EPIC Barn Spotlight: Chasin Dreams Farm

By Traci Bryant Donatelli

In 2004, Denise Chasin was massaging horses for a living when she mentioned to her long-time friend Marianne Alexander that she might like to volunteer in Marianne’s Personal Ponies, Ltd., an international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides small UK Shetland ponies to children with disabilities or illnesses. A few days later, Marianne called Denise about a Shetland who was weeks away from giving birth. The owner was leaving the country, and the mare needed a home right away. With no breeding/birthing experience and against her husband’s better judgment, Denise soon found herself in West Virginia loading a small, gray, very-pregnant Shetland named Neatherly onto her trailer.

Six years and a much bigger barn later, Denise has built a successful Personal Ponies breeding program at her Barnesville farm, in the heart of Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve. Neatherly currently keeps company with a 3-year-old stallion named Lord Braiden Bressay (Braiden for short) who is first generation off the Shetland Islands (an archipelago in Scotland, off the northeast coast) and three other mares. In January, Denise became National Director of Personal Ponies, Ltd., which now has volunteers in every state with over 1,800 ponies placed around the country, including Hawaii. The program is based on the belief that a pony can magically change the life of a child.

Shetlands have temperaments uniquely suited to fill this role. These tiny ponies (generally 28–38 inches tall) were originally bred to haul peat and do farm work. In the late 19th century they were used extensively in the coal mines of Scotland and Wales and in the mines of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Their patient, quiet and kind ways were ideal for pulling coal cars through narrow mine shafts. With their thick manes and furry coats, they are not as flashy as the American Shetland ponies (who have Hackney in their lineage), but what they lack in pizzazz, they make up for in heart. Most of these ponies are too small to ride, but many are taught to drive.

Personal Ponies doesn’t have any eligibility rules, and, Denise says, “You don’t have to convince us that you are worthy or that your special child is sick enough or disabled enough to qualify. If you have a child who is ‘differently able’ and you believe that a very special new best friend might make a difference in your child’s life, then we want to help.”

Ponies are provided on loan to families for long-term or lifetime use on the condition that they be cared for and loved, and once they’re outgrown, they go on to touch another child’s life. The ponies dedicate their lives to this mission, and they are placed in pairs to ensure they have constant companionship. Families and facilities are carefully screened, new owners are educated on pony care and those who cannot provide a suitable home or care for the ponies can visit the ponies at Chasin Dreams.

The breeding ponies at Chasin Dreams serve as equine ambassadors for all types of visitors—from 4-H and Girl Scout troops to children with autism, cancer or other ailments. After years of studying various types of education, Denise believes that children learn best when they’re given the freedom to pursue their own curiosity at their own pace. Therefore, there is no agenda, no lesson plan and no forced interaction. Denise lets each child decide how he or she would like to interact with the ponies. In fact, three years ago she founded an alternative school in Dickerson called FreedomHill Cooperative based on these principles. She’s witnessed children who have never spoken carry on long conversations with her ponies, and she fondly remembers a 6-year-old girl who told her that one of the ponies was her first friend; her mother confirmed that he truly was.

This somewhat radical approach, however, makes it difficult to obtain program funding along the more traditional routes. There are no quantitative results – no rubrics, no outcomes. The change that occurs inside the heart and mind of a small child is not always measurable with such methods. But after watching these kids open up and blossom with these ponies, one can’t deny its transformative powers and effectiveness.

Like all other Personal Ponies volunteers, Denise receives no compensation for her time, and she raises the ponies largely at her own expense. She takes her ponies to community outreach events throughout the year and almost every weekend during the summer. Personal Ponies has visited nursing homes, nursery schools, camps, cancer centers, special-needs programs and even joined Circle of Hope Therapeutic Riding Center, based in Barnesville, in welcoming groups from Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospitals. If there are children who could benefit from Personal Ponies and they can’t come to her, Denise will bring the ponies to them.

To find out more about Personal Ponies and how you can help as a volunteer or donor, visit the Chasin Dreams website at www.chasindreamsfarm.com or call Denise at (301) 349-2161.

Want to find out how to become an EPIC Barn Member? Visit our Membership page.