"I like riding fast!"
"I like to trot-trot because it's bouncy and it makes me happy!"
"I like cantering because I'm getting really good at it and stronger. I like circling around corners, it is much fun, and I sometimes like to do it at the trot"
"Horseback riding so much fun. Good day. I like to trot-trot-trot and go fast."
"I like trotting and going fast, it's exhilarating. The people at Horsefeathers are loving and caring souls."
"Riding has helped strengthen the trunk. She's like a jack-in-the-box, she now has the strength to sit up and stay up under her own power, which she could not do before. She really enjoys riding too."
"Riding has opened me up and I'm not as scared. It has helped my balance a lot, and I am more positive about myself."
"I love horseback riding. These big, gentle animals are my friends. They know my scent and they know my voice when I call their names. Riding on Ice, Poco and Tia makes me happy. I like to brush them and give them treats like peppermints. I have been riding since I was 12. I hope I can ride for a long, long time."
"I like trot-trot because it's fast and I like up-downs!"
"I love all the horses."
"I like trotting and Tia the horse is my favorite."
"My favorite thing to do is trot, because it's fast!"
"I like trotting - bouncy trot and up down trot"
“Riding is number 1, not number 2.”
"I like riding Elsie because we get along so well together."
"Riding has greatly improved my son's hand-eye coordination and balance. Because of this, he is now able to ride a bike and play video games, things that every little boy his age should be able to do."
100 Dollar Club
May 19, 2011
My Dear Friends,
I hope this letter finds you all well. Everything is wonderful here! The horses are all well and the volunteers have been working very hard so that all the lessons and field trips are safely conducted. I’m happy to say that we have been able to include anyone who requests our services. What I wish to unveil is a plan to shore up what I believe to be the weakest and most expensive part of our program. This would be the boarding and care of the horses. Over the last 12 years this program has always struggled with the monthly board. What has been decided is that a substantial monetary fund must be established solely for the purpose of taking care of the horses (board, vet, farrier, and medicines). So if lessons did get interrupted for any reason, it would not adversely affect the horses. What we wish to do is to start what we call “The $100 Club”. This would be an initial donation of $100 and a pledge that it would be a yearly donation that we would solicit on the first of July every year. There would be no limits to the people who we wish to recruit as members, but we do have a goal of 2,000 people whose names would be listed for all to see (unless anonymity was requested). This $200,000 seems like a great deal of money, but in reality, it wouldn’t even cover the horses here at Liberty Farms for a year and a half. Having a fund strictly for the horses would greatly reduce the stress and anxiety felt every month as the board due date approaches.
This fund would be in its own account and would strictly be used for the care of the horses. The hope would be for monies in this fund to last us through a full year of horse care. A successful “$100 Club” will provide no-stress care of our most important asset and allow us to focus our income on daily operations and program improvements we would otherwise not be able to afford. Hopefully this will one day enable us to purchase a new permanent home for both our horses and this hard working program.
So what would I like you to do? Well, I am most humbly asking you at this time to join this little club and to see what you can do about recruiting others to do the same. I have no illusions that this will take some doing to make this all work, but all the people that support this program have never disappointed me. And this is why we have been able to provide this service for the past 12 years. I thank you all with all my heart and I know you will all do that you can.
With warmest regards,
Nicholas E. B. Coyne
President, Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding, NFP
P.S. Please make sure to write “$100 Club” on your check’s memo line. Thank you!
