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The Shane Center for Therapeutic Horsemanship, Inc.
Maggie is a versatile horse who has pretty much “done it all”! She spent the first 10 years of her life where she was foaled, on a Haflinger farm in Northern Ohio that offered riding lessons, competitive horse show opportunities, 4-H County Fairs, trail riding, parades, and horse camping in the mountains for their family and clients. Maggie is trained in English, Western, Hunter Jumper, and cross-country events. In addition, Maggie drives both single and double! My family purchased Maggie in 2012 from this farm for our 11-year-old daughter as she had outgrown her pony and it was a mutual “love at first ride”!
Maggie is a beautiful, sweet, intuitive mare who always offered the appropriate level of challenge for our daughter to learn equitation, jumping, and good horsemanship. We realized how intuitive she was when I would ride, as I had some limitations due to some previous injuries. When I was riding, Maggie was cautious and became a caretaker for me as I was working to strengthen my injured leg. Maggie was also the perfect ambassador for equines at our county fairs, as her sweet disposition and gorgeous flaxen mane and tail thrilled the excited children because they could “pat the beautiful pony” and get their picture taken with sweet Maggie. Initially, both my daughter and I both showed Maggie at the Haflinger Breed shows in Ohio and New York. My stepdaughter, an accomplished equestrian, began teaching her sister the art of jumping, and she then began to show Maggie in the upper level jumping classes! This is when “mom” bought her own Haflinger to ride, allowing the girls to enjoy Maggie to her fullest potential! In addition to shows, trail riding, driving, and hitching to the sleigh in the winter, Maggie was a standby member of the Ohio based High Flying Haflingers synchronized jumping drill team, traveling with them to Beyer Fest at The Kentucky Horse Park.
So now we Fast forward to July of 2020. In the midst of the covid pandemic, The Shane Center tragically lost one of their long time, beloved therapy horses, Mack, who was also a Haflinger. The death of Mack left a huge void in our therapeutic riding lesson schedule and in the hearts of our riders, volunteers, and staff. Mack was a favorite as well as a trustworthy and dependable lesson horse. My daughter at this point was away at college, my stepdaughter had acquired numerous Haflingers of her own, and I with my own mare, left Maggie at loose ends and bored. I truly felt Maggie would love having a job at The Shane Center and felt her innate intuitiveness made her an ideal candidate as a therapy horse. I contacted our Executive Director at The Shane Center, offering the idea that she borrow Maggie and try her out, to see if she could fill the huge void that Mack’s death left, as well as filling the void Maggie was nor feeling with my daughter being away at school. Maggie began her training and trial period at The Shane Center and, SUCCESS! To say Maggie found her calling in her golden years would be an understatement! She LOVES her job as a therapy horse! One of Maggie’s first riders sits with just one seat bone down, so he is not quite centered, or rather, he is centered but his weight is not evenly distributed. Maggie is so intuitive that she kept stopping and turning her head to the horse handler every time this rider’s upper body swayed to one side. She was “asking” her side walker and horse handler to “please check my rider”!
Maggie is now 20 years old and is still loving her job at The Shane Center! She carries the most fragile of riders with care, is patient, and enjoys being “dressed up” to fit the theme of the lesson. Maggie also has the job of helping independent riders learn proper horsemanship skills. She looks forward to seeing “her” riders every day, and absolutely loves receiving attention and adoration from our riders, staff, and volunteers. On her days off, Maggie has been observed to watch longingly as other horses are being groomed and warmed up to participate in lessons. As one volunteer said, “Maggie was watching wistfully over the arena fence, almost as if asking why she wasn’t going to be used in lessons that day!” The Shane Center has an excellent management protocol for their horses which includes rotation of horse lesson schedules, weight limits of riders, and having adequate “time off” for both mental and physical health.
As a senior horse having lived such a full and active life, Maggie would benefit greatly from the addition of Platinum Performance CJ to her daily nutritional regimen. Although Maggie is currently in excellent health, the addition of this supplement would support her whole health as well as give her crucial comprehensive joint health support in her senior years. In addition, the $500 monetary award would be a blessing to help defray some of the expenses related to Maggie’s care. I firmly believe that becoming a therapy horse at The Shane Center has extended Maggie’s longevity by providing her a sense of purpose, a special job, just as each of us needs that reason to get out of bed each day. Platinum Performance CJ, along with The Shane Center, will help ensure that “Magical Lights” can continue to create “Magical Moments” and keep that “Light Shining Bright” in each of her rider’s eyes.
Relationship of Nominator to Nominee
I have been a staff member and volunteer of The Shane Center for Therapeutic Horsemanship since 1994, and I am also the owner of Magical Lights WRF, aka “Maggie”, “Maggie Mae,” and “Miss Mags”. I have owned Maggie since 2012. I can honestly say that Maggie not only creates magical moments for her riders, but she also lights up the eyes of all who work with her. She is a very special girl! -- Karen Sanchez
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