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Leander business helps open worlds

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Donna Roland had a big to-do list when she retired after 27 years of teaching. She was going to take life easy and get to some of those things she never got a chance to do when she was working.

She figured it would take four or five months to get it all done. Instead, it only took two weeks. Then she got bored.

Roland, a Leander resident, decided to take the two things she knew best in life and open a business. She had a deep love for horses and a parallel passion for teaching special education. Open My World Therapeutic Riding Center just made sense to her.

“It was a natural marriage because of my background,” Roland said.

Open My World is a therapeutic place for children with special needs. Roland has her place set up into three different areas. The first is a petting zoo where kids can feed and pet goats, rabbits and miniature donkeys. The second is an area of picnic tables where kids study animals and the environment. For instance, if a child sees a lizard, frog or tadpole, Roland or one of her volunteer assistants will teach the child about that animal. The third place is training with horses. Kids can brush and groom horses as well as ride horses in a controlled environment where they utilize motor skills and attempt to stimulate the brain by seeing and touching things. Instead of traditional saddles, Open My World uses only saddle pads for the kids.

“We want them to feel the natural movement of the horse,” Roland said. “And by not having stirrups, they learn to keep their balance better.”

The kids steer the horses and learn simple commands on how to make the horses start and stop. Roland has four horses she uses for therapy - Smokey, Target, Sierra and Jasper.

There will be an open house and fundraiser for Open My World at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. Open My World is located at 1020 CR 270 in Leander - off of CR 269, just east of the 183A toll road.

Roland's childhood friends could always tell when she was going from one place to another. She hardly ever walked or ran - she usually galloped.

Roland would ride around on a stick like it was a horse and it wasn't out of the ordinary for her to have a sore right arm from pulling all her friends who were piled into a red wagon. In other words, she loved horses.

Despite growing up near lots of her father's and grandfather's horses, Roland eventually went into teaching rather than the horse business. Since her retirement, Open My World has been open throughout the summer, with approximately 15 to 18 children participating each week.

“The community response has been great,” said Roland, who hopes to keep the age range of children at her place between five and 15. “We are here in Leander, so people don't have to drive 30 or more miles roundtrip to other places.”

Many projects at Roland's house have been service projects by Eagle and Boy Scouts. Projects include: putting up siding along the barn, helping build a horse walking trail, building a bridge over a low-water creek on the horse trail and doing renovations on an old beauty salon that's being converted into a parents' waiting room. In addition, Ramps for Texas built a ramp near the barn for those who are in wheelchairs.

For more information about Open My World or to donate to their fundraising, call 259-6665.

E-mail editor@hillcountrynews.com

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