| Special Equestrians, Inc. November, 2010 |
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Taste of Love 8 The Design Studio
By Raymond Sunday, February 20, 2011
20th Annual Ride-A-Thon
Babcock Ranch Saturday, March 12, 2011Engraved Brick Pavers Click here for Order Sheet.
Order to be made in
Late Fall of 2010.
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| Greetings! | |
Lots of new things are happening at Special Equestrians and you are sure to notice them the next time you visit us. We are very excited about the grant funding we have received from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. The funds will be used for further renovation on our horse barn and to build a storage shed beside the horse barn. As soon as we get the project finished, we will have photos and an article in the newsletter. This project will give us the ability to add another stall to the barn and still have a storage area. It will also provide much better ventilation for our horses, with added grilles between the sidewalls of the stalls.
Our new 2011 Calendars are on sale for $20 at Special Equestrians. If you are interested in a calendar, please let us know. Our horses, riders, and volunteers are featured in this beautiful calendar.
We are almost to ready to order our engraved bricks for the Miracle Trail. The order sheet for the bricks is in the links in "Upcoming Events" on the left side of the newsletter. The bricks make a nice holiday gift or a way to acknowledge someone special to us.
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LIVE UNITED by Giving to United Way
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 Seven years ago, United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades took Special Equestrians under their wing and gave us the honor of becoming a United Way Partner Agency. They also challenged us to go for our dream of facility ownership. In Strategic Planning Sessions funded by United Way, we examined what it would take to achieve this goal. That was in February of 2005. The road to purchasing our property was not without bumps and roadblocks, but in April of 2007, we purchased our property on Staley Road, where Special Equestrians is now located. United Way's belief in us was very important in this process. For seventeen years, the United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades has exceeded its campaign goal, even in difficult times. There are seventy-two local United Way partner agencies in our community who helped more than 300,000 people last year. The needs of the people of our community are greater than ever and United Way remains committed to meeting the increased demand for services. All of the money raised during the United Way Campaign stays in our community to help support 72 nonprofit partner agencies like Special Equestrians. United Way gives Special Equestrians funds for scholarships for our riders and they pay the salary of our riding instructor. We are truly grateful to United Way and we wish them another successful campaign. When you give to the United Way, you are keeping your donations local and helping the people of YOUR community. If you would like more information about the campaign, contact Louise at 433-2000 or give online at www.unitedwaylee.org.
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Summer Goes Home to Chris and Lee Jarchow in Georgia!
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The smell of sweet grasses
The long summer days.
Soft nickers from the barn
as I pass her way.
For years she's provided
the children safe rides.
"Walk on Summer" they'd say.
She'd always provide.
Some liked her quickness
Some liked her trot.
All would love Summer.
How could you not?
Now it's her time to enjoy
those long summer days.
The smell of sweet grasses
The taste of sweet hay.
Back home to her family
that loves her so dear.
We will miss our sweet Summer,
Our horse of the year!
- Eileen Coe, SE Volunteer
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Big Fence Project on SE North Border
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 Since we moved into our facility on Staley Road, we have worked hard to renovate our property, one project at a time. We are happy to report that our next big project is well underway. The replacement of the Fence, on the North Side of our property, was on our wish list since we have owned our property. The Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Light Council, donated the funds to purchase fencing materials needed. A group of the Knights, led by Dave Erickson, came out and trimmed the bushes and trees that were growing into the old fence but we still needed to bring in heavy equipment to remove the large trees that had grown into the old fence. That is where our good neighbor, Dave Foote Environmental came to our rescue. Dave's crew cleaned out the line of trees and gave our fence crew led by volunteer Tommy Dennis, a clear path to get started on the fence. This project is now almost halfway done and I think our SE dog, Dudley (in the photo), gives his approval. The fence crew does not have to be large in number, but we do need a few more names to call on for this volunteer effort. The fence building days are usually on a Tuesday or a Thursday, and we will let the crew know what the specific dates will be. If you want to help out with this worthwhile and fun project, call the office (239-226-1221) and leave your name. |
| A Little History on Special Equestrians, Therapeutic Riding, & NARHA |
Special Equestrians, Inc. was founded in Fort Myers in 1987 by a group of Kiwanians and some dedicated volunteers. Our own Dee Hollander was actually the first therapeutic riding instructor for the organization. We moved our program to 6 different riding stables over the next 20 years,
before purchasing our property on Staley Road in April of 2007.
Special Equestrians joined NARHA in 1991. We became a Premier Accredited Center in 2003 and that voluntary committment to excellence has been maintained to this day. For more information on the history of NARHA and therapeutic horseback riding, check out this link. Some History on Therapeutic Riding |
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We encourage you to forward this newsletter! You can help Special Equestrians' newsletter reach more people and spread the word about our therapeutic riding program which is "Making Miracles Happen."
Sincerely,  |
Jan Fifer  Special Equestrians, Inc. PO Box 61528 Fort Myers, FL 33906-1528
239-226-1221 (o)
239-226-1279 (f)
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Special Equestrians' mission is to provide therapeutic horseback riding and equine assisted activities to children and adults with physical and mental challenges. We serve individuals from Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades Counties in Southwest Florida.
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