LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Super Bowl touches down in Las Vegas in just over a month.
It is a game many probably dream of going to and the Las Vegas Super Bowl host committee has been making that dream come true for those who make a difference in our community. Recently, a couple was surprised by Luke Bryan with tickets for their work using horses to help first responders and veteran families.
In a quiet neighborhood in the northwest part of town, more than a dozen horses are waiting to help heal those who need it.
“We do these things because it is the right thing to do for the right people,” said Sydney Knott Cunningham of her non-profit ranch, Horses4Heroes. She and her husband Bill offer free equine-assisted therapy for veteran and first responder families to cope with difficult times.
On Wednesday morning, FOX 5 met the Blair family at the ranch. They are one of the families receiving equine-assisted therapy, as their young daughter comes to the ranch regularly.
“I always tell her that she’s the hero in our family and so is her sister, that her dad and I chose this lifestyle, but she didn’t,” Sarah Blair said.
Her husband works with Nellis Air Force Base and his job requires the family to pack up and move their life every few years.
“She has been a military kid her whole life,” Blair added.
However, that life has not been easy for her 9-year-old daughter, Ruby.
“I can tell them my secrets and they won’t tell anybody,” Ruby said about her interactions with the horses at the ranch.
Sarah Blair introduced Ruby to Horses4Heroes this past summer and realized the weight of the world was slowly coming off her daughter.
“Every minute she is here, she is so happy,” Blair explained.
“I could kind of talk to the horses and some of the people who work here about the things I’ve been feeling lately, and it made me feel a lot better,” Ruby said. “Even though I don’t have many friends at school, I love all the horses here.”
That love has spread to the many families that have walked through the ranch and gotten the chance to touch the gentle giants.
Eventually, country star Luke Bryan found out.
Last week, Bill and Sydney learned that they were going to his concert and will get to meet him.
“I was just thrilled to meet him,” Sydney said.
However, that wasn’t all, as Bryan added to the surprise, captured in a video by the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee.
“We are having fun with you and honoring what you do with Horses4Heroes,” Bryan said. “On behalf of me and the NFL and The Las Vegas Super Bowl Committee, we would like to give you two tickets to the Super Bowl.”
It was a surprise of a lifetime for these die-hard football fans.
“I was mind blown. I was like, We are going to the Super Bowl. I couldn’t believe it,” Sydney said.
“Very, very special,” Bill said.
It was a special gift that went to two deserving people, Blair said.
“They don’t ask for anything to do this, and I know its absolutely something they would have never considered doing for themselves,” she added.
Bill and Sydney tell FOX5 they hope during Super Bowl weekend those who come into town for the big game will be able to pay their ranch a visit and see firsthand the horse and human connection.
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