Therapy comes on four legs for County woman

VAN BUREN – A generous Dover-Foxcroft couple, a southern Maine endurance rider and a therapeutic stable have made it possible for one young woman’s dream to come true.

Crystal Chisholm, who has lived with cystic fibrosis all 21 years of her life, was home Sunday recuperating from a recent hospitalization but mostly was waiting to feel well enough to see her pony, Nikita.

Nikita lives at Perfect Ponies Learning Center, a therapeutic riding stable owned by Nancy Dumond in Keegan Village. Dumond donates space in her stable to house Nikita, in addition to food for the pony.

Chisholm became acquainted with Dumond last summer when she took riding lessons to help maintain and increase her body strength. She did so well with riding therapy that Dumond looked for a pony Chisholm could call her own, and the money to purchase it.

Judy and Bob Cross-Strehlke, who own and operate Northern Maine Riding Adventures, a commercial and therapeutic riding stable in Dover-Foxcroft, had a pony for sale. After learning about Chisholm’s illness, her trials and her tenacity, they were impressed enough to grant the Van Buren woman her wish. The Cross-Strehlkes decided to donate Nikita to Chisholm, but the pony was in Dover-Foxcroft and the young woman was in Van Buren.

Along came Heather Boneau, a southern Maine endurance rider who was planning a trip to northern Maine and offered to take the animal from Dover-Foxcroft to Van Buren. Nikita arrived in Van Buren on Dec. 27.

“I was very happy and excited to get my own [pony],” Chisholm said Sunday by telephone from her home. “I’ve wanted a horse for quite a while. It’s something I’ve dreamed of for years.

“I love animals, and this is simply a great experience for me,” she said. “I’ve ridden her several times and I help with her care, when I go see her every day when I’m not in the hospital.”

Dumond said Friday that Chisholm is “very courageous” and has done well with her riding, even accompanying Dumond on trail rides around the farm off Route 1. Dumond has been keeping a trail groomed through the winter to give Chisholm some riding time when her health allows it.

“This is very challenging for Crystal, and she loves it,” Dumond said of Chisholm’s efforts to take care of and ride the pony. “She motivates us with her drive.

“Nikita seems perfect for Crystal,” she said. “Crystal helps out whenever she can.”

Dumond said the white pony and the human seem made for each other, even sharing a similar height.

“I love going to see her, even when I can’t ride,” Chisholm said Sunday. “I give Nikita all the attention I can. It helps with my therapy. … Being around animals actually makes me more comfortable around people. I have anxieties.”

Dumond said none of this would have happened were it not for the nonprofit group Manes and Tails, which was founded to encourage and enhance, through cooperation and networking, therapeutic horse programs in Aroostook County. The group holds fundraisers to assist people who have therapy needs and the Aroostook County groups that help them.

Chisholm started riding at Dumond’s facility using a scholarship received from Manes and Tails last summer. Since then, Dumond has used the networking of Manes and Tails to find Chisholm her own pony.

When the Cross-Strehlkes first learned about Chisholm, they offered to allow Nikita to go north for the winter but have the animal return to Dover-Foxcroft in the spring. After reading a letter from Chisholm’s mother, the Dover-Foxcroft couple decided to donate the pony to Chisholm.

In a note to Dumond, Judy Cross wrote that she and her husband prayed about the situation and in the end decided to make an outright donation.

“I spoke with her [Nikita] and she’s fine about going north,” Cross wrote.

The couple also donated $100 to help pay for Chisholm’s lessons at Dumond’s school and for Nikita’s upkeep.

Chisholm said she hopes someday to meet the Dover-Foxcroft couple who generously donated the pony for her.

“I would like to thank them for all they’ve done,” she said. “They gave me the gift of Nikita.”