_:nf00771009f984b7d9b27341ae03b24adxb0
<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"<p><strong>FORT MYERS, Fla.</strong> - Under a Fort Myers sunset, nestled away from the rest of world is a place where kids and adults have come from across Southwest Florida for a life-changing gift.</p> <p>They are at a therapeutic horse riding session organized by Special Equestrians, a non-profit that gives lessons to those with disabilities.</p> <p>\"It's a feeling of empowerment for them,\" Jan Fifer, the organization's executive director said. \"Because when some of them get off the horse, they might be on crutches or a wheelchair. But once they get on a horse, the playing fields are equal.\"</p> <p>The sessions are run by volunteers, most of whom have been riding or surrounded by horses their whole lives.</p> <p>There is an exception though, a volunteer named Bill Curtis.</p> <p>\"Sometimes you don't feel that great,\" Curtis said. \"You have good days and bad days. When I get out here every day is a good day.\"</p> <p>At 83, Curtis has found healing here even though he’s only managed to ride three times in the more than three decades he's volunteered.</p> <p>\"I'm here for the kids,\" Curtis said.</p> <p>The kids at Special Equestrians are Curtis' kids. Each of them. He started volunteering when he knew he would never have ones of his own.</p> <p>\"He's had some obstacles to cross in his life with his health, and it just didn't stop him,\" Shari Conley, a fellow volunteer said. \"He felt like he needed to be here for the kids.\"</p> <p>Curtis' biggest obstacle included cancer, which took most of his teeth and nearly his life.</p> <p>\"It only happened to me a few years ago,\" Curtis said. \"I'm out here seeing these kids that have had to put up with that their whole life. How am I going to feel sorry for myself?\"</p> <p>For a few hours each week, those kids come to get away, to find peace in spite of the circumstances surrounding their lives.</p> <p>They, in turn, by giving this man the will to survive, have offered their own gift.</p> <p>\"I don't especially want to get up sometimes, but I want to be here with my kids,\" Curtis said. \"So I'm here. And I'm going to be here when I'm in a wheelchair.\"</p> <p><br />© Copyright 2019 WBBH/WZVN (Waterman Broadcasting). All rights reserved.</p><script></script>"
<https://nbc-2.com/nbc-2-wbbh/2019/01/14/longtime-special-equestrians-volunteer-finds-strength-and-family-through-giving-back/>