Disability not a deterrent for local woman as she pursues showing horses
When Lisa Osborne sits atop her 19-year-old horse, Sassy, she is a commanding presence. She rides with an air of confidence in the show ring at Clarksville 79 Riding Club, confidence that belies her inexperience.
“She’s going to go far. She’s doing great,” says her coach, Trina Phipps. “She wants to go to state this year, in her first year showing. That’s a lot in a few months, but you can’t stop her. She’s got a lot of energy and a lot of passion. I wish I had more students like her.”
Another thing that makes her unlike any student Phipps has had before: Osborne is deaf. She always longed to show horses, and finally gave in to that longing this spring. Because she can’t hear, she has to go to unusual lengths to understand instructions given in the show ring.
“When they make an announcement, I can hear the noise, but not the words,” Osborne said.
She and Phipps devised an iPhone to iPhone communication system, allowing Phipps to send Osborne instructions while in the ring. It’s not that big of a deal, Osborne said, and it frustrates her that some of her friends allow their disabilities to be deal breakers.
“It just takes time and patience to figure out what to do. I have deaf friends who say, ‘I can’t do this; I can’t do that.’ It makes me mad!” Osborne says. “I’ve always dreamed of being in a horse show. I’m 38 years old, and I’m finally in a horse show.”
From the looks of it, Osborne isn’t just in a horse show. She’s quickly rising to the top, placing in everything she enters.
“It’s really neat,” Osborne says. “I really like it.”
At her last show, she took first place on Sassy and third place on Cheyenne, a yearling filly that is as new to horse shows as Osborne is. Her next big show is the 2010 Ann Dean Open Money Show, set for 4 p.m. July 31 at Clarksville 79 Riding Club. Osborne says her mother, Kay Freeman, her husband, Scott Osborne and the whole club have been endlessly encouraging of her entry into the world of showing horses.
“It tickles me they’re willing to take their time to help me,” Osborne says.
But it’s Phipps who gives Osborne the most attention.
“She really takes all of her time and helps me get ready for the show,” Osborne says about her coach.
Phipps says she wishes she had more students with Osborne’s drive and determination.
“It’s mostly her. She does all the work herself,” Phipps says. “She puts up all her own fencing
. I went over there the other night and she was putting paneling in her horse trailer. She’s not going to wait for somebody to do it for her.”
Freeman says she is grateful for the individual attention Phipps offers her daughter.
“Where Trina has come in so much is teaching Lisa how to show Cheyenne, a filly she has in halter training,” Freeman says.
Taking on a yearling is “a big chore,” Phipps says, but her many years of experience dealing with horses makes it manageable.
“Horses’ body language is close to identical to a person’s,” Phipps says. “You can tell when they’re mad, you can tell when they’re hurt, you can tell when they’re irritated. Most of it is in their ears and their tail.”
And helping Osborne along is well worth the challenge of training a young horse.
“I just absolutely love working with her,” Phipps says. “She’s an awesome woman. For her and the disability she has, she doesn’t care. She’s going to do what she wants to do.”
- Written by Stacy Leiser of The Leaf Chronicle, June 23, 2010, http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20100623/LIFESTYLE/6230306/Charging-into-show-ring.
Ashley Fiolek overcomes deafness to excel as one of motocross racing’s elite
See the story:
http://www.grindtv.com/moto/blog/17808/ashley+fiolek+overcomes+deafness+to+excel+as+one+of+motocross+racings+elite/
- Thanks to CR and GrindTV
FIFA.com to Broadcast International Sign Video Reports
Video reports from all 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ will be broadcast in International Sign on FIFA.com.
For the first time, the Official Website of FIFA and the FIFA World Cup is enabling deaf and people with hearing impairments across the globe to follow all 64 matches of world football’s showpiece event even more comprehensively.
International Sign, also known as IS, is an international auxiliary language used at international meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Congress and events such as the Deaflympics.
The WFD represents approximately 70 million deaf people worldwide, which assists in making sign language available to deaf people, especially regarding matters of education and information.
“Football is a universal sport and it must be accessible to everyone. We are therefore delighted to be offering this service for people with hearing impairments and the deaf,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. “By producing these video reports with International Sign, FIFA is serving the needs of over 70 million people.”
All International Sign match report videos will be available at FIFA’s official website, FIFA.com soon after each game.
- From www.fifa.com – June 3, 2010 (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/organisation/media/newsid=1223699/index.html#fifa+broadcast+international+sign+video+reports) and NVRC.
VSDB athlete makes school history in sports, academics
STAUNTON — When it comes to both athletics and academics, Cyron Stokes has reached plateaus not achieved by any other student in the 171-year history of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.
In basketball, the deaf all-American holds the all-time school scoring record of 1,824 points. And academically, while being the top student in his class, he is the first athlete at the school ever enrolled in advanced placement calculus.
It is not surprising the Cardinals have selected him as their nominee for the City/County Student-Athlete of the Year Award, sponsored by The News Leader and Elliott Chevrolet.
Although he excels in basketball, Stokes doesn’t limit his activities to that sport. He will graduate with four letters in basketball, but also three in soccer and two in track.
Naturally, basketball is his favorite.
“I grew up playing basketball,” he said through an interpreter. “It’s always fascinated me. It matches my skill sets.”
