TheraPlate Brand Ambassador Lara Oles is a talented equestrian in both para dressage and para reining (Photo: Becca Tolman, Impulsion Images)

Heber City, UT— “I always say that horseback riding is the ultimate team sport, because your team-mate is a 1,000 pound animal that doesn’t speak human,” said para equestrian Lara Oles. “I consider TheraPlate a big part of my team—‘Team LOPE’ (Lara Oles Para Equestrian).” Oles, an official TheraPlate Brand Ambassador, first became aware of TheraPlate Revolution Therapy Platforms through fellow riders whose horses were benefitting from using the company’s products. “I first saw a TheraPlate when I went to train for a month at Arroyo del Mar with Dawn White-O’Connor and Steffen Peters,” Oles recalled. “I figured if it was good enough for Steffen’s horses, it had to be good!”

TheraPlate Revolution, the Official Therapy Plate of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), offers therapy platforms that improve fitness, relieve pain, and provide healing therapy to both horses and their human teammates. The innovative therapy platforms use dynamic movement that can improve performance for both horses and humans just by standing on the platform. Chip Kreiling, owner and founder of TheraPlate Revolution, explained that there are three major ways in which TheraPlate can help equestrians. “First, the TheraPlate maximizes performance— including recovery from the stresses of high-level competition. Next, it allows horses to return to competition sooner after injuries by reducing healing time. Finally, it reduces the chances of the horse becoming injured as the muscular and connected ligaments and tendons become more fit, as fit horses are far less likely to become injured.”

As a TheraPlate Brand Ambassador, Oles is part of a large community of successful riders who have seen the benefits of TheraPlate firsthand. “I really want to give Chip props for investing in three USA Para Dressage High Performance athletes as TheraPlate Brand Ambassadors,” Oles said.

Oles has been using her TheraPlate for her horse, Bella, to treat a quarter crack on Bella’s left front foot that has failed to respond to other treatments. “After only five weeks on the TheraPlate, the quarter crack has grown down from the coronet band over an inch! The improved circulation in her foot from the TheraPlate motion was exactly what she needed.”

Not only has the TheraPlate helped Bella, but Oles has been using the therapy platform for her own health, as well. “I have been standing and stretching on the TheraPlate before I ride, to warm up. It really helps to loosen up the spasticity and cramps I get in my right leg, which are a result of spinal cord damage from a skiing accident.”

Oles is a diversely talented rider, as she competes in both para equestrian dressage and reining. Originally a dressage rider, Oles was inspired by friends who took part in a para reining demo at the AQHA World Championship Show in 2013 and was encouraged to give it a try when she saw what a great time they had. Oles attended a reining clinic that was taught by Lisa Coulter, and found herself competing shortly after. “Lisa also worked with the NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) and organized the first Para Reining competition at the NRHA Futurity in December 2014. After the clinic I attended, she took us all and her borrowed horses up to Oklahoma City to compete,” said Oles. “It was the most fun I’ve had riding in an arena in my entire life.”

For more information on Lara Oles, follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LopeLaraOlesParaEquestrian or visit www.lope.org. To learn more about how TheraPlate can improve you and your horse, visit www.theraplate.com or call (800) 920-3685 (toll-free) or (817) 629-5171 (direct).