EQUUS Foundation

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Equine Volunteers are Champions to Ariat!

WESTPORT, CT - July 22, 2014 - "These will be my first ever riding boots," said Janis Childs on learning that she was selected by random draw to receive a $250 gift certificate for Ariat boots. Childs was one of five volunteers to receive Ariat boots in honor of their volunteer service on behalf of horses in the second quarter of 2014. The EQUUS Foundation's Champions Equine Service Program is made possible by Ariat International.


Childs with Andy
Janis Childs
Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center
Windham, Maine
Childs lives in Portland, Maine and recently retired as a professor of nursing. She has been volunteering at Riding to the Top (RTT) in Windham, Maine for the past two and one half years and serves on the RTT Board of Directors. She had ridden horses as a child. Volunteering at RTT allowed her to reconnect with horses as an adult.

"Volunteering at RTT as a horse leader and barn/paddock worker has been one of the best experiences of my life," said Childs. "The clients are taking the lessons but the lessons they teach me and all the other volunteers have had a profound effect on all of us. Hopefully, I will be able to volunteer at RTT for years to come!"

 


Rich Bledsoe with his daughter, Elizabeth, and Crystal
Richard (Rich) Bledsoe
Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding
Abingdon, Maryland
It was Rich Bledsoe's 16-year old daughter Elizabeth (Lizzy) who introduced him to Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding (CTR). She started volunteering as part of a Large Animal Equine Science project at her school.

At first, Bledsoe would sit in the tack room with the barn cat as company while Lizzy volunteered. Bledsoe always enjoyed being around animals and children, but wasn't a "horse person". After a few months, he asked if he could volunteer too. For the past 1-1/2 years, Bledsoe has done everything from mucking stalls to being a horse leader, but he says that sidewalking for the children in the hippotherapy program is his favorite.

Volunteering at CTR lets me "spend quality time with my daughter doing something we both enjoy. We are truly grateful to CTR for the experience."

 


Martinez with Rona
Adriana Martinez
Parkwood Farms Therapy Center
Snelville, Georgia
Parkwood Farms Therapy Center, Inc. was founded on a hope and a dream by Dr. Marilyn Peterson, who researched many types of therapies to help her youngest son diagnosed with autism and concluded that Hippotherapy was the most effective for many special needs children, including profoundly to mildly handicapped individuals, as well as those with emotional and learning disabilities. "We see progress not seen elsewhere and we give credit to the therapists, who just happen to be horses," said Peterson to Adriana Martinez in 2013 when she arrived at Parkwood to help take care of horses, clean the stalls and arenas, side walk and horse lead.
"Volunteering has taught me how much horses impact the lives of many children with special needs and their families. I love to see how these beautiful animals help these children become more social with other people, more comfortable with new activities and especially when they help the physically disabled become more able in their daily lives."

 


Ballengee with Splash
Elaine Ballengee
Special Equestrians
Warrington, Pennsylvania
Elaine was fortunate to learn firsthand the positive impact of the horse-human bond. She grew up owning, showing and caring for horses, spending most days at the barn. After graduation from college, her love of horses had to take a back seat to her job as an elementary and later middle school teacher and her family. After raising three daughters, and teaching for 38 years, she retired and it was then that Elaine discovered Special Equestrians.

Ballengee particularly likes working with "at-risk" high school students in Special Equestrians' "Youth Connections" program and helped to establish an equine therapy program for students from an inner-city middle school where she tutors. "It doesn't really matter what I do when I'm at Special Equestrians," said Ballengee. I'm just as happy mucking out stalls as I am leading or side-aiding in lessons. It's a wonderful place full of caring people and terrific horses and I feel blessed to have found it."

 


Snider with Bravo, a "gentled" Mustang at Bravehearts
Melanie Snider
BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding & Educational Center
Harvard, Illinois
Snider recently graduated from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania with a degree in therapeutic recreation. Snider was drawn to BraveHearts for the opportunity to work with horses and individuals alike in a safe, friendly, and encouraging environment. "I am so thankful to be a part of the opportunities and experiences that BraveHearts provides to bring hope, joy and unlimited possibilities through the healing power of the horse," said Snider.

The life-changing effect that horses have on individuals of all ages was the inspiration for the establishment of Bravehearts by founder, Marge Tautkus Gunnar.
In 1993, Gunnar learned that she had ovarian cancer. The ensuing months of chemotherapy were long, difficult, and completely life altering. Marge not only derived courage and strength from the love and devotion of family and friends, but also from the deep and soulful connection she had to her Lipizzan stallion, Neapolitano IV Farica (Max). Marge founded Bravehearts in 1999.

"I have seen kids who were completely non-verbal begin to use words for the first time. Kids with autism become more focused and attentive. I have watched people whose lives were spent looking up from a wheelchair develop a new sense of confidence as they smiled down from the back of a horse and marveled as people who started out with almost no core trunk strength improve so dramatically that they could actually post a trot with little or no help. None of this would be possible without volunteers like Melanie."

 

CHAMPIONS is the EQUUS Foundation's incentive-based equine service volunteer program sponsored by Ariat International to recognize and reward individuals and organizations on the Equine Welfare Network.

It's easy to become a CHAMPION, an individual must log a minimum of 24 volunteer hours from January 1st to December 31st. The volunteer hours will be verified by the organization and the EQUUS Foundation.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHAMPIONS!

About EQUUS Foundation: The EQUUS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity established in 2002, also known as Horse Charities of America, is dedicated to improving the quality of life of horses, enabling the therapeutic use of horses for those in need, fostering the horse-human bond, and educating the public about the horse's unique ability to empower, teach and heal. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Contact the EQUUS Foundation, Inc., at 168 Long Lots Road, Westport, CT 06880, Tele: (203) 259-1550, E-Mail: mail@equusfoundation.org, Website: equusfoundation.org.

About Ariat International: Ariat International, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of innovative performance equestrian footwear, apparel and belts. Featuring a patented technology designed to deliver stability, durability and comfort, Ariat pioneered the application of advanced athletic shoe technology into English riding boots and authentic Western boots. Ariat products are sold in a network of retail outlets throughout the world. For more information about Ariat products or for the Ariat retailer nearest you, contact Ariat at 800.899.8141 or visit www.ariat.com.