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A Show of Strength and Courage
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 It was truly a show of strength and courage when four of our PG's met a very important goal set earlier this year. It was their highest hope to take their equine partners to a horse show. On July 28 Jamie, Alex, Cheyenne, and Mariah accompanied by Lily, Peanut, Balou, and Lucy made that dream a reality when we arrived at a horse show sponsored by Santa Rosa Equestrian Center.
As many of you know, horse shows can be the desired destination for many aspiring equestrians but the journey to get there can take days, weeks, months, and even years. As the Director of The Pony Express Equine Assisted Skills for Youth/ aka PG Coach and Cheerleader, I am proud to say that my determined PG's put in the many long hours of due diligence necessary to make this auspicious occasion one to remember. It took a herd of support and supporters to get our herd to SREC located on Guernville Rd., but get there they did and the rest of the story, is their story...
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Through Their Own Words...
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 My name is Jamie and my horse's name is Lily. I'm 16 years old and have been in Linda's program for 5 years. When I first started riding I was on a pony named Kendall. I am very shy and at first it was very difficult for me to take my lesson if there was anyone else in the arena. However, I loved my pony and riding so much that I knew I had to work through my fears. I have since outgrown Kendall and have my own horse named Lily, who Linda rescued off the racetrack. Although I still get nervous when riding in public, Lily and I have successfully competed in 3 horse shows and we won first place in the jumping competition at Santa Rosa Equestrian Center. Horses and my horses in particular have given me the courage to be a more courageous person both in and out of the riding arena. I am grateful to Linda for believing in me and even more importantly, making me believe in myself. |
 My name is Cheyenne and when Linda first asked me if I wanted to be in a horse show I did not really think that I could. I wanted to go but I was afraid that I could never be good enough of a rider to go to a horse show. I live in Healdsburg with my Mom. She works and is not always able to give me rides. In order for me to take my lessons I had to get up at 5:00 am every morning and take two buses to the ranch. I really wanted to try and be brave enough to do this for myself and my horse Balou. Balou is a Thoroughbred that was rescued by Sonoma County Change Program before he came to our equine rescue program. He is my best friend and we have come so far together. I knew this was important for both of us to try and accomplish. After many hours of practice we made it to the horse show as a team and I know we conquered something really amazing together. Going to the horse show gave me the confidence to grow as a person and a partner with my horse.I would love to be able to go to more horse shows in the future. It was a great life experience and one that I will never forget. Thank you Linda for the encouragement and support that I needed to make this possible! |
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Wishing for a Speedy Recovery
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 On a sad note last week our Director, Linda Aldrich crashed her mountain bike while training for a triathlon and had to be hospitalized.
At this time Linda is recovering from hip replacement surgery. We all want to wish her a speedy recovery.
We love you Linda, please get well soon!
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Special Thanks To:
Michael Leras, Anna@Kelly Moore Paints
Victoire & Shashi Batra Stephan & Barbara Vermut
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We hope you enjoyed our Pony Express Newsletter. Please feel free to get on board to help us pay our board, and in doing ensure that both our kids and our horses continue trotting down the road to a future, with a future!
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