spirit open equestrian program newsletter · spirit open equestrian program newsletter may/june...
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Spirit Open Equestrian Program Newsletter
May/June 2017
You can make a difference with us in the life of a child, teenager or senior in our community!
SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program Inc. | Phone: 703-600-9667 | Email: [email protected] pg. 1
Ride4SPIRIT Riders Delight & Inspire! No fooling, our Ride4SPIRIT presentation on April 1st had spirits soaring! Thanks to your generous support, our riders and their horses kicked off the spring season with a fantastic showing of their horsemanship skills as they ran the obstacle course our instructors created and then took to the center of the ring to individually show off their trotting skills! Next, it was our Assistants and EALs who took to the ring to ride in a series of friendly equitation contests! Our next Ride4SPIRIT presentation is coming up on June 17 so dust off your boots and riding helmet! Contact us to find out how to register!
Spring is Time for Growing at SPIRIT! April showers bring May flowers. They also bring SPIRIT’s riders and horses back to the rings and out on the trails! Thanks to all of our fantastic supporters and donors, our spring session is in full swing and our riders and volunteers are back at work growing their horsemanship
skills and friendships! Volunteers are always welcome to come and join our family, work with our riders and horses and learn new horsemanship skills of their own! You can get started volunteering with SPIRIT here!
Spend Your Summer with SPIRIT! What’s the best way to beat the summer heat? Come on out to the farm and join the SPIRIT herd in learning about horsemanship! Registration is open for our
week-long summer camps where our participants will learn about horses and horsemanship through mounted and unmounted activities!
SPIRIT Welcomes Veterans & Their Families to Our New Equine Assisted Activities Program!
SPIRIT is excited to extend an invitation to veterans and their families to come and find out about all that SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program has to offer! Every Friday in May, from 5pm to 7pm, SPIRIT will provide Equine Assisted Activities, Therapeutic Riding and Equine Assisted Learning programs for individuals and families! There is no cost for these sessions, we only ask that you register at least two days in advance. We and the horses hope to see you there!
Spring Session –5/1-25
Equine Assisted Activities for Veterans & Families – Fridays, 5/1-31
Ride4Spirit – 6/17
Summer Camps – 6/19-23; 6/26-30; 7/5-7; 7/10-14; 7/17-21; 7/24-28; 7/31-8/3
Summer Session – 8/7-31
Fall Session – 9/18-10/12; 10/16-11/9
Calendar of Events
Ride4Spirit Makes the Front Page!
Amory &Spirit Photo by Andrea Worker
SPIRIT was excited to have the Reston Connection join us at our Ride4SPIRIT presentation in April and share our story
with their readers! Reporter Andrea Worker joined us in
the ring to meet the herd, our riders and their families. Don’t worry if you missed it, you can
read the story here! Sharing honor & respect
Daniel & Sadie
Spirit Open Equestrian Program Newsletter
May/June 2017
You can make a difference with us in the life of a child, teenager or senior in our community!
SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program Inc. | Phone: 703-600-9667 | Email: [email protected] pg. 2
Release Stress & Regain Balance with Adult EAA!
Coming this summer, join SPIRIT on Friday evenings for adult-only Equine Assisted Activities! Come work with the herd as they help you let go of the stress of the week and regain your presence in the moment while connecting and bonding with our gentle horses! Activities will run from 6-8pm and will include both riding time and unmounted activities. Participants must be 18 years or older. Contact us to sign up!
Joining SPIRIT at the Farm? Here’s Where to Park!
Participants, volunteers and parents are always welcome at SPIRIT but in our new location parking space is limited. Only authorized vehicles are allowed to park down by the SPIRIT stalls and field. If you do need to park there for any reason, you must ask SPIRIT staff for a hanging tag. Otherwise, volunteers, staff and parents may either:
Park your car in front of the indoor arena in the main parking lot and, facing the indoor arena, walk to the right between the indoor arena and the outdoor warm-up ring. Follow the road and you’ll see our barns on the right side!
Drop-off your children on the gravel road in front of the SPIRIT operations area. To access this, drive to the right around the indoor arena so that the arena is on your left. Be sure to drive slowly and carefully! Obey all posted signs, do not drive on the grass, and yield to park vehicles including the hay rides and travel through the main parking lot at a safe speed. Clients can coordinate with Dada about where to meet and park.
Boy Scout Troop 1018 A tremendous thank you Boy Scout Troop 1018 who came out to the SPIRIT farm in April to paint our new stalls and
sheds! It was a big job to paint two new sets of stalls and two new barns including all the trim but you made them look sharp and fresh and our horses are so very happy and snug in their new stalls! We appreciate all of your time, hard work and your friendship!
Community Service Days with SPIRIT and our Supporters
Have your next Service Day at
SPIRIT! Does your company, club or organization want a unique opportunity to serve your
community? SPIRIT welcomes all groups looking for service projects to come to our farm where you will help us create miracles for our community!
Contact us at 703-600-9668 or [email protected] to learn more and schedule your next
service day event!
Be the Difference! Volunteer with
SPIRIT!
Ramon, Thomas, Megan & Samantha are making a difference!
A peaceful moment with Sally
Troop 1018 prepping the stalls
You can make a difference with us in the life of a child, teenager or senior in our community!
SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program Inc. | Phone: 703-600-9667 | Email: [email protected] pg. 3
News from the Farm!
Moving Day Arrives & the Herd is Settling In at Their New Pasture! Winter was indeed a busy season for SPIRIT! After several weeks of packing and planning, March finally brought moving day…and what a day it was! The SPIRIT family rallied once again to help bring equipment, supplies and most importantly the herd into Frying Pan Farm Park to the pasture and spaces where SPIRIT will now provide our services to our community!
