Hello Special Spirit Family and supporters!
I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season and we wish you the happiest of new years in 2019. Special Spirit had a very exciting year in 2018.
· We welcomed the non-profit organization Danny’s Farm to the barn. They have brought us joy through all of their workers and their adorable and sweet rescued farm animals.
· In March we said goodbye to Clyde aka Pendleton Sly Fox, he was reunited with his original owner and is now retired on green pastures. Thank you for all the great rides you gave to all our clients! Don and Cyndy Pope gave a generous donation to our scholarship fund as well BIG THANK YOU!
· Emma, one of our dedicated volunteers, received the Presidents Volunteer Award for a second time. She also created a “GoFundMe page” and raised close to $1,000, which she donated into our scholarship fund.
· In March, we had the Loyola of the Valley at the ranch, a group of young men volunteered by doing major clean up at the barn.
· We attended the “Day of the Horse” event at Ride-On therapeutic riding center, and introduced our new adaptive vaulting programs.
· Girl Scouts; we had two troops of scouts doing their horse batches and their silver certification at the barn.
· Again, we had Summer Ranch Camps during the summer months with lots of happy kiddos.
· Elida, one of our dedicated volunteers were accepted into Harvard and began attending college there last the fall. We are so proud of her!
· We rescued Kona and Onyx, and with the help of volunteers and our participants, we have seen a lot of progress with both of them. The EQUUS Foundation gave us grant to help with their rehabilitation.
· Our instructor Cassie broke her ankle and was out of commission for a couple of months, although you could still find her teaching from a chair in the arena on Saturdays.
· We said goodbye to our wonderful friend Calleo, he crossed the rainbow bridge in August. We will always remember him fondly.
· We had an extremely successful KIWANIS Horse Show with many smiles, many laughs, and many ribbons!
· Danny’s Farm hosted an open house at the barn, we served Dodger Dogs, music, games, and rides in the cart, that was pulled by the resident sheep, Bob and Linus.
· During the Woolsey fire, the ranch was used as an evacuation center for several horses that were displaced from their homes.
· We gave over 2000 lessons in the year of 2018. Special Spirit wants to thank you all for making 2018 such a successful year and we look forward to making 2019 even more magical.
2019 = The Year of the Pig - The pig represents luck, and overall good fortune!