On the court, Stokes was a scoring machine. Several times this year he had 40-plus point games, and ended with an average of over 24 per contest.
He began playing the sport on a recreation team while in the first grade, and when he came to VSDB as a freshman, he immediately joined the varsity squad.
Although he was a center, he could easily take over for a player at another position who was struggling.
“I knew I had the ability,” he said. “I could do just about anything on the basketball court.”
Stokes has been awarded for his accomplishments, being named to the Mason-Dixon all-tournament team in each of his four years, and this season he was selected as a deaf all-American. He also played for the deaf East all-star squad in a national game, which was played in Louisville.
“That’s a really special memory,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, and I played well. My heart jumps when I think about that.”
He was also only one of four high school athletes selected to play in the World Deaf Championships to be competed in Poland this summer, but will not be able to participate because of lack of funding.
In soccer, Stokes has been an active offensive player, but took over as goalie this year when there was an injury. He used the fall sport to stay in shape for basketball.
“He’s a good leader,” said VSDB soccer coach Lindsay Burris. “He really supports younger team members. He tries to pull up their playing abilities.
“When he took over as goalie, his height was a strength. He covered the goal, but he was also a good offensive person.”
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| VSDB’s Cyron Stokes, center, runs the 100-meter dash in 12.82 seconds as his team competes at the Waynesboro Invitational at Waynesboro High School on March 31. |
In track, Stokes runs the 100 and 200 meters, as well as a leg on the 400-meter relay team.
“I like the 200 the best,” he said. “The 100 is too short, and the 400 is too long.”
In the classroom, Stokes is No. 1 in a senior class of 21, and holds down a 3.9 grade point average.
Besides AP calculus, he has taken a dual enrollment class in business at Blue Ridge Community College.
“It was different at Blue Ridge,” he said. “But I enjoyed it, and it was a good experience.”
Stokes said he has been influenced by his family and teachers to be a good student.
“They have encouraged me to use my talents,” he said.
Although a star in basketball, Stokes is disciplined in his priorities.
“I think they have to be balanced,” he said of his athletics and academics. “Skills on the court and in the classroom are the same. But school is more important than basketball.
“I wanted to prepare myself for college,” he said. “I just couldn’t ignore my school work. I had to be ready.”
Stokes has been involved in numerous extracurricular activities.
He has been a representative to the student council, and has participated in drama club activities. He is also president of the Varsity Club.
Through his junior year, he worked at Wendy’s, but conflicts with BRCC and an increased academic load forced him to give up that job.
Stokes has received a partial scholarship to Gallaudet University where he will play basketball and major in mathematics.
“As a deaf student, it is a better match for me,” he said of his college selection.
He is also looking forward to playing his sport at the higher level.
“It will be at a very different skill level,” his basketball coach Cliff Watson said through an interpreter. “But I have been impressed with his work ethic. He always hustles and gives 100 percent.”
Although he loves basketball, Stokes, who has limited hearing, likes to listen to music vibrations when he is by himself. And it has caught on with other students.
“Other students couldn’t hear the melody, but could hear the beat,” he said. “They saw me do it, so they decided to do it on their own.”
VSDB athletic director Wayne Hite thinks Stokes will be a success at the next level.
“He’s always there to encourage others to be better,” he said. “In my 10 years here, I rate him at the top of the list as a student-athlete.”
- Written by Ken Bosserman • Sports Writer • May 25, 2010, http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100525/SPORTS/5250330/1006/SPORTS/VSDB-athlete-makes-school-history-in-sports–academics.
Maryland Governor Signs Legislation Impacting People with Hearing Loss
Governor Martin O’Malley today joined Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., House Speaker Michael E. Busch, and Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown, to sign into law two bills that will have a significant impact on Marylanders with hearing loss.
Captioning Requirements for Places of Public Accommodation
The first requires a place of public accommodation to activate closed captioning on any television in use during regular hours if a person requests the feature be activated. With the signing of this legislation, Maryland becomes the first State in the nation to make it a civil rights violation to refuse to activate closed captioning upon request.
“This is landmark legislation, not only for Marylanders with hearing loss, but for the estimated 17 million Americans with hearing loss around the country,” said Lisa Kornberg, Director of the Governor’s Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH). “By signing this legislation, Governor O’Malley reaffirms his commitment to people with hearing loss in the State and fulfills his promise that there is no such thing as a spare Marylander.”
Inclusion of Deafblind Individuals, Addition to Advisory Council
The second bill amends the definition of “deaf and hard of hearing individuals” within ODHH’s statute to include individuals who are deafblind. The bill also increases the roster for the Maryland Advisory Council on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing from 16 to 18 members, adding a member with knowledge about deafblind individuals and a representative from the Department of Aging.
Support for H.R. 3101
In the past year, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has shown tremendous leadership in promoting equal access for Marylanders with hearing loss. In August, in consultation with ODHH and Maryland Relay, Governor O’Malley sent a letter to the entire Maryland delegation to the United States Congress asking them to support H.R. 3101 – the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 and asked the members to work for its swift passage. This bill would ensure that individuals with hearing loss have access to emerging Internet Protocol-based communication and video programming technologies.
- Thanks to the Maryland Governor’s Office press release, 5/4/10 and NVRC.
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