OklahomaHorses Magazine November 2023

14 OklahomaHorses • November / December 2023 Heartwarming Adventures Oklahoma School for the Blind Enjoys Western Heritage Day Story and photo by Leigh Ann Matthews A fter losing his sight to diabetes, Don LaPorte of Dover, Oklaho- ma, was convinced that he would never ride again. He sold his horses and did his best to adjust to a totally different lifestyle than he had known his whole life — living in the country and spending many hours on horseback working feed- lots and ranching. He worked in a family business for a while, but the fact that he “wasn’t where he belonged” nagged at him long enough for him to change things. He pursued a career in the vending business through a federal program known as the Randolph-Sheppard Act. After a few years of running the business and doing the best to accommodate his disability, LaPorte faced the fact that some- thing else was still missing from his life — something other than his sight. He con- tacted the buyer of his horses and bought back his favorite, an American Quarter Horse Association mare called Star. LaPorte began to ride Star again in a small area, but it wasn’t long before he ventured into the OnWestern Heritage Day, students and volunteers from the Oklahoma School for the Blind line up to climb a rock wall, bungee jump, and ride a mechanical bull. Connors State College students Braden Chambers (left) and Kloe Pierce (right) introduce Oklahoma School for the Blind student Evy Kizzia of Fort Gibson to Juree Rezner of the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association and her horse, Tea.