"Serious horse lover" Judy Nagy found new dimensions in her favorite hobby when she began teaching disabled people to ride. As her first introduction to that type of volunteer work, she quit her regular job. Nagy preferred helping those who are not able-bodied enjoy the special freedom that horses offer. "I wanted to give my time to something that would make a difference in people's lives," she explains. A decade ago the San Franciscan came up with the idea for the California Network for Equestrian Therapy (CALNET), an organization that offers riding competitions for the disabled. They emulate shows for the able-bodied but put safety first. Riding "gives a person who has been in a wheelchair all their life the knowledge that they can do something most able-bodied people can't," Nagy says. And competition takes that type of self-awareness a step further. She has been impressed by horses' reactions to the disabled. Nagy notes that they seem to know whom they're dealing with. "Some horses that will bite you on the arm will walk up to someone in a wheelchair, put their face in their lap and say 'What do you want me to do?'" she says. "Horses think this is a good idea, I've seen it happen over and over." Five years ago she founded American Competition Opportunities for Riders with Disabilities (ACORD), a national organization with the same mission as CALNET. She spends at least 20 hours a week working for ACORD, while donating all operating expenses and putting out its newsletter. "I don't think competition for the disabled would be at the level it is today without her selfless efforts," says Karen Lang, ACORD's president. "We have seen the base of competition go from grass-roots level to international level." ACORD ran the equestrian events for the 1996 Paralympics in Georgia, where Lang was the competition manager and Nagy worked as show manager. In 1997 there were seven major shows for the disabled in the U.S. Nagy wants to see 10 different shows in 10 different regions, to give as many people as possible the chance to compete.

The same issue of SPUR carried the "97 Hall of Fame - Women, from tireless volunteers to exacting professionals, are the backbone of the horse industry. SPUR celebrates the contributions of a selection of them." Compiled by L.A. Pomeroy

Karen Lang: As the first competition manager in the history of the Paralympic Games, Lang spent nearly every weekend on a plane preparing for "the greatest and most demanding work I've ever done", the 1996 Games at the Georgia International Horse Park. Now she's applying her 1997 New Year's resolution, "Never settle," to her role with ACORD (American Competition Opportunities for Riders with Disabilities), working to attract sponsors and increase its roster of annual events.

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