The Hoofbeat
December 2017
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Seasons Greetings
Dear Hearts Friends and Families,
During this Holiday Season, I reflect on what all I am grateful for this year. Since joining the team here at Hearts in May, I’ve been so grateful for all the support from volunteers, donors, the board, families, and students. When the barn burnt to the ground on day 3 of my employment, it was truly amazing to see the community efforts in helping us out – from donations of feed to donations towards rebuilding. Duane’s hard work during that time was invaluable, as was Thom Bateman.
Devon and Shallon have worked magic with the program; we have a full schedule, larger than we ever had, and the maximum amount of horses. They, in addition to Susan and the other instructors, have done a tremendous job in working with our clients.
We added a new staff position and welcomed Morgan in October. She is handling marketing, assisting with development as well as the volunteer program. Dawn is thus able to focus on the more important things within her department.
And I’m so grateful for our clients! Watching them grow in a myriad of ways is truly a gift and a blessing. Seeing the excitement and joy they have with the horses is heart-warming.
We have a couple of new projects to be done over the upcoming holiday break, so be sure to visit us in January. We will be getting a lift for assisting those who need help in mounting and upgrading the arena with a footing that will keep dust down and provide our horses with a better surface.
All in all, it’s been a wonderful year, and I’m looking forward 2018 with a deep sense of support from all of you.
Happy Holidays,
Pamme Mickelson
Executive Director
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A Message from Our Board Chairman
Howdy All,
2017 is just about over. We now have 90 plus participants in both mounted and unmounted lessons. We have over 120 volunteers, 16 horses, and 6 full time and 9 part time staff and instructors. We have happy riders and ground folks, happy volunteers, happy horses, and happy staff. We do, however, have a grumpy Board Chairman (It’s the age, I think!). No matter. No one takes me seriously anyways! But I have no reason to be grumpy because we have a successful and healthy organization and we have the generous support of many individuals, groups, and foundations. These folks allow us to keep the ranch-a-runnin’ thanks to their confidence in our programs and their belief in our mission. In addition to the aforementioned, we are fiscally solid, have a strong, active participating Board of Directors, including Alexis Weaver, our previous successful Executive Director who has continued on to support our efforts, and an innovative Advisory Board. Someone asked me why I have stuck around for 13 years or so, and the answer is simple. At the end of each day, based on all the above, who wouldn’t stick around?
As we ride off into 2018 with our new “Trail Boss” Pamme, let’s saddle up and have another happy and successful year.
Thom Bateman, AKA “Gritts”
Board Chairman
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We Have Names for Our Barn Cats!
Last month we tasked our readers with naming our two new barn cats. Brooke, the sister of one of our riders, was up to the challenge, and put the pen to paper right away that same night. We think she did a fantastic job!
We are very happy to announce that the new names are Austin and Rascal. Very suiting for our new furry friends!
Thank you, Brooke!
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Join the Team
LEARN MORE ABOUT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We're always looking to expand our volunteer team.
Click here
to learn more about volunteer opportunities at Hearts!
Upcoming orientation dates:
- December 6th, 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
- January 10th. 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
- February 7th, 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
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Sponsors Needed
WE HAVE HORSES NEEDING SPONSORSHIP
The annual sponsorship amount is $3500 which contributes to hay, supplements, medication, and veterinarian costs for one horse.
This amount can be payed in monthly, prorated amounts.
We have a list of horses available to sponsor, as well as a list of horses already sponsored on our website.
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Program Closed
DECEMBER 17 - JANUARY 2
We'll be closed for Christmas break from
December 17th-January 1st
. This is an excellent time for our horses to take a break, too. They deserve it!
The office will be open during this time, EXCEPT for Christmas Day (December 25th), Tuesday, December 26th, and Monday, January 1st.
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Our Holiday Wishlist
Check out our Amazon Wishlist to see the incredible gifts that can really make a difference to the people, and horses, we help.
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December
December 1st:
Holiday Parade Downtown SB
December 2nd:
Grooming & Tacking
December 6th:
New Volunteer Orientation (5:30pm-7:00pm)
December 9th:
Grooming & Tacking
December 17th-January 1st:
Program Closed
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January
January 2nd: Program Reopens
January 10: New Volunteer Orientation (5:30pm-7:00pm)
January 13th: Volunteer Training
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February
February 7: New Volunteer Orientation (5:30pm-7:00pm)
February 10th: Volunteer Training
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Did You Know?
BY CAROL LAWRENCE, VOLUNTEER
Horses grow their winter coats not from the change in temperature, but from the lack of light.
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Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center | (805) 964-1519 | [email protected] | www.heartsriding.org
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