William, 8-year-old son of Mike & Joshalyn Ocker, went home to his Lord on October 18, 2015.
William loved The Right Path and everything to do with it. Before William, Mike was not fond of horses and could not see a benefit to them. He said he would never own one. When William was 2, his physical therapist suggested therapeutic riding and everything changed.
After his 15 minute evaluation, William’s legs did not scissor. In the first few weeks of riding, we noticed his core strength developing and he was able to sit up and balance himself without falling. He was much more stable and able to enjoy the things he wanted to do. Soon, we got him his own horse. Then we had 2!
Even with his own horses at home to ride, we were all saddened in 2012 when Miss Leslie retired. William missed seeing his friends in class and his volunteers…all people he loved dearly. We soon found that others felt the same way. In February 2013, we moved to the ranch and took over operations.
When William went home to heaven, we realized how much this one little boy had changed so many lives. Without William, there would be no therapeutic riding program, no literacy project, no place for at-risk youth, no veteran’s program. So many lives changed because of the love of one little boy. It was then that we determined to create a name for the therapeutic riding program, William’s Walk, and create a funding program so that all rider’s in the program could attend at no charge.
William was such a generous and loving boy and he was always happy to share this place with all in need. The horses helped him so much, both physically and emotionally, and it is our joy to team together with these horses to help others. If you would like to help riders attend therapeutic sessions, please mark your donation “William’s Walk”.
Thank you for your prayers for our family during such a difficult loss. And thank you for partnering with us to continue this wonderful ministry.
To read his full obituary click here.
-Sarah Ocker Norwood (William’s sister)