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Past Gala Bonnets
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SIRE Quick Links
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Visit our website for more information on volunteering, becoming a client or making a donation.
here.
View our photos here
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Resource Websites
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The Sailing Angels Foundation introduces sailing to children with developmental disabilities. It is located in Kemah and is FREE!
This is for a discount coupon which offers anyone using it a discount to everything both at the Hermann Park location (near downtown) and our Sugar Land location. The discount is 40-60% off everything they have to offer. The corporate coupon can be used by any amount of people, at anytime, for all attractions, events, and exhibits. Volunteers, clients, their families and friends can access and use this discount anytime. Just click on the link, type in the password atom (no caps), print the coupon page and redeem it at either location. It's very simple to use and this link and password can be forwarded to anyone interested in visiting HMNS. Over the next few weeks HMNS will be opening the Titanic exhibit, the Terra Cotta exhibit, the new Duncan Wing and creating a new dinosaur hall the size of a football field.
Equine Management Program The OSH Home page features articles from around the horse world, as well as helpful tips from trainers, veterinarians and service professionals. Track your horse's feed, medical and other records. This site is FREE. |
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Special Olympics
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The SIRE team
 Joy Ride rider Amanda Weber and SIRE rider Katherine Richards lead the Pledge Volunteers wearing our show shirts
Nathaniel Hunter in Showmanship
SIRE riders (from left) Christina Welp, Will Keener, Katherine Richards and Amber Johnson
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Silent Auction Donations
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SIRE is still accepting Silent Auction donations. Some suggestions for things that sell well are handmade items and baskets filled with items such as beauty products, sporting goods, pet care, baby needs, fun foods and wine. Another idea is tickets to tours, ice skating, rock climbing, paint ball, gun ranges and driving ranges. Classes in horseback riding, wine tasting and cooking are always popular. Gift certificates from your favorite restaurant, hair salon, cigar bar, equestrian store or country club for a round of golf are also great ideas. Some popular and unusual items from the 2011 Gala included gift certificates for walking tours in the Houston downtown tunnel system and tickets to the Funeral Museum in Houston. Silent auction items can also include activities outside the Houston area such as Galveston or Corpus Christi. Be sure to mention to businesses when soliciting donations that this will provide them with valuable advertising.
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Hockley Happenings
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Barbara and her light
Barbara Coleman, who has been volunteering with SIRE since 2009, has quietly supported SIRE by underwriting several crucial projects, many of which have directly helped provide a safer environment for our horses and clients. Thanks to Barbara's financial assistance and her heart for SIRE's clients, we now have lights illuminating the client parking area.
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Friday, April 27th-Sunday, April 29th
Houston Dressage Society's Spring Classic featuring International Para-Equestrian Competition
Great Southwest Equestrian Center
Katy, TX
Saturday, April 28th
Spring Volunteer/Client Celebration
Saturday, April 28th
Round Up at Ft. Bend, 10:00am
Saturday, May 5th
Boots and Bonnets Charity Gala
Saturday, May 12th
Last Day Spring Semester
Wednesday, May 16th
Volunteer Orientation, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
All Sites
Saturday May 19th
Training, 7am to 12pm
All Sites
Friday, May 18th-Sunday, May 20th
State Special Olympics
First Day of Summer Semester
Monday June 11th
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Volunteer Hoodies
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We have Volunteer Hoodies!!! We currently have all sizes in stock - small, medium, large, X-large, 2X-large (limited number). These are Hanes 80/20 sweatshirts. Please email Kathy Bigelow at vc.spring@sire-htec.org if you would like to place an order. They are $25.00 each.
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Letters to the Editor
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Wanted you to know how much I enjoy the Pony Tales and only wish I could come see everything. Only thing about this last issue (April) that made me sorta sad was the last page telling about the retirement of Try and Clyde.
