Bristol and Awna. photo by Boris Ladwig
Hope for Hearts Farm
O
~by Boris Ladwig
n a 9-acre farm about a mile outside Bean Blossom, two young sisters recently stood near the center of a horse enclosure and talked in hushed voices to figure out how to get two ponies to mind. The ponies stood a few feet away, somewhat disinterested, and they initially refused to walk where Awna, 11, and Bristol, 10, wanted them to go. However, the girls’ mother, Erica Bryenton, was elated that their daughters were working together. “They’re holding hands. That’s, like, major,” the mother whispered, as she sat nearby to watch. The girls tried different strategies, and eventually their patience and perseverance paid off. The horses walked to the exact spot the girls wanted.
16 Our Brown County May/June 2021
Awna and Bristol are visiting Hope for Hearts Farm about once a week, and their mother said the trust from the horses and patience the work requires have helped the girls with interpersonal relationships and instilled in them a confidence that has helped them at school. When they finished their task on a recent sunny Monday afternoon, the girls critiqued each other’s performance, as instructor and farm owner Lisa Bowman watched and listened. Bowman told them that they should continue to work together as one and to put themselves in the other’s shoes. Awna began taking lessons at the farm a couple of years ago. She had had some rough
