SPIRIT EQUESTRIAN:
IT’S ALL IN THE NAME
By CYNDA ZURFLUH
Spirit is a gem. Its mission is to foster
healing and to teach life skills through
relationships with horses through a
team who is committed to improving
the quality of life for participants of
all abilities.

I would describe Spirit as a family
of wonderful instructors, volunteers
and rescued horses making a real
difference in the lives they touch. We
met the Spirit team when my daughter
took what I thought was just’ riding
lessons. What I really signed up for
was my daughter’s new passion, and
a meaningful way for me to pay it
forward. 42
October 2018
washingtonFAMILY.com Spirit Open Equestrian, conveniently
located in Fairfax County, offers
top-notch urban horsemanship and
beginning riding lessons. But at its
heart, Spirit’s goal is to serve those
with special needs
physical, psychological, developmental
and give kids and adults alike the
opportunity to build themselves up
inside and out. Watching the riders
sit proudly on the backs of the Spirit
horses makes me believe in all things
good again.

At a recent volunteer session, I met
David. I was tasked with leading
Sadie, David’s favorite mare, to him.

Sadie stepped out of the training rink
and came right up to David in his
(what I would have thought scary-to-
a-horse) motori ed wheelchair. She
nudged David’s face and nibbled on
his chair’s controllers. They chatted for
a moment, and David was placed on
the horse he was to ride for his lesson.

It’s safety first
with harness and
trained side-walking volunteers and
someone with more horse sense than I
have at the lead rope.

David was joined by five or six other
riders every one of them with
his or her specific gift. The students
are guided by instructors trained in
horsemanship, and when appropriate,
social work and psychotherapy. The
horses seem to understand who’s on
their backs and behave accordingly.

The founder of Spirit Open Equestrian,
Davorka Svorak, affectionately known
as Dada, seems to intuit her way
through the lessons. She anticipates
both the kids’ and the horses’ next
moves, and is not shy about insisting
they all work hard to bring out their
best selves.

My daughter’s first lessons with Dada
were a mix of typically developing
kids and kids with special needs.

Everyone could ride independently.

The kids were all laser-focused on
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ASHLEY HUANG
I
m decades away from my initial
love affair with horses, but I’m
enjoying a re-boot with my youngest
daughter. After 10 years of high-test,
energy-sapping DMV motherhood, I
have literally and figuratively found my
Spirit right here in Fairfax County:
Spirit Open Equestrian.