Years ago when I first became a SIRE contributor in the information I was given at that time was about adpting a horse so some of my donations would be used for "extra tidbits" etc. for him - Clyde was my "adopted horse". This was over ten years ago - in fact a nice young man (was young to me that is) came to my house on Mullins in Houston and brought me a small black stuffed horse with a dark blue ribbon around his neck and a SIRE medal hanging from it. I still have him too. I do hope Clyde and Try find good homes - if I didn't now live in a retirement apartment complex I would adopt them myself. Meanwhile I shall continue trying to win a prize by guessing birdies at the Shell Houston Open.
Keep up the great work and do let me know if Clyde finds a good home.
Suzanne Nowotny via e-mail
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SIRE Boots and Bonnets Gala
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Saturday, May 5, 2012 Sam Houston Race Park Start Time: 4:00pm It's that time of year again. Time to dust off your boots, get your favorite bonnet out of its box and come celebrate with us. Join Chairperson Charlotte McIntyre and the Board of Directors of SIRE in an evening of equestrian elegance. For a second year, we will enjoy the gala at the Sam Houston Race Park where everyone will be treated to a simulcast of the Derby followed by live horse racing. There will be all the trappings the "Run for the Roses" is noted for: bonnets, finery and mint juleps along with live music by Password plus the return of the ever-popular Big Board and Seated Dinner by Two Forks Catering. And no SIRE gala would be complete without silent and live auction treasures! The success of this annual event assures that the work of SIRE will continue for many years to come. So throw on your Best Derby Attire and join us! For ticket information please click here: SIRE Boots and Bonnets Gala         |
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Meet Lili Kellogg, New Executive Director
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Dear SIRE Riders, Volunteers, Donors, Staff, Families and Friends :
As SIRE's new Executive Director, it is with great enthusiasm and gratitude that I introduce myself. A life long horse enthusiast, I have been involved in the therapeutic riding industry for 25 years, first at Equest in Wylie, Texas and most recently at ManeGait in McKinney, Texas. To be able to work in a profession that combines my passion for horses and improving the quality of people's lives is one of the greatest blessings.
SIRE is an incredible organization that next year will be celebrating 30 years of providing therapeutic services to children and adults with disabilities. I am thrilled to be part of the team that moves us into the future, and I'm looking forward to doing it with YOU! As Ken Blanchard said "None of us is as smart as all of us". Together we'll make great strides in impacting lives. I want to hear your ideas, thoughts, and SIRE experiences so please stop by. My office is at Hockley, but I will be frequenting Ft Bend and Spring as well. If you'd prefer, I'll meet you at Starbucks.
As one of our parents said to me this morning "Riding is a microcosm of life". So much can be accomplished from the back of our SIRE horses. Helping our riders move beyond their boundaries in achieving success is what it's all about. I'm honored to be on the team!
Thank you,
Lili Kellogg
SIRE Executive Director
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Special Olympics
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On Saturday, April 14th fifteen combined riders from SIRE's Hockley and Spring sites traveled to the Magnolia Community Horse Arena to compete in the Regional Special Olympics. Competition was both friendly and fierce with quite a few local therapeutic riding programs competing. Our riders all performed very well and left with smiles on their faces. Our SIRE volunteers once again provided valuable support. As always, we couldn't do these types of events without their generous donation of their time and talents. Both judges had high praise for both our riders and our volunteers. Listed below are the SIRE results:
Hockley Riders
Kalyn Adkins Equitation (Silver), Trail (Silver)
Alex Dumas Equitation (Gold), Trail (4th)
Carrie Gabel Equitation (Silver), Trail (Gold)
Pam Gove Equitation (Silver), Trail (Gold)
Nathaniel Hunter Showmanship (4th), Equitation (Gold), Trail (Gold)
Holly Miller Equitation (Gold), Trail (Gold)
Kevin Moore Equitation (4th), Trail (3rd)
Christina Welp Showmanship (4th), Equitation (Bronze), Trail (Bronze)
Spring Riders
Katherine Richards Showmanship (Gold), Equitation (Silver), Trail (Gold)
Jessica Callan Showmanship (Gold), Equitation (Gold), Trail (5th)
Amber Johnson Showmanship (Bronze), Equitation (Silver), Trail (Silver)
William Keener Showmanship (Silver), Equitation (Silver), Trail (4th)
Jacob Sukin Equitation ( Bronze), Trail (Bronze)
William Gray Equitation (Silver), Trail (Gold)
James Giovanniello Equitation (4th), Trail (5th)
Congratulations to our riders and instructors for a job well done! We wish our riders who are moving on to the State Special Olympics in May continued good luck!
