Community Corner

Bev and Dick Lindeman: Constant Sources of Light

The Minnetonka couple has volunteered for 20 years with two vital programs serving people in need.

Consistency is critical in the lives of youth with special needs or troubled pasts.

Young people who come through the We Can Ride Program and Hennepin County Home School have found that stable backbone in two married volunteers—Bev and Dick Lindeman, of Minnetonka.

“Dick and Bev are a constant source of light and happiness in the barn,” said Andrea Dahl, manager at the Minnetonka barn that houses We Can Ride. “Whether it’s working with the horses or working the crowd at fundraising events, they are there with those big friendly smiles on their faces.”

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We Can Ride is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization whose mission is serving children and adults living with physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral disabilities. Its goal is enhancing people's skills through horseback riding and carriage driving. There are three other We Can Ride sites in Minnesota.

The Hennepin County Home School is a court-imposed residential treatment center for adolescent male and female offenders ages 12 through 20. The campus, part of the Hopkins School District, includes five residential cottages and educational facilities. Both programs operate on one portion of land owned by Hennepin County.

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Dick, a youthful 85-year-old, and his “younger woman” Bev, 76, have volunteered with We Can Ride and The Hennepin County Home School in a variety of capacities for 20 years. Dick believes it’s the horses that keep him looking so young.

“What the Lindemans have that others should aspire for is a clear sense of community,” Dahl said. “They are tireless supporters—so faithful and generous. And, as they age, it seems their commitment grows ever stronger. They are a blessing to us.”

Getting Hooked

Dick Lindeman would often drive past the Home School and see the horses outside. He found himself wondering if they might need help with the animals, so he talked with the volunteer coordinator. He started by teaching horsemanship to Home School residents.

One day, Dick saw a sign in the barn looking for We Can Ride volunteers. Bev decided to get involved with the program, and Dick soon followed suit.

From the young first rider they assisted, in 1991, the pair was hooked.

Dick remembers leading a horse with a 4-year-old girl, Emily, in the saddle, and Bev walking at her side. Emily suffered from cerebral palsy and was usually confined to a wheelchair. Bev told her to do “airplane,” and Emily put her arms out straight at her sides.

“I feel like an angel,” Emily said, as they rode around the ring.

“I came home and said, ‘We just have to go back because she loves us,’” Bev shared. “But she felt like an angel which is really interesting for somebody that young with a disability to even feel like she’s an angel. I mean, how cool is that?”

From that day, Emily insisted that Bev sidewalk with her, and she got to know and trust the Lindemans. Bev recently saw Emily, now 21, in a local store. She is still in a wheelchair but independent, with a service dog at her side.

Working with the younger We Can Ride participants is, to this day, the icing on the cake for the couple. Some of the riders come to class in wheelchairs or are carried into the barn by their parents, because they can’t walk.

“Once we put them on a horse, and they’ve got legs, they can move,” Dick said softly. “Over the years, we’ve seen them grow into adults.”

They have been involved in all facets of We Can Ride, including barn chores, and We Can Ride recently named the Lindemans "Golden Ambassadors" who greet parents in the barn, help talk through therapy programming with caregivers and apprehensive parents and educate volunteers on horse care and behavior.

In addition to helping with the horses and riders, the Lindemans have mentored two Home School residents, taught them how to ride and then worked with them after their release to help re-integrate them into the community. The Lindemans have mostly retired from their Home School duties, though Bev said she is always willing to give parents hugs on the bad days.

“And there are some very bad days,” she said.

So Many Stories

Neither Dick nor Bev have ever been frightened by working with the young offenders who stay at the Home School. Back a few years, the couple would take residents on Sunday trail rides.

“They’d come back to the cottage, calm and mellow,” Dick said. “The staff would say ‘what do you do down there?’ I would say ‘It’s the horses.’”

Some residents of the Home School help with the We Can Ride program. One night, Bev saw one of the residents leave the barn, and it looked like he was crying. Bev asked him if he was ok. He told her one the riders told him he loved him. He told Bev nobody had ever said that to him before.

On another occasion, a 3-year-old boy who had never spoken a word was sitting at the kitchen table at his home. He had recently been working with the popular horse Haji during We Can Ride classes and had been feeding him carrots. Eating dinner at home one night, the boy picked up a baby carrot from his plate and said “Haji.”

“The first word he ever said in his life,” Bev said. “That always just makes me get goosebumps.”

Long List of Awards

Throughout the years, the Lindemans have been honored by Hennepin County, the Minnetonka City Council, ICA Foodshelf and KARE-11’s 11 Who Care. Dick has been referred to as an “Ageless Hero” and the couple can still be seen in a long-ago filmed documentary on public access TV.

The Lindemans are the modest of the modest and, even after all their inspiring work, they claim they volunteer because it benefits them.

“It’s good exercise,” Dick said.

The couple has gathered enough heartwarming stories of the human spirit to fill a book—if only they had time to write it.

“It’s just about helping somebody else other than thinking about yourself,” Bev explained. “People say they don’t have time to volunteer, but sometimes you really only have to have an hour or two a week. And if you can’t find that much time to help someone else, then maybe you need to re-evaluate what you are doing.”


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