After moving in all of their feed, hay, feeders, water troughs, tack and tack boxes, it was finally time to bring the herd over to see the space! The herd quickly fell in love with the lush grass and the new scenery and our EAL students and volunteers were with them every step of the way, showing them every inch of the new space!
They have quickly settled into their new home and routine and visitors will often see the horses grazing, napping in the shade, trotting up and down the gentle rises of the pasture,
and hanging out in their stalls when they want to get their quiet alone time.
Thank you to everyone who made the move a success and,
once again, thank you to the Fairfax County Park Authority and our donors who made it possible for us to continue our work serving this community!
A joyous thank you to Ayah Syeed, Emme Warren & Caroline Warren for putting together a fantastic equitation presentation at the April Ride4SPIRIT!
A heartfelt thank you to Patty Sullivan and all the volunteers who worked at the Ride4SPIRIT event and shared SPIRIT’s mission with our guests and helped to make the day truly special!
An everlasting thank you to Kylie Crow and Kelly Crow for all of their help both in the program and at events! We will miss you both and your horse whispering and creative talents!
A great big we-could-not-have-done-it-without-you thanks to Boris Suvak and Jeff Wallace for setting up the new pasture and continuing to maintain both it and our equipment!
Volunteer Achievements,
Appreciation & Good Works!
Who in the Herd? Think you know the SPIRIT
herd? See if you can tell which horse this is by one of
their markings! Find the answer in the margin on the last page of this newsletter!
The herd arrives at their new space
Infinity, Huckleberry and Sally say ‘Welcome’!
SPIRIT EAL Students & Volunteers show the herd around the pasture
Moving in…
You can make a difference with us in the life of a child, teenager or senior in our community!
SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program Inc. | Phone: 703-600-9667 | Email: [email protected] pg. 4
Wisdom, Tips & Guidance from the
Volunteer Handbook Watering Horses: Helping our Herd Stay Hydrated They say you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. That may be true but with the weather starting to warm up our horses will probably appreciate a nice cool drink after working so hard in lessons. Here’s some of the things to know about giving the horses water!
Just like people, horses need fresh, clean water to survive. Whenever you are offering water, make sure that water buckets are clean and free of dirt, hay or other debris. When filling water troughs, make sure to scoop out any leaves, hay and anything else that might have blown in.
Horses need to cool down after exercising. Cooling down includes bringing their body temperature, breathing and heart rate all back down to their normal levels when they are not exercising. Providing water is a big part of this. After a workout, even if your horse isn’t sweaty, loosen or remove their tack and walk them around for a few minutes. You can off them cool (not freezing cold) water in a bucket as well. Let them drink, but then walk them out a little bit more, stopping back by the bucket so they can take more drinks if they like.
When turning the horses our or putting them back in their stall, make sure they have access to plenty of water, either in the trough in the field or in a bucket in their stall. Always make sure to let a horse in its stall drink all that in wants and then top off the water bucket so that it is full when you leave.
Don’t Forget your Riding Pass!
All EAL students are required to have a valid riding pass
from Frying Pan Park to ride on park grounds. Passes can be
purchased in the Equestrian Office.
Call Frying Pan Park for more information 703-437-9101
Don’t Forget your Riding Pass!
All EAL students are required to have a valid riding pass
from Frying Pan Park to ride on park grounds. Passes can be
purchased in the Equestrian Office.
Call Frying Pan Park for more information 703-437-9101
Kylie Crow How long have you been with SPIRIT? About two years now? I’m not so sure, I’ve spent a lot of time away at a boarding school. What do you like to do when you’re not at SPIRIT? I read a lot of books in my free time, but that’s only if I’m not taking care of all my cats. What do you love about SPIRIT? All of it. SPIRIT has been one of the most important things in my life, and I am going to miss this place so much.
Kelly Crow How long have you been with SPIRIT? I've been a part of SPIRIT since shortly after Kylie started with the EAL program a little over 2 years ago (Spring 2015). What do you like to do when you're not at SPIRIT? When not at SPIRIT, I love working at the preschool, singing with the worship team at church, enjoying the company of my pets, and loving on my husband and children! What do you love about SPIRIT? I love watching the kids respond to the love from the volunteers, instructors, horses and fellow EAL and Therapeutic students. I love seeing how much Dada cares for each and every person that comes to SPIRIT, regardless of the capacity in which he/she participates. There is nothing else like SPIRIT. SPIRIT is not a program. It's a family.
Dada & Sky
Do We Still Have Class Tonight?
Bad Weather? Wondering if we have class? Check SPIRIT’s
blog or Facebook page for information including
cancellations!
Sign up to receive cancellation notices as text messages here!
“Who in the Herd” answer: That’s Coco’s mane and part of her ear!
I Learned…
…to Ride a Horse
I Discovered…
I Learned…
…the Courage to
Chase my Dreams
We Made…
I Learned…
I Got Rescued…
YES! I want to help SPIRIT continue creating smiles and miracles for children and adults with special needs by sending my tax-deductible donation of:
$25 $50 $100 Other $
My check is enclosed (payable to SPIRIT Open Equestrian program)
I’d like to pay by credit card
Credit Card No.
Name
Signature
Expiration Date
Thank You!
SPIRIT is a nationally recognized, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International
Mail To:
SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program, Inc. P.O. Box 1342 Great Falls, VA 22066
Please apply my gift to:
A Home for SPIRIT
General Support
Wherever it will do the most good
…Lasting Friendships
…and Now Have a Safe Home