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Rider's Room
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Meet 7 year old Hockley rider Molly O'Donnell, one of our SIRE on Stage stars! Molly has been riding with SIRE for less than a year but it's been a dream of her mother Becky's since Molly was barely a year old. Becky attended a presentation about SIRE and wanted her daughter to experience that special connection children can have with horses. Molly's stepbrother Garrett also rode at SIRE when he was younger. Molly's uncle Andrew keeps horses at his home in Carmine, Texas so Molly and her nine-year-old brother Joshua also spend time with horses outside of her riding at SIRE. Watch for Molly at future SIRE events!
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Spring Barn Bits
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The Spring site is very excited about the latest addition to their herd. Whiskey arrived on Saturday, April 7th. He is a 15 year old Quarter Horse gelding and has a striking resemblance to Clyde, right down to the two white socks on his hind legs. Whiskey spent several days visiting with the herd over the fence and then joined them in the pasture. He has settled in very quickly and seems to enjoy the company of Harry and Bud over the other horses. Go figure . . .
Whiskey
The Spring volunteers were treated to Mint Chocolate Cookies N' Cream Fudge as a gesture of our appreciation during Volunteer Appreciation Week April 15th-21st. Our classes couldn't happen without their dedication and hard work which we appreciate EVERY day.
Fudge!!
On Sunday, April 22nd Spring hosted a seminar on Communication and Behavior Management Strategies for Riders with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The presenters were Keith O'Connor, M.A. CCC-SLP, and SIRE's staff of Master Level instructors Anthony Busacca and Joelle Devlin. The clinic addressed receptive and expressive communication problems as well as the causes and triggers of disruptive rider behaviors along with prevention and management strategies.
Keith O'Connor giving his presentation
Spring is very excited to have Leighton Schwille, Miss Teen Spring, volunteering at the Spring site. She will represent the Spring area at the 2012 Miss Teen Texas International Pageant in Corpus Christi on April 29th. Leighton sidewalks on Wednesday evenings and has also offered to appear at SIRE functions. She will be greeting guests at the SIRE Boots and Bonnets Charity Gala.
Leighton with Sarah and Clyde
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Para-Equestrian Qualifier
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As the 2012 London Paralympics approach, the opportunity to qualify individually as a para-equestrian dressage rider is down to just six months. The Houston Dressage Society's Spring Classic is the final CPEDI3* being held in the United States before the Paralympic Selection Trials. It's taking place at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Tx and will have three days of international para-equestrian competition starting on Friday, April 27th. SIRE will have a vendor table at the show plus a full page ad in their show program.
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Donation Thank You's
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SIRE's Spring site was given a generous donation by Carl Muller. Mr. Muller's nephew George Daponte has been riding with SIRE for the past 5 years. George's favorite horse is Rudy. We thank Mr. Muller for supporting SIRE!
Thank you to Spring volunteer Debbie Forth and her employer TransCanada for their generous donation of $500.00 to SIRE which we received in March. TransCanada will donate up to $500 annually if an employee volunteers at least 24 hours of their personal time over a three month period. This is the second $500.00 donation that TransCanada has given to SIRE in the past couple of months. A $500 dollar donation for 2011 was given to us in January 2012. Debbie has been volunteering with SIRE since 2005 and DHP's every Saturday. Thank you, Debbie for signing up for this program and making SIRE your charity of choice!
Spring volunteer Dale Luedtke and his employer, The Williams Company made a corporate donation through their matching program. Dale has been a volunteer with SIRE since 2007. We thank Dale and The Williams Company for supporting our program!
Many companies will match a donation that their employees make to the charity of their choice. If your company has a "matching funds" program please consider asking your friends and colleagues if they might be interested in contributing to SIRE, especially if they know you benefit from the program personally.
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