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last the day had come for Matthew Schwab of Holly Springs to wear his
"fancy clothes". The eight and a half year old was very excited
to wear his English riding outfit in his first-ever Special Olympics competition
at the 2006 Special Olympics North Carolina Equestrian Championship, July
14-16.
"The outfit was the thing," said Mathew's mother, Michelle
Schwab. "He was very excited to wear the new helmet and get dressed
up."
Matthew has been riding horses since he was four years old at Horse &
Buddy, a therapeutic riding school in New Hill, NC. The therapeutic riding
did wonders for him. Within two months of beginning the program, he had
built his abdominal muscles up enough to jump with two feet off the ground,
a feat he'd not been able to accomplish prior to riding. Matthew's parents
thought Special Olympics competition would be a good next step for Matthew
and in the spring he began to train.
"I was surprised with how much he enjoyed training for Special Olympics,"
said Schwab. "He definitely knew there was a difference in riding
and training. He liked being 'the boss of Polly' (his horse) and making
her do things, as opposed to the therapeutic riding."
Matthew had an extremely successful competition! In his first event,
he won first-place in the assisted English Trails class! His parents and
2 younger brothers, Ben (6) and Will (4) were ecstatic!
"It was much more emotional than I expected it to be," said
Schwab. "My husband and I kept looking at each other with such pride
when he made the horse do required moves. We were so proud, by the end
I was a mess! It was great!"
In his assisted English Equitation event, his concentration drifted from
the horse to the audience as he noticed all the people there to cheer
him on. He rode around the arena smiling at everyone and won a fourth
place ribbon.
"He was very tired at the end of the weekend," said his mom.
"But very proud of himself as well!"
Matthew's favorite portion of the weekend was standing on the "top
step" of the awards stand to collect his gold medal. He told friends
and family members and anyone who would listen about his great weekend!
His mom is having his ribbons and medals framed in a shadow box so he
can proudly display his accomplishments in his room.
Matthew continues to ride each Saturday morning and can't wait to compete
again next year!
Nominate a person to be featured in "Spotlight On"
-Contact Leah Sundheim at 1-800-843-6276,
ext. 110.
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