Meet Sanna Roling | Founder and President of Dream Catcher Stables, CHA TX State Representative, and Retired Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sanna Roling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sanna, how does your business help the community?
Persons (especially children) with disabilities are often bullied, left out of mainstream, or thought to not have a future. At Dream Catcher Stables Inc we believe that every person is a person of value. All are welcomed as we would welcome our volunteers or donors – unconditionally with potential.

That being said their families find a place where they, the whole family, can relax and have fun. Through our horsemanship program our athletes with disabilities gain self-esteem, improve physical abilities, have a reason to talk with peers, are encouraged to dream and think of their future as adults.

Their futures become realities making a positive impact on the community and thus on the world. A few of those successes are:
Ulises – competitive Mariachi dancer with Ballet Folklorico
Gabby – became an athlete spokesperson for Special Olympics
Ben – an entrepreneur,
Jordan – a certified corrections officer,
Kim and Carolyn – work in the hospitality industry,
Blake – completing a degree at U of H in cyber security,
Avery – A Junior at Baylor University Honors College with a goal of neonatologist,
Maxine – working toward her own business in cosmetology,
Makayla – a sophomore at Texas A&M Galveston in marine biology,
Diego – who never socialized in his classes until one year he asked to take his Top Hands awards to school and told the class in 2 full sentences about them. Stunned his teacher, began to interact with his classmates and today is a Freshman at UTSA majoring in film editing.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Upon moving to Houston, TX in 1982, Elsie Risinger brought me into the SJGS volunteer fold, recognized my true love – horses – and helped me to become a part of the SJGS Peach Creek horse programs. With expertise wanting an outlet, I developed a weekday adult horse program that created horse capable volunteers, assisted with the SPURS program and developed the Special Education Riding Program which I ran successfully until 1992. (Girl Scout Leaders wanted their entire troop to be able to ride together – I made that happen,) Then people started asking me to help adults and boys. I couldn’t do that through Girl Scouts, so in 1992 I created Rainbow Spring Stables Inc and in 1999 was finally ready to open when a board member took it away from me telling me my mission would never work. The athletes and most of the volunteers begged me to start over. August 23, 1999, after 13 years of pilot projects, Dream Catcher Stables Inc was born with the exact same mission, 1 horse, 4 athletes, 4 volunteers and a $5,000 debt.

Dream Catcher Stables Inc (EIN76-0618111) mission is: To provide a place in perpetuity where people with disabilities can be successful, equal, and capable, growing to their maximum life’s potential through interaction with horses in a positive environment.

We accomplish our mission by providing recreational, educational, and sport programming, including vocational/prevocational opportunities, to youth at risk and persons with disabilities. Individuals are accepted without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background. Our funding comes from individuals, corporations, and foundations.

There have been challenges, each met with our “I Can Do” spirit. Can’t and Don’t are words we choose not to include in our vocabulary.

Most of all Dream Catcher Stables Inc was begun to serve those who need adaptive riding the most and can least afford it. An all volunteer organization – volunteers choose when and how long they will work. Public donations pay the bills. Everyone is valued.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
At 82 I don’t go out that much. NASA, Moody Gardens, Houston museums are favorites.

My favorite places to eat are Guadalajara, Cheesecake Factory, and Outback.

My favorite places to travel to are:
The National Vietnam War Museum in Weatherford, TX
San Antonio River Walk
HLSR Top Hands Horse Show

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Growing up in the 1950’s my parents believed in education with a purpose. Thus I set my sights on Veterinary Medicine but flunked out and followed a friend to Michigan Technological University where I earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences. (In 2017 I received the Alumna Lifetime Achievement Award.) Still thinking I was following a friend I went on to University of Massachusetts where I earned a M.S. in Organic Chemistry and met my husband.

My horsemanship love and knowledge are the direct result of visits to family friends who managed Sunny Ridge Farms for H.Leslie Atlas (1945-7). Those friends went on to create Rosegate Pony Farm where our family visited often. Then after earning my Girl Scout Horesmanship badge, I spent six years formally learning horsemanship and volunteering with Francis Reker School of Horsemanship (1956-61).

Website: https://dreamcatcherstables.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamcatchertx/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dream-catcher-stables-inc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamcatchertx

Other: https://greatnonprofits.org/org/dream-catcher-stables-inc