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COLFAX, N.C. -- When you think of equestrianism, the art of horseback riding, you likely think of the summer Olympics with horses jumping over and weaving through objects.

A special program in the Triad takes the athleticism of horseback riding to help those recovering from traumatic brain injuries.

Brandy Gilliam has come a long way in the last 11 years.

When she was 17, the car she was in was hit by a train. A traumatic brain injury left her in a coma for three months and in the hospital for the next year.

That's where Horsepower comes in.

"There's three different stations," said Jan Clifford, executive director and founder of Horsepower, Inc. "They're working on the farrier, who provides the footwear for the horses. They have a riding segment where they actually ride the horses and work on balance and speech. Then they have a section where they go in and work on memory and recall, working on different things that horses and equestrian activities do."

Brandy's been going to the two-week long program at the Piedmont Saddle Club the past three years and she's seen a lot of improvements.

"Posture, walking and talking," said Gilliam. "I love riding horses. Fantasia's the bomb!"

Horses there are not only benefitting traumatic brain injury patients, but also speech pathology students at UNC Greensboro.

Perry Flynn, a speech pathology professor at UNC Greensboro and certified therapeutic riding instructor, heads up the country's only program of its kind.

They combine a speech pathology program with a therapeutic riding program for maximum benefits.

"Most people don't think that riding horses is very athletic, but it is really quite athletic," said Flynn. "It works lots of muscles. It really helps to massage muscles and relax muscles. Then it provides lots of opportunities for the cognitive development, too."

Students said getting out of the classroom and experiencing the unique form of therapy first hand is really beneficial.

"It's been awesome to see improvement over a short time," said Michelle Morgan, a speech pathology graduate student at UNC Greensboro. "It's just been really interesting to see the differences on how they were in a regular classroom setting and how they are on the horse."

For participants like Brandy, they love the people as much as the horses.

"I love being here. It's a great atmosphere," Gilliam said.

The Horsepower program is free to the traumatic brain injury patients through a generous grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation.