Horse riding improves life for disabled Haiti boy
Judeley Hans Debel runs as fast as his prosthetic leg can take him when he arrives at a Haitian equestrian center. A riding session with his favorite horse is the highlight of his week.
"You're the best horse, you're the best horse," the 9-year-old boy says soothingly to a tan polo pony named Tic Tac when he arrives at her stable.
Pretty soon, he's sitting high and proud on Tic Tac's back at the Port-au-Prince equestrian center that offers therapeutic riding to disabled youngsters. Advocates say it improves their balance, coordination and confidence, with the movements of the horse mimicking pelvic motions involved in human walking. The riding also provides muscle and nerve stimulation.
Judeley's unemployed single mother, Nerlande Jean Philippe, says the free weekly sessions offer her son a welcome respite from a life of urban poverty. She struggles to support him and has to do her best maintaining his battered prosthetic leg as he grows because she can't afford a new one.
In this Jan. 7, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel squats down to remove a boot from Tic Tac, holding out his prosthetic leg after his therapeutic riding lesson at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Anne-Rose Schoen, who founded the equestrian center, said perhaps the most important thing about therapeutic riding is it makes youngsters happy in a country where disabled people face enormous challenges. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
"He's a very determined, strong boy. But the horses give him even more strength and he just loves to come here," she said at the Centre Equestre Chateaublond hidden behind a concrete wall along Port-au-Prince's winding Route de Freres.
Judeley was one of an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people to undergo amputations after the powerful earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital seven years ago.
Just 2½ years old at the time, his tiny body was pinned under jagged rubble at his shattered concrete home and he was scarred by burning oil from the crushed stove. His mother spent hours frantically digging him out and then rushed him to a hospital where doctors amputated his right leg just below his crotch.
In this Jan. 8, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel stands on his one leg, holding a portrait of himself when he was 1-year-old, at his home in Petion-Ville, Haiti. When Judeley was 2 ½, he was one of thousands of people to undergo amputations after the powerful earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital seven years ago. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Seven years later, the boy with bright, shining eyes refuses to let his disability hold him back. He enthusiastically plays soccer and other games with schoolmates and hopes to study medicine when he's older.
But his favorite activity is unquestionably riding Tic Tac, a roughly 32-year-old mare with a sweet disposition. His rapport with the animal was nearly immediate.
After his ride on a recent morning, he methodically washed Tic Tac with a soapy sponge and water from a hose. He's even learning how to help hoist saddles onto the animals and prepare them for rides.
He's one of a few dozen disabled people receiving riding lessons at the center, said his instructor, Louis Guerdes.
Anne-Rose Schoen, who founded the equestrian center, said perhaps the most important thing about therapeutic riding is it makes youngsters happy in a country where disabled people face enormous challenges.
"It brings such joy to the lives of these kids," she said, watching students ride around the center's dressage and jumping arena.
In this Jan. 7, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel dismounts Tic Tac with some help from his teacher at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Advocates of therapeutic riding say it improves balance, coordination and confidence with the movements of the horse mimicking pelvic motions involved in human walking. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 10, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel chats after school with his mother Nerlande Jean Philippe who holds his prosthetic leg, at their home in Petion-Ville, Haiti. The single, unemployed mother struggles to support him and has to do her best maintaining his battered prosthetic leg as he grows because she can't afford a new one. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 9, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, center, and his classmates joke around at school in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Judeley, who hopes to study medicine when he's older, had his right leg amputated at the age of 2 ½ after his mother freed him from the rubble of the 2010 earthquake. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 11, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, who walks on a prosthetic right leg, feeds a horse at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Judeley is one of a few dozen disabled people receiving therapeutic riding lessons at the center, according to his riding instructor, Louis Guerdes. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 7, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, who uses a prosthetic right leg, bathes Tic Tac after riding her at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Judeley runs as fast as his prosthetic leg can take him when he arrives where a riding session with his favorite horse is the highlight of his week. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 10, 2017 photo, Nerlande Jean Philippe escorts her son Judeley Hans Debel, who walks on a prosthetic right leg, to his transportation to school in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Judeley's unemployed mother says free weekly sessions of therapeutic horse riding offer her son a welcome respite from a life of urban poverty. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 11, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel helps his friend Fabienne Charles with her helmet at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Both are receiving free, therapeutic horse riding lessons at the center, which advocates say provides muscle and nerve stimulation to disabled youngsters. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 10, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel takes a bucket bath, balancing himself on his left leg, before school in Petion-Ville, Haiti. When Judeley's was 2 ½ years old, his body was pinned under earthquake rubble at his home and he was scarred by burning oil from the crushed stove. His mother spent hours frantically digging him out and then rushed him to a hospital where doctors amputated his right leg. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 10, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, who uses a prosthetic right leg, holds still as his mother Nerlande Jean Philippe readies him for school at their home in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Despite his amputated leg, Judeley enthusiastically plays soccer and other games with schoolmates and hopes to study medicine when he's older. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 7, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, who walks on a prosthetic right leg, carries his saddle away after riding Tic Tac at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. After riding, Judeley gives Tic Tac a bath, and is also learning how to help hoist saddles onto the animals and prepare them for rides. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 8, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, right, who's right leg is a prosthesis, plays bottle cap soccer with a neighbor at his home in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Just 2 ½ years old at the time, Judeley's tiny body was pinned under earthquake rubble at his shattered concrete home in 2010. His mother dug him out and rushed him to a hospital where his leg was amputated. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 11, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, left, who's right leg is a prosthesis, rides Tic Tac at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Judeley plays soccer and other games with schoolmates and hopes to study medicine when he's older, but his favorite activity is unquestionably riding Tic Tac, a roughly 32-year-old mare with a sweet disposition. His rapport with the animal was nearly immediate. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 8, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, whose right leg is a prosthesis, plays an electric piano at his home in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Judeley was one of an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people to undergo amputations after the powerful earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital seven years ago. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
In this Jan. 11, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel, whose right leg is a prosthesis, caresses Tic Tac after riding her at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. "You're the best horse, you're the best horse," the 9-year-old said soothingly to the tan polo pony when he arrived at her stable. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: Horse riding improves life for disabled Haiti boy, by Dieu Nalio Chery.
Photos by Dieu Nalio Chery
Associated Press writer David McFadden contributed to this report.
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