Sempre Fi Dixie Challenge Aids Military Veterans Find Purpose After Service
Adjusting to civilian life following military service, especially service during wartime, for many veterans, leaves them wondering where they fit in.
“When we get back from deployment, I think some of us come back with more scars than others, and then some of those scars, you know, you might get medicated, you might see a therapist, but really one of the ways to combat that is to experience that rush again, experience the outdoors, experience hard work, a true purpose and a true mission,” said Major David Pham, United States Marine Infantry Officer, Dixie Challenge participant.
Marine infantry officer, Major David Pham says the Dixie Challenge through the Sempre Fi Fund and the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association did that for him and more as he and other participants, all military vets, learn about themselves and the horse they train during this unique weekend.
“You learn horsemanship and they teach us roping, and sorting cattle,” said Pham. “I’ve never done a lot of those things and, I think, by the end, I think, some folks have said we’re doing all right.”
Feeling alright can give these veterans hope for the future.
“I know the changes that it’s made because the stress these people have been under, fighting the wars and dealing with all those troubles, and they come here. They learn,” said Tom McBeth, Mississippi Quarter Horse Association President. “They can get on this horse, and they can connect with that horse, and they can enjoy, but they’re still learning.”
“What we’ve seen is, there’re a lot of programs out there that help veterans mend their arms and their legs and their minds, but there’re not a lot of programs to help them mend their soul, and horses and programs like this mend their soul,” said Brooks Derryberry, Mississippi Quarter Horse Association’s event coordinator.
Brooks Derryberry, whose father served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a marine, says he’s proud to connect the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association along with sponsors like Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation to veterans in the program as a way to say “thank you for your service.”
“When we can look to organizations like Farm Bureau that advocates not only for agricultural and the horse industry, the cattle industry, and all those kinds of things, but also for our veterans and we can bring them together in connection, then it makes it work,” said Derryberry.
The Dixie Challenge only lasts four days, but the impact it makes on these veterans can change their lives.
“It reassures them you know that they’re still good people. So many of them have convinced themselves because of the battles they’ve had to fight, they’ve convinced themselves that they’re not good people anymore,” said McBeth. “When they leave here, I want them to truly believe in themselves and help them with that inner battle they have to deal with after fighting in the war.”
“What the Quarter Horse Association and Sempre Fi Fund have really done is really just given us the opportunity to feel the rush we felt in combat in a controlled manner, and to fulfill a purpose again, and that’s the most important thing for me here,” said Pham.