Dreams Becoming Reality

A Wounded Warrior Rides Again


“I wasn’t supposed to make it, but God had other plans.”

In this season of giving thanks, we would like to personally thank you, our generous supporters, for helping us provide therapeutic horsemanship at NO COST to people with disabilities and challenges, like U.S. Air Force veteran Cindy. 

Desiring to further her education after high school, but lacking the financial resources to do so, Cindy joined the Air Force in 1977 for a chance to qualify for the G.I. Bill. She was eager for adventure, so she chose Hahn Air Base in West Germany as her first assignment. Cindy remembers the political unrest in that era but said the threats never concerned her. 

Two years later, a few months before being shipped back to the United States, Cindy and a group of airmen decided to attend Oktoberfest. As they entered, an explosion ripped through the crowd. A bomb, placed in a trash can, exploded. Two hundred were injured, and 13 lost their lives. Cindy was so close to the explosion it burned hair and eyelashes. Fragments from the bomb cut her face, nicked her spinal cord, and severely injured both legs. 

“I wasn’t supposed to make it, but God had other plans.” Nine months after the bombing, Cindy walked out of Oak Knoll Naval hospital on prosthetic legs. Cindy lives a full life – enjoying her children and grandchildren, traveling the United States, and finally obtaining the college degree she desired. But Cindy wanted to return to horseback riding. Entering the Hooves on the Ground program was a dream come true. Cindy rides Bud, a Haflinger, each week with a smile that never ends. 

Your support ensures Cindy and other veterans can come to The Right Path. You play a part in making their dreams a reality. 

Thank you!

In HIS Grip,

Julie Jones 


Joiner, J. (2020, January 21). Refusing to let evil win – Oklahoma State University. Oklahoma State University. https://news.okstate.edu/articles/business/2020/cindy-crenshaw-martin-f2f.html

A Veteran’s PTSD Recovery Story

“I wouldn’t be as well off as I am today if I didn’t have horses!”

Bryant Turnage served in the U.S. Army for 5 years. After being diagnosed with PTSD, he joined a horsemanship program at Oklahoma Baptist University. When that program shut down, his psychiatrist recommended finding another horsemanship program in light of the improvement he had already observed in Bryant. 

That search brought Bryant to The Right Path’s Hooves on the Ground program for veterans and first responders. Before long, he had a unique bonding experience with Okie, a draft cross horse who is blind in one eye.

During a riding lesson, Okie was spooked by the sound of an ATV starting behind him in his blind spot. The sudden noise also triggered Bryant’s PTSD. However, after a tense moment of fear, horse and rider both realized it wasn’t something truly dangerous. In unison, they exhaled and relaxed.

That moment taught them that they could trust each other even with their shared traumatic backgrounds. Okie knows he can rely on Bryant for extra guidance to compensate for his blind eye. Bryant knows Okie is a safe place to process and heal. 

Bryant states, “Horses are a complement to what my doctor is doing. They push me to grow mentally and get in better shape physically. They provide an avenue for me to process what’s going on in my head, and they never judge me for it (unless I don’t have a treat or grooming for them).

Thanks to Hooves on the Ground, I have a better mood, reduced the medications I take, more flexibility, improved health, and lost almost 100 pounds. I wouldn’t be as well off as I am today if I didn’t have horses!”

If you are interested in joining or supporting Hooves on the Ground, please contact (918) 612-0002 or HOTG@therightpathok.org.