Dream ride

Keith Priest, 36, moved from his wheelchair and gently settled into a canvas swing. As volunteers cranked a hydraulic lift, his feet slowly left the ground.

He hung in midair, waiting to be lifted high enough to sit in the saddle of Solomon, his favorite horse at the Hixson Therapeutic Riding Center.

Although Mr. Priest had been going to the riding center for about a year, getting on a horse always was a major challenge.

“It’s always been really precarious and we were scared every time,” his mother Judy Mullin said.

Now, the lift designed by a team of UTC engineering students makes it easier for Mr. Priest, who has cerebral palsy and is autistic, and others with disabilities get into the saddle.

Dottie Davis, who owns the riding center with her husband, Bob, said the lift is a godsend for individuals with disabilities and the desire to experience the thrill of horesback riding.

Before, she said, it took four to five volunteers to lift the rider into the saddle. Slipping loose was always an issue.

“We were at a point where we almost couldn’t do it,” she said.

With the new lift, the rider is strapped securely into a seat and the device does the lifting.

“They feel safer and more secure getting on and off the horse,” Mrs. Davis said. “It’s important for them to feel comfortable and safe beforehand. It’s all part of the riding process.”

Engineering professor Ed McMahon oversaw the lift-design project.

“The students did very well,” he said. “They went and found out about the problem and found out what the client wanted, then designed it and took it out there, and it met all their requirements.”

He said the lift is a modification of one used to lift disabled swimmers in and out of pools, so it already met many required safety codes. And it’s portable, either moved by hand or hooked to a trailer.

“They can take it to where they want it or keep it inside during bad weather,” Dr. McMahon said

Senior engineering student Ricky Thompson and Mena Aziz, Nathan Holland, Anthony Lopez and Matthew Chatham-Tombs, all members of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s senior design class, designed the lift.

“We overcame budget and time constraints and came up with something we think will be very useful for them,” Mr. Thompson said.

The lift cost about $1,500, less than the original budget of $2,200, said Dr. Cecelia Wigal, UC Foundation associate professor of engineering. The lift was paid for by private donations and a grant from the Tennessee Department of Education’s special education division.

Dr. Wigal helped secure funding for the project and worked to have the grant changed from targeting children 6 years old and under to include older children and teens more likely to be of horse-riding age.

“It’s going to make such a difference,” Mrs. Mullin said.