After a barn fire sparked by lightning killed seven horses last year at Stewart Home School, 120 disabled students were left without a riding program.

Close to a year after the November fire, the school is preparing to reopen its program Feb. 1 with a new equestrian center and indoor riding facility.

SHS Equestrian Director Linda Word said she got everything she wanted in the new barn and riding facility.

The barn has nine box stalls and two straight stalls, all with running water, ceiling fans and dutch doors opening out. In addition, it features a tack room for equipment and Word's office, two bathrooms and mechanical room with a washer and dryer.

"I don't have to go to my house, I can move into the barn," joked Word.

The center will also feature safety precautions such as heat sensors connected to the school's main office. Hay and shavings will no longer be stored inside the barn as well, Word said.

Most of the horses will come from the Lexington Equine Humane Society, she said. Because of droughts the past two years, the LEHS is crowded with horses.

"They've got an awful lot of animals that need homes," she said. "I'd like to do something good with our tragedy."

Word said she also wants to purchase a Shetland pony and a draft horse that can pull up to six students in a cart.

The indoor riding facility will come with a synthetic riding surface and four-foot walls attached to four glass garage doors that can open on nice days.

Both projects are scheduled for completion in February, but Word said she thinks December is a better estimate.

Word said she hopes the equestrian program will grow to include more than 150 of the 400 students on campus.

"At least 150," she said. "I'm hoping for a few more than that."

Before the fire, the program had 80 riders and 40 cart drivers - for students afraid to ride or unable to because of disabilities.

Although the program is designed for recreation, it also provides therapeutic services for the students, Word said.

"It's mainly a recreation program, they're up there to have fun and to learn," Word said. "(But) there's a lot of therapy that they don't know about."

The movements of the horses calm many riders with autism and students with speech problems enjoy the process of communicating with the animals, Word said.

"They get tired of people not understanding them, it's really cool when a horse does," she said.

During the rebuilding, the equestrian program has shifted to taking a horse-related field trip once a month, Word said.

The students have taken a tour of Keeneland and gone to the Kentucky Derby Museum in Churchill Downs, she said.

Also after the fire, Word said she heard from people around the world wanting to help the students out.

"It's been horrible but it's opened up a few opportunities," she said about the freak accident.

A carriage company in London contacted her, as well as people from Wisconsin, Louisiana and New York, she said.

"I always knew horse people were nice but it was like, oh my goodness!"