As the Director of The Pony Express Equine Assisted Skills for Youth, summer time is my time to horse around. So what does a day in the life of someone who horses around for a living look like? It begins with rising with the sun around 5:30 am. By 6:00 I'm off to my great outdoors to feed and care for 14 hungry horses and ponies.

By 7:00 I'm back in the house to return emails, phone calls (write newsletters), and make my PG's breakfast and my lunch for the day.

At 8:00 it's back outside to teach riding lessons to the PG's in our Equine Assisted Skills for Youth Program.

At 9:30 it's time for all of us to get the ponies and horses ready for our day at Howarth Park.This time of year Howarth Park operates from 11:00-5:00 every day but Fridays. In addition to pony rides we also provide riding lessons on (scheduled) Saturday mornings from 10:00-11:00 and pony camps (scheduled) Monday through Thursday from 9:00- 12:00 (check out our website at theponyexpressrocks.org for more info).

At 5:00 it's time to return home from Howarth Park to feed horses and jump on my beloved tractor (courtesy of Craig at Garton Tractor), to prepare our arena and track for the next day's lessons.

Even with this crazy schedule we (myself and my PG's), somehow find the time to do radio shows (great experience), run, ride bikes as well as horses up in Anadale (great exercise), as well as on Doran Beach in Bodega Bay (great fun)!

We are also busy preparing for a horse show scheduled for July 28th at Santa Rosa Equestrian Center so stay tuned to next month's newsletter for the results of this exciting equine event.

My day (eventually) ends the same way it begins, following the sun as it rises and falls on my home field of horse dreams. This is a schedule that I've kept for 31 years hence I've learned to appreciate two things, a good night's rest and the (much needed) help and support of my PG's (pony girls and pony guys). I would mention you all by name but you know who you are. Suffice it to say that I get by with a little (a lot of), help from all of you and most importantly, I couldn't do what I do without you (all of you). So I want to say thank you to my amazing PG's for making it possible for this pony girl to spend the greatest and greater part of her lifetime horsing around in the summer time, and all the time :)

www.theponyexpressrocks.org

Where does your funding come from?

All of the monies generated from our Howarth Park pony rides and programs go into our program. However, as that makes up only about  half of our annual budget we still look to our community for support through grants, donations, and our fund raising efforts. Please visit our website and find out how you can make a tax-deductible donation to help support the kids and horses in our program.

I can't afford to donate, is there any other way I can help out?

Yes, we currently have 14 rescued horses and ponies in our program and two facilities that we work out of. There are many ways that you volunteer your time at Howarth Park and/or our ranch. Visit our website or The Pony Express Facebook page to find out more information.

What do the parents say about this program?

When my daughter started having symptoms of anxiety I didn't know where to turn. Most parents start by contacting a therapist and in conjunction a child psychiatrist who offers the medication path. I don't know what parents do when they don't have insurance or other resources. Your program many not help everyone, but it certainly is a GREAT alternative to the path most parents are placed on (drugs and talk therapy). 

I only found out about your program by pure luck (I like to think a guardian angel actually). I know in this fast paced world, with tremendous pressure heaped upon children, there are other kids just like my daughter out there who are suffering in silence. 

Also, thanks to the generosity of David Codding, Melissa Williams, Eagle Distributing and Rodney Strong Wines we will again be participating in the Montgomery Village Summer Concert series. Our concert dates are as follows: 

July 14th & 21st
August 4th,11th & 25th

 The concerts are free from 1:00-4:00 pm (Aug. 25th time is 11:00-3:00 and includes a car show).

 Please come and support our kids and horses!