- December 14, 2025
When the residents at CountrySide Lakes were told someone by the name of Suzie Q would be visiting them on Friday, July 6, they asked Life Engagement Director Stephanie Lynch what the visitor would be doing. Lynch said Suzie Q "does a little bit of everything."
Was Suzie Q an entertainer? Probably a singer, like most other live entertainment Lynch arranges at CountrySide Lakes.
However, Lynch is also one for surprises.
The residents were all smiles when they saw Suzie Q walk into the building: a miniature horse outfitted with sneakers and wearing sparkly purple wings.
The therapy horse made her way around the room, nuzzling people's hands and nibbling at clothes. The experience was new not only for residents but also relatively new for the horse: She just received her therapy certification this February and has since been visiting nursing homes and veterans homes along with her handlers — Tara Maggio, Ginny Waterman and Christina Keifer — of the Journeys End Farm Sanctuary, where almost 40 rescue animals live.
Maggio said bringing Suzie Q around the county to visit with people has been exciting.
"Some of those people, when they're lying in those beds, when they open their eyes and see Suzie, it just broke our hearts because they just smile and get so excited," Maggio said. "So it makes us both happy just to see the smiles and how everybody reacts."
Lynch said that when Maggio and Waterman contacted her about bringing in their therapy horse, she knew it would make the residents smile.
"It's just keeping them very involved ... just keeping them focused on that there's more out there than just the four walls in their apartments," Lynch said.
