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The past couple months have no doubt been devastating and traumatic for so many in our community. Yet, even while we experienced the tragedy of fire and flood, the horses of Hearts remained steady:

December and January have been traumatic to our community. Here at Hearts, we were lucky that we were not seriously affected, other than having to close program for a total of 11 days. We are keeping those affected in our thoughts and prayers. We know that Santa Barbara will recover, although it will take some time. The upper road above Hearts has been very busy with dump trucks dropping off debris. The debris is dirt, mud, and trees, so there are no adverse effects. While this has slowed down people coming for lessons and volunteering, it has also affected our more sensitive horses, so we have mitigated the issue with changes as far as utilizing the cross-ties and dismounting in the arena or at the ramp.

Dani suffered a spinal cord injury 5 years ago. As a quadriplegic, she has limited strength in her core and paralysis through much of her body. Sitting in a wheelchair all day causes severe back and spine pain, while the stagnancy can also make her tense.

Keaton was just four years old when he began therapeutic riding at Hearts. Four years later, the Slay family says Hearts is truly a blessing. Over the years we have come to appreciate the kind, caring, and consistent staff. Keaton, who has Down syndrome, rides once a week.

Kristin is an energetic, kind and warm girl who is hearing impaired. In her group lesson, she is a teacher as well as a student she teaches us new signs each day related to what we are doing in the lesson.

Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center touches the lives of adults and children with varying physical and cognitive abilities. Just over a year ago, a young boy named Benjamin came to Hearts to begin riding lessons. Before starting lessons, Benjamin was only able to walk with the aid of a walker, and often got around his own home by walking on his knees. After just 4 months of riding lessons, a true miracle occurred.

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.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to extend my sentiments of gratitude to our instructors, horses and participants. Together, we served a total of 92 individuals last month- 70 therapeutic riding students and 22 unmounted EFL students. These numbers have become the new benchmark at Hearts as our Equine Facilitated Learning program evolves and the therapeutic riding program remains full. Collectively, Hearts has served over 300 individuals from year to date, already exceeding this year’s goal.

The list of gratitude goes on and on thanks to the help of our amazing instructors, horses, and participants.

Hearts celebrated our riders and our programs on Thursday, September 28th, at a fundraising luncheon at the Coral Casino with a crowd of 270 guests. Kevin Raimer, one of our wonderful veterans, shared his story and what Hearts has done for him, and John Reardon shared his daughter, Amy's, story with some compelling video to really bring it to life. In addition, we featured a video with stories and information about Hearts. Please click here to see it! We are so grateful to everyone who came and to those who supported the luncheon. It was hugely successful!

I love September! It somehow feels like a second chance for refocusing my goals and energy. Perhaps it’s the reminder of the excitement I used to feel when I got to go school supply shopping (I’m still a fiend for office supplies!), or just the slight shift in the season. In any case, it’s an opportunity to review where we are and where we need to go in the remaining four months of the year. Perhaps it’s the reminder of the excitement I used to feel when I got to go school supply shopping (I’m still a fiend for office supplies!), or just the slight shift in the season. In any case, it’s an opportunity to review where we are and where we need to go in the remaining four months of the year.