Creating a space for relaxation, comfort and even joy for children with developmental disabilities and mental health disorders is the mission of what's called Justin's Place.

It's where participants can enjoy horseback riding and interacting with animals on a farm.

And Wilmore, Kentucky.

Dustin King was a young man that passed away in a car accident in 2017, and his family approached me in 2020, saying that they wanted to share his contagious joy with their community by starting a therapeutic riding farm, so they did not have a property.

They had, you know, nothing tangible.

They just had an idea.

So we serve children ages 3 to 13 with a diagnosis of a disability or a disorder.

So that's a really wide range of disabilities.

We originally started specifically for autism because that was kind of at the heart of our mission.

And that's really what we still feel like we specialize in is kiddos that are on the spectrum.

But since then we've really branched out.

We serve a wide variety of disabilities, and we also have a program that specifically for kids who have had early developmental trauma, who have been through foster care.

The therapeutic nature of, of course, is so special.

And what we know about them is their heart rate is low and they have this powerful electromagnetic field that just kind of brings our energy down and helps us regulate and ground.

And that is what so many of our kids need that we serve.

It's just that grounding energy.

And so I love that we're able to hold space for kids while they're on the horse, and just be quiet and back off and just breathe and let them lay on the horse and pat the horse and get that just deep relaxation and connection with another sentient being.

Adelaide has cerebral palsy and she also has epilepsy, so she struggles quite a bit with motor skills speech.

And she has some intellectual disability.

I just feel like this place is calming to her.

Even if she is in a bad mood and isn't very cooperative, as soon as she gets on the horse, even if she's not smiling, you can just tell.

Well, she's calm.

The other thing is like, just her motor skills, and she has a really hard time using her left hand and using the reins and having to hold both of them and learning to steer.

All of that has just been really good for her as far as you know, getting that left hand involved and working on that.

Our core program is called Barn Buddies and that is our bread and butter.

We love that program because it's tailored for each kid.

So it includes an adaptive riding lesson.

But it also includes whatever they want.

So it can be petting a goat, doing an art project, playing in the sand at the core of Justin's place.

It's very unique because we are unlike all other services, in my opinion, because our priority is joy and fun.

So there are many services that serve children with disabilities and disorders and who are struggling, but usually it's to get them to reach a goal or to advance a skill, or to meet a mold or a standard, or pass a test at Jackson's place.

We just want them to feel like this is a breath of fresh air.

I'm loved and supported as I am, and that brings me joy.

Having a place where she feels welcome and comfortable is really, really helpful as a parent because you don't have I don't have to worry about when she comes here if she's going to, you know, be judged her.

And that's a huge thing for me because other places aren't as welcoming to children who have differences.

She loves being around the animals and they just make her happy.

A place of joy indeed.

Justin's place also has an int mentorship program for students who are adopted, have been in foster care or experienced early developmental trauma to work on life skills through equine assisted learning.