{"id":4026,"date":"2022-10-03T11:27:14","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T15:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steamboatsir.com\/blog\/?p=4026"},"modified":"2022-10-03T11:27:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T15:27:14","slug":"reaching-for-the-stars-steamboats-adaptive-sports-program-reaches-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/2022\/10\/03\/reaching-for-the-stars-steamboats-adaptive-sports-program-reaches-new-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaching for the STARS: Steamboat\u2019s adaptive sports program reaches new heights."},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ron Southworth\u2019s daughter lost her leg during a battle with cancer, he received a fast track education in adaptive sports. \u201cShe never skied before and only knew skiing on one leg, and she would make me ski on one ski, too,\u201d he says. \u201cIt gave my daughter a real sense of accomplishment. And the relationships we formed and the bond we shared with other families who were going through similar challenges was wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by his daughter\u2019s experience, Southworth has devoted the last 25 years to working with adaptive athletes. \u201cI began volunteering for an adaptive program with the National Sports Center for the Disabled in \u201996 and immediately fell in love with it,\u201d he says. Southworth found his home on the range, so to speak, at the Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS) Ranch in Steamboat where he lives with his wife and eight horses and runs programs for the non-profit organization year-round.<\/p>\n

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Where it started<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 2007 by a group of parents, ski instructors, and management from Steamboat Ski Corporation to provide improved winter recreational opportunities for people with disabilities, STARS\u2019s mission is to empower and enrich lives through adaptive recreational activities. In 2010, STARS was contracted by Steamboat Ski Corporation to be the exclusive operator of all winter adaptive lessons and programs for the Steamboat Ski area. Since then, STARS has grown to offer year-round programming including skiing, cycling, therapeutic horseback riding, kayaking and many other activities to empower people with disabilities. \u201cI was the very first instructor they ever hired. They didn\u2019t even have an office yet, and interviewed me in a library conference room,\u201d Southworth says. \u201cI\u2019m the only one still here from the original crew.\u201d During his tenure, Southworth has been an integral part of the organization\u2019s tremendous growth, but the mission remains the same. \u201cOver the years we\u2019ve been able to help many people realize that their life isn\u2019t over, even after a traumatic event. They can still ski, ride a bike, and recreate outdoors,\u201d he says. \u201cIt might be different, but they can still do it. I\u2019ve had students who told us they were contemplating suicide and we saved them by helping them put their life back together. It\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\nWhat\u2019s offered<\/strong><\/p>\n

STARS offers a wide variety of programming in the winter including all access programs at Steamboat Ski Resort for local kids and adults, Special Olympics trainings, camps for veterans and blind skiers, as well as cross country skiing and snowshoeing at Haymaker. In the summer, there\u2019s opportunity for a wide variety of activities for kids, teens, and adults with camps that offer hiking, biking, paddle boarding, swimming, tennis, and a therapeutic horse program.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most exciting development during Southworth\u2019s tenure is the opening of the STARS ranch in 2020, a $6 million property featuring a 27-bed lodge on 9-acres that boarders open space. In 2021 the property where STARS ran the Therapeutic Horse program became available. \u201cWhen this property came up for sale, a gracious donor bought it with the caveat that my wife and I move in and take care of it,\u201d he says. This 35 acre property called the Zen Ranch, is also his home, where Ron and his wife live and care for the 8 horses that STARS uses in their program. The property is a member facility with the Professional Association of Therapy Horsemanship (PATH) and STARS has taught more than 300 lessons since the facility opened two years ago. Southworth says the addition of horse therapy is invaluable. \u201cIf I had the facility and clientele to teach horseback riding year-round, I would do it. Horses are amazing creatures and offer amazing therapeutic benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

STARS is funded by grants, program revenue, and donations which are at an all-time high after the most successful annual fundraiser to date. \u201cThis summer our Farm to Barn event grossed over $500,000 in one night,\u201d Southworth says. \u201cSteamboat has such a generous, empathetic and tight-knit community. I always tell my staff we\u2019re not in the ski business we\u2019re in the relationships business.\u201d After a quarter century, Southworth has formed countless bonds with students and their families. He owes it all to his daughter, who taught him firsthand the joy and freedom of flying down the mountain, even on one ski. \/\/steamboatstars.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Ron Southworth\u2019s daughter lost her leg during a battle with cancer, he received a fast track education in adaptive sports. \u201cShe never skied before and only knew skiing on one leg, and she would make me ski on one ski, too,\u201d he says. \u201cIt gave my daughter a real sense of accomplishment. And the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64295786,"featured_media":4043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfNAsR-12W","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IMG_6452-002_cropped-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64295786"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/steamboatsir\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}