When Jeane Whittenburg was little she wanted to attend the Art Institute in Kansas City and work for Hallmark. Over the course of her life, there have been a lot of people that told her she couldn’t do what she wanted. She had parents that said, “There’s no money in art. You have to be a teacher or a nurse”. Then she had a husband (now an ex-husband) that said she couldn’t take even an hour away from him to work with horses. The good news is she did it anyway – and that’s what I like about her! She did work with horses and she’s found many ways to be artistic.
In preparation for my interview with her, I looked Jeane up on the Internet and found out two things about her. One – she recently designed holiday cards as a fundraiser for a local organization that provides equine assisted therapy to individuals with disabilities. Two - Jeane just won volunteer of the year for her region based on the work she does with this organization. In fact she is one of only eleven people selected for this honor out of the more than 30,000 volunteers with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. That’s right - the same organization her ex-husband said she couldn’t volunteer for – just honored her for over 24 years of service and involvement in therapeutic riding. Add to this - she wrote and illustrated her own children's book based on stories she heard growing up.
Guess what Jeane’s favorite kind of horse is? A Paint. Isn’t that fabulous – an artist that loves Paints! And there’s more to the horse story, especially in terms of what it teaches us about how Jeane has overcome yet another obstacle – Schneiderian Papillomas. Jeane has a rare kind of tumor that develops in the nasal cavity. Over the course of her battles with these recurrent sinonasal tumors, Jeane has had 31 surgeries and cranial radiation, which has left her without her left eye – but she doesn’t let it slow her down or prevent her work in therapeutic horsemanship.
Every horse person can tell you intimate details about the first horse they ever loved. Turns out, the first horse that Jeane loved was a horse named Pal she met growing up – long before the tumors. Pal was a palomino that was blind in one eye. She was one of the few people who could ride him, because she was sensitive enough to remember all the things you needed to do to make him comfortable – which side to approach from, how to avoid obstacles – all skills she is very adept at now. When I asked her how she felt about her cancer - she said “I have a hole in my head. I hate it. But I’m alive and I’m having a blast”.
Like many people who work with animals, Jeane echoed the sentiment that one of the things she liked about it – is that horses don’t judge you or feel sorry for you. They just work with what they’ve got. I like that too. Turns out both the animals and Jeane have a lot to teach us – about taking what you’ve got and pushing past or working around anything that stands in your way.
I admire that Jeane has overcome a lot of obstacles – most of them related to the limitations other people put on her. Where she takes it to the next level is her volunteer work. Jeane uses her experience at Therapeutic Horsemanship to help people with disabilities do the very same thing she does so well. She helps them push past obstacles to do things they never could’ve imagined – like riding a horse!
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