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(386 KB)This year’s student show, Riders, Ribbons and Horseplay, was held on August 7 and was a resounding success. The weather was beautiful and we had a great turnout. This event is always a highlight for our riders, who get to celebrate their achievements in riding and driving. Thanks to all the riders, families and volunteers who participated.
We were not so lucky with the weather for our first Family Fun on the Farm on Sunday, September 18. This new event featured all types of games, demonstrations and live animal displays, but a particularly cold, windy and just plain nasty day discouraged many families from attending. We learned a lot by staging this new event and have exciting ideas in store for fall 2012. Watch our website for details about the next Family Fun on the Farm.
Volunteer support reached extraordinary levels this year. On many nights, we had more volunteers than we needed for lessons, which allowed many additional projects to be completed around the farm. Many thanks to all the volunteers who donated their time to Three Gaits in 2011. We couldn’t do it without you!
Ten middle school students from the Stoughton Youth Center participated in four afternoons and one full day of riding, doing chores and learning about the Three Gaits horses and program. These future volunteers found it particularly interesting to experience what it might be like to ride if you had limited mobility or couldn’t see, hear or speak. They also got to try out leading and sidewalking. The second part of the program is scheduled for spring.
Youth Volunteer Day Camp attracted almost 30 participants. Kids spent a week involved in service projects and learning unmounted horsemanship skills. Four additional weeks of riding day camp served 42 children.
Three Gaits continues to seek grants and other funding to support our work. We were grateful to receive a Bryant Foundation grant of $17,222, which allowed us to offer fall programming for children through the Stoughton Youth Center. The grant also allowed us to replace the large sliding doors on the horse barn and make some accessibility improvements around the farm.
Many service organizations have supported Three Gaits over the years, and we appreciate them all. But we’d like to give a special shout out to the Sertoma Club of Madison, which disbanded this year. They disbursed their remaining funds and made a $2500 gift to Three Gaits at the Chair Affair.
Currently, our herd consists of Cody, Marcus, KB, Emma, Beau, Mercedes, Dillon, Jackson, Nora, Cierra, Windsor, Duan, Maggie, Ranger and Duke.
In 2011, we received more than 100 offers for program horses, visited 24, tried out 11 and accepted only five.
Fitch has retired from the program but will continue to live at Three Gaits. Fitch suffered an eye injury this fall. He is recovering well from the surgery to remove his eye, and has been adopted by Three Gaits volunteers Dana Wagner and Katie Harmelink. Thank you, Dana and Katie!
Our pony Marcus has reminded us of the importance of plugging in the electric fences. Marcus, like many ponies, thinks the grass is always greener on the other side. He learned how to crouch down ever so slightly and sneak under the fence by stretching it. The electric fence puts a stop to these antics and keeps Marcus where he belongs.
Our professional organization, formerly known as NARHA, is now known as the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, or PATH International. The new name is intended to be more inclusive and reflects the growth in equine-assisted activities and therapies. See www.pathintl.org for more information.
Three Gaits is one of only three PATH Premier Accredited Centers in Wisconsin. We are up for re-accreditation in 2012, and will be hosting two visitors from PATH for a full day of interviews and observing lessons.
Mary Ann Roth, who started with us as a volunteer, became a PATH International certified instructor this year. We’re now mentoring two new instructors who hope to become certified this spring, Dawn Rick and Amy Bieber.
One rider is working toward independent riding by pretending her volunteer is a ghost.
Lessons took on a seasonal air on the final Tuesday night of the session, when volunteers donned reindeer antlers for our “team penning” game. Instead of herding cows (volunteers), the students had to round up the reindeer.
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