Foundation, NFR cowboys team up for autistic children

A year ago this week, Angelo Mayorga took part in what’s now an annual event for the Grant a Gift Autism Foundation, partnering with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. It was the 10-year-old’s first time around a horse, and there was certainly some trepidation on his part.

Jump to a year later, Friday afternoon at the foundation’s office on Rancho Drive, and you wouldn’t believe the progress Mayorga has made. Now 11, he leapt at the opportunity to hop aboard AJ and get his cowboy on, assisted by world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell and world champion tie-down roper Caleb Smidt.

“I was really excited to get on the horse this time,” said Mayorga, beaming with pride. “He didn’t scare me.”

As has been the case all four years of this event, it’s equally if not more emotional for the parents, who work tirelessly to help their children handle the difficulties that come with being autistic. Little breakthroughs make a big difference. Just ask Mayorga’s mother, Isabel Estrada.

“It’s amazing because sometimes he’s very anxious or nervous,” Estrada said. “But he looks like he’s really calm when he’s on the horse. It looks like the horse is his. They asked if he wanted to get down, and he said no.”

That’s the idea behind Grant a Gift continuing to hold this gathering. It gives the children and families a break from the usual pattern of treatment at the autism center, instead using some animal therapy — some horse sense, if you will — to give the kids a new, unique social experience.

“The thing we try to stress is that people who live with autism are not much different than you and I,” Grant a Gift president and CEO Terri Janison said, adding socialization is a key component of treatment. “There are studies that have been done about dog therapy and music therapy. We’ll just chalk this up to horse therapy for the day.”

It’s definitely one of the more enjoyable forms of therapy for the kids and parents, and of course for Janison and her dedicated staff. Asked what she liked most, Janison said:

“It has to be the faces of the children. There’s one child who’s on his first day here. He has never met a horse before, and he’s just so excited and smiling. For the parents or the guardian, it gives them a chance to see their kids relax and have some fun. It adds a little levity and some happiness, to share some joy with the cowboys.”

Of course, the cowboys get plenty out of this, too. O’Connell insisted on being part of this event for the third straight year, and Smidt is a repeat attendee too.

“Oh yeah, I’m all in,” O’Connell said, noting that it’s even more important to him and wife Sami now that they’ve got a child, son Hazen. “I like being with kids, especially now that I have a child of my own. I love giving back to kids. To have the opportunity to see the enjoyment of the kids being around animals I love, it really speaks to me.”

Added Smidt: “It’s a lot of fun bringing these kids happiness. I enjoy just giving back to a sport I love, doing it for these kids. It feels good when we can put a smile on those faces.”

Smidt and O’Connell did that while helping a very excited Livan Chuffat climb up atop AJ. Chuffat’s parents, Ivan and Vivian, couldn’t contain their happiness over how well Livan took to the horse.

“Oh my goodness, it’s exciting, because I see him so happy,” Vivian said. “I don’t see fear. It’s brilliant.”

Ivan said his son has always loved horses, but to get on one while joined by the cowboys was a special moment.

“For me, it’s a pretty nice experience. He wasn’t scared. That was a surprise for us,” Ivan said, adding he works at the South Point, a common hangout for rodeo cowboys, so he’s plenty familiar with the goodness of folks such as O’Connell and Smidt. “They’re good people, really kind people, 100 percent.”

The children finished the afternoon by heading indoors to do some Christmas craftwork with the cowboys. Mayorga made a clear connection with Smidt, as the two worked on their project together.

It was certainly a memorable and therapeutic event — and again, not just for the kids. Estrada tapped her heart while taking a moment to compose herself.

“Angelo’s been through so much, too much,” she said. “All these sacrifices. I’m so thankful. Now he wants to buy a horse!”