Driving through obstacles

DAV, VA partner in TEE Tournament

Since 1994, visually impaired veterans have pushed past their personal boundaries at the National Veterans Training Exposure Experience (TEE) Tournament. Started by staff at the Iowa City VA medical center for a few dozen area patients, the program has expanded to include hundreds of veterans from throughout the country with physical or invisible injuries.

DAV wants to see this life-changing program continue to grow.

The 2016 event kicked off Sept. 12, and DAV served as a host-level sponsor for the five-day program. DAV will be coming on board as a partner and co-host with the Department of Veterans Affairs for the 2017 National Veterans TEE Tournament and subsequent events. In addition to the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, the tournament becomes the second national VA adaptive sporting event in the partnership. For 28 years, DAV has been making miracles on the mountain at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Colorado.

“Adaptive sports reconnect veterans with the soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or, in my case, Coast Guardsman that they were before they were hurt. It challenges their perspectives about perceived limitations,” said DAV National Commander Dave Riley, who has participated in the Winter Sports Clinic several times since becoming a quadruple amputee as a result of his service as a rescue swimmer. “I know those overwhelming feelings of despair after injury, and I remember wondering what quality of life I would retain as I recovered. I know how powerful it is to be able to challenge myself again.”

“I experienced those same feelings of empowerment from the Winter Sports Clinic as I took to the green in Iowa. I didn’t have a perfect swing every time, but I kept trying,” added Riley.

The national commander attended the National Veterans TEE Tournament and golfed for the first time with specially adapted clubs that inserted directly into his prosthesis.

In addition to golfing at five different courses in the Iowa City area, participants took part in weightlifting, bowling, fishing, disc golfing and horseback riding.

Thunder Rode Therapeutic Riding provided horses and trainers for the event. The nonprofit promotes confidence building for individuals with special needs through rehabilitative equine therapy, and it offers a program specifically for veterans.

U.S. Navy veteran Sam Fox was one of the volunteers supporting the National Veterans TEE Tournament. The DAV life member has had horses his whole life and learned of Thunder Rode when his wife, who has multiple sclerosis, began riding again through the nonprofit.

Fox, who spent a decade driving veterans to and from VA appointments through DAV’s Transportation Network, said he owes it to his fellow disabled veterans to give back, and volunteering with equine therapy at this event was a natural fit.

U.S. Army veteran Terri Clark, who is blind, traveled from Rockford, Ill., to Riverside to take part in the event for the first time. She decided to try equine therapy and was partnered with a horse named Buddy.

“I loved it,” said a smiling Clark of her horseback riding experience. She also tried her hand at golf. “When I could see, I wondered why golf was so popular, but now I know why; it’s challenging, and I really enjoy it.”

“The National Veterans TEE Tournament changes the lives of participating veterans and helps them overcome obstacles and enhance their quality of life,” said DAV National Voluntary Services Director John Kleindienst. “DAV was proud to sponsor the 2016 event, and we look forward to enabling more of our nation’s heroes to challenge themselves on the road to recovery through this program for years to come.”

Riley was equally inspired as a participant. “I saw my fellow veterans push forward on the green when it would have been easier to take a step back. Each of them proved that visual, physical or invisible disabilities do not define us.”