around the arena.

He was so attentive and well-behaved in the arena that he was then able to take a walk outside. This was no small walk. He traveled all the way around the parking lot to the lodge and back safely into arena. While outside, he was fortunate enough to encounter a few cars and some very nice people.

A successful trip, and Shelby is safe back in his stall with his buddy, resting up for his next grand adventure.

Adaptive Alpine Champs Wrap-up

by Sue Greenberg

The 2009 U.S. Adaptive Ski Championships drew to a close today in Winter Park Colorado with the newest event in ski racing, the Super Combined. For those unfamiliar with this event, it requires the athlete to complete one run of Super G and one run of Slalom in one day. Super G is a speed event similar to Downhill but with a few more turns. In Downhill the athletes have the opportunity to complete a few training runs on the course prior to the actual race. In Super G there are no training runs, only a single opportunity to slowly inspect the course before racing full out. Following the morning race the athletes switch equipment and gears to complete one run of the quick turning slalom course. At the end of six tiring days of competition this event showcases both the athletes' versatility and level of fitness. I am very happy to report that all three of the NAC Ability Ski Team members attending this event not only survived the test of the Super Combined, but brought out some of their best performances of the week!

Zack Broderick discovered a love for speed this week, and while his Super G was solid, his Slalom run bumped him up two places to finish 10th in the Men's Sitting category. This showcased the hard work that he has put in all season developing his Slalom skills. Sam Blakley had consistently good runs in both portions of the Combined with a 9th place finish, closing the gap on his Junior aged rival from the East who just squeaked in ahead of Sam. Teague Cowley got one more opportunity to strut his Slalom skills with a run that moved his final result up to 7th place, just behind the U.S. team athletes in the Men's Standing category.

After ten days on the road, the athletes and coaches of the NAC Ability Ski Team are exhausted but excited both by the results from this season and the anticipation of next year. We return to Park City tomorrow. After a few well deserved rest and recovery days the team will begin preparing for next season by getting back to training next week!

Looking forward to seeing everyone.

The Waiting Game

Teague Cowley and Zack Broderick waiting for the snow to stop.

by Sue Greenberg

There was a problem with the results calculation during the last couple of days. With all of the snow there were a few delays in getting yesterday's race underway, so while the coaches were out getting a thigh burning workout by pushing several inches of powder off of the downhill track, the athletes had a bit of time to rest and relax. The weather did clear and the race was held under much better conditions than Tuesday's blizzard! We'll keep you updated as we get the results from the recent races.