Monday, July 7, was an emotional day at SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Center in Corinth, TX. Highly respected horseman and clinician Chris Cox paid the center a visit and donated his time to conduct a clinic, working with staff and special needs riders who receive free lessons at SpiritHorse. The event was covered by five different news networks.

"SpiritHorse was honored to have the support of Chris Cox. He was so generous with the time he spent conducting a free clinic with our children and staff,” said Charles Fletcher, founder of SpiritHorse, which provides nearly 500 free individual lessons per week. “He helped our instructors solve problems, which will improve our ponies and makes the lessons safer and more effective.”

The day was also a birthday celebration for Nadia Miller, an energetic five-year-old born without arms, who has been riding at SpiritHorse for three years. Cox personally assisted with Nadia’s riding lesson, teaching her how to back her pony. Lack of arms doesn’t stop Nadia; she controls her pony, Snowflake, by using her body to move the reins which are attached with Velcro to her safety vest.

“This is such a special place,” said Cox, who spent the day interacting with the young riders and sharing in Nadia’s birthday celebration. “Horses help both mentally and physically and they bring out so much in children like Nadia who are learning to conquer life’s struggles.”

Cox also made the donation of one of his own horses, Stinger, to the program. Having appeared with Cox across the U.S. for many years, Stinger was retired from performing four years ago.

“Chris helped us tremendously with one of our therapy ponies,” said Melanie Murray, one of the instructors at SpiritHorse. “Then he made the very generous and unexpected donation of his horse, Stinger. This is one of Chris’ personal horses. He’s 20 years old and highly trained; he’s one of the horses who helped the world recognize Chris’ horsemanship talents.”

“This wonderful horse will give thousands of lessons over his lifetime, and help so many children with disabilities,” added Fletcher.

Cox, whose Diamond Double C Ranch is located in Mineral Wells, TX, holds horsemanship courses there throughout the year. He travels the United States, Canada, South America, and Australia appearing at expos, conducting clinics and horsemanship demonstrations. His “Come Ride the Journey” tour takes him to cities across the country in 2008. Cox is active in the cutting horse world both as a trainer and competitor. His new training book, written with Cynthia McFarland and published by Western Horseman, was just released in April.

Horse owners in the Tunica, MS, area will want to mark their calendars for July 26 and 27 when Cox brings his “Ride the Journey” tour to the Tunica Arena & Exposition Center. Advance tickets for this two-day interactive learning experience are just $25 and cover admission for both days. Tickets at the door will be $45. Youth under age 14 admitted free. For more information, visit www.chris-cox.com or call (888) 81-HORSE.