Special Olympian Wins World Gold
By Beth Cassidy
Davie County Enterprise Record
While most athletes and fans are
preparing for the 2008 Olympics in
China, one Davie coach and participant
have already been there and come home
victorious.
Marissa Brzescinski, assistant coach
of the Special Olympics Team USA
Equestrian Team, and Delaney Hansen,
an equestrian from Iredell County who
rides in Davie County, brought home
one bronze and two gold medals.
Brzescinski is the head coach of the
Special Olympics Davie team.
She and Delaney flew, along with
other athletes and coaches from North
Carolina and across the US, over 16
hours to Shanghai for the 2007 Special
,1
Olympics World Summer Games. They
left Sept. 26 and returned Oct. 13.
For Brzescinski, it was the trip of a
lifetime.
"This whole thing started out as a
fluke. The head of the Davie program,
Kathy Streit, asked me if they could use
my bam for their classes. Once I got to
meet the athletes land see what it was
all about, it was a no-brainer, I knew I
wanted to help. That was four years
ago."
Brzescinski, who moved here from
New York with her husband, Kris, in
early 2003, had never flown as far as
China, but she's been a "horse person"
most of her life. She and Kris worked
in television news in New York, she as
a cameraman and he as a helicopter
photographer.
Shortly after 9/11, after one of her
colleagues was killed when the World
Trade Center collapsed, she turned in
her notice and began working on a horse
farm. Not happy with conditions there
and realizing most barns would operate
the same way, Brzescinski began
looking for a place to relocate.
That place ended up to be the
Dixieland Farm off Godbey Road.
The first time she saw the farm was
right after a big ice storm in 2002, but
she knew right away it was where she
wanted to be. The farm is now home to
Brzescinski and her husband, as well as
their four horses, 19 other horses
boarded there, and other pets. Married
two years, Brzescinski said they don't Delaney Hansen shows off her
gold medal from the Special
Please See Gold - Page BIO Olympics World Games in China.
810 - DAVIE COUNTY ENTERPRISE
Dixieland Farms in the Davie Academy community is among the places where Special Olympics gold medal winner Delaney Hansen trains.
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Continued From Page B 1
have children, but she enjoys
being everyone's "favorite
aunt," especially to the children
who ride at the farm,
Four years ago, one of those
children, Delaney, was a quiet
14-year-old who wouldn't
consider tacking her own horse.
Now, Brzescinski said, she is
outgoing and "does it all,"
helping others learn how to
groom and tack horses, and even
pointing out to Brzcscinski if
something isn't done right.
"She is wise beyond her
years. She went from being a
little girl to being a young
woman, and she amazes me with
her leadership skills and
compassion. ,.
Delaney rides with the Davie
team because there is no
equestnan team in Iredell
County. Delaney was the only
Special Olympic equestrian
from NC competing in the
games.
Brzescinski said her time
with Delaney in China was
something she would never
forget.
"Even in the best of
circumstances, it's hard to take
a teen away from their family for
three weeks. But I would not
hesitate to do it all over again,"
she said.
Delaney, like the other riders,
have a variety of disabilities,
ranging from Asperger's
syndrome, an autism spectrum
disorder, to Down's syndrome,
to developmental delays, and
hearing impairments. One of
Brzescinski's students suffers
from developmental delays and
is paralyzed on the left side of
her body, due to two serious car
accidents when she was young.
All of the II NC athletes who
wept to China were "high-
RECORD, Thursday, Dec, 6, 2007
functioning," said Brzescinski.
The games marked the first
time the event was held in Asia
and only the second time it was
held outside the US.
"The opening ceremonies
were Oct. 2 and featured an
elaborate display equal to or
surpassing any Olympic
ceremonies I have ever seen.
Celebrity guests included Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who
led Team USA into the stadium,
Jackie Chan, Colin Farrell,
Quincy Jones and Ziyi Zhang,
from Mulan and Memoirs of a
Geisha. Closing ceremonies
were Oct. II and were just as
spectacular, with performances
by Jose Carrera and a fireworks
display that seemed to go on
forever,"
There were more than 160
countries represented, some
Brzescinski said she had never
even heard of before. Over 7,000
athletes participated.
Team USA's equestrian team
had nine athletes, from NC.
Texas, Idaho, Maine, Montana
and Maryland, and four coaches,
from NC, Texas and Kentucky.
The US team was the third
largest equestrian team. Chin-a
had the most riders, 32, and
Germany had II.
The equestrian team brought
home a total of three gold, six
silver and four bronze medals.
They competed in Dressage,
Prix Caprilli (jumping), Working
Trails, English Equitation, Team
Relay and the Figure-S Stake
Race.
Athletes were not able to take
their own horses, but were
assigned horses through a lottery
system. They were furnished by
the Chinese, and Brzescinski
said most were native Chinese
horses from the western part of
the country.
- Photo by Robin S
"Once assigned a horse, each horses 'the great equalizers,'
athlete was given a chance to because you can take a non-
ride the horse briefly, about 20 handicapped person who has
minutes, to determine if the never been on a horse before,
horse was a good match. Once and you can take a person with
matched, each athlete was disabilities who has never been
permitted a short warm-up on 'a horse before, and neither
period before each competition one of them will know what they
or class. The time ranged from are doing.
20 minutes on a generous day to But the biggest high to me is
only two minutes on some of the to see someone I teach be able
more crazy days. to do it on their own for the first
"Keep in mind that these time. They fulfill in me the need
athletes are expected to do more to teach and see the results of
than any Olympic athlete. They that teaching. God willing, I will Delaney Hansen rides her assigned horse, whict
are asked to ride a horse they've continue to do this." named "Reno" after a horse she rides at Dixieland f
never seen before, with little
warm-up or prep time, after
having no opportunity to
practice since departing from
their home state. Non-Special
Olympic riders take their own
horses and are at the venue for
weeks preceding the games,
preparing and ttaining."
At Dixieland Farm, about 25
Special Olympic athletes ride
each Wednesday and Friday.
Brzescinski teaches English
hunters, jumpers and dressage.
They are expected to learn how
to brush, tack and lead the
horses, skills Brzescinski said
are just as important as riding.
She offers lessons to other riders,
young and old. She seems
amazed at where she is in life,
Delaney Hansen (center) on the medal stand with her gold medal in the Er
but completely at peace with it.
Equitation competition, The' female athlete on the left is from Uruguay, an
"The day before we were
going to move here, with the
athlete on the right is young man from Egypt.
moving van all packed and
ready, I could feel a freak out
coming on. I said, 'Jesus, I don't
know if I'm doing the right thing
here. I don't need a burning
bush, but I do need some kind
of sign that I'm doing the right
thing.' We were on our way to
Kris' mom's house, and just
then, a car with a North Carolina
tag got in front of me and stayed
in front of me all the way to her
house. I said, 'Well, I really
didn't need that burning bush.
but thanks.' That was it. That
was my sign.
"I think this is why I was put
here, why my husband and I
were directed down here to
North Carolina. I had given
riding lessons to handicapped
children before, but this was the
first time I had committed
myself on a grander scale to do
something for them. Not
everyone feels comfortable Team USA equestrian members, from left: front - James Taylor (Texas), Tawny
working with this population, (Montana), Erin Strevig (Maryland), Delaney Hansen (North Carolina), Sava
but really, all they want is to be Henstock (Idaho), Julie Bertelsen (Montana), Angela Simmons (Texas); back - J
treated like everyone else. J call Guiseley (Maine) and Danny Grau (Maryland).