Hearts & Horses Therapeutic Ridng Center


970/663-4200
163 N. CR 29 
Loveland, Colorado  80537
(Map)
June 12, 2014
HEARTBEATS
NEWSLETTER SUBTITLE

Can you believe it's June already?  We're begun our summer session with camps starting next week.  As usual, there's lots going on at Hearts & Horses! Read on to wish a farewell to one of our own, become familiar with some newly certified instructors and learn about some upcoming events.

Keep reading to find out what is happening out at the ranch! 
Farewell Stefani, you will be missed!
 
We're sad to share that Stef will be leaving the nest and moving onto a bright future with PATH International, based in Denver. Thanks Stef for your dedication to the participants of Hearts and Horses - we will miss you!
 
"At the end of this month, I will be stepping down from my current role at Hearts and Horses to accept a position at our accrediting organization, PATH International. I am very excited for these new opportunities and will treasure all the wonderful memories from the past few years at Hearts and Horses with all of you!! Thank you for the wonderful support and happiness that you all bring to Hearts and Horses every day!"
 
Our awesome team of instructors will be taking on Stef's classes to ensure a seamless transition for our participants and families. 
 

Join us on Friday, June 27th from 3:30-5:00 pm for Stef's "farewell party."
June 18th - Planting Day at Hearts & Horses 
Sensory Garden Update
 
The sensory garden is moving right along with the addition of 70 shrubs thanks to a grant from Larimer County Open Lands and the generosity of Harmony Gardens. 
A big thank you to the shrub planting crew for all their hard work getting the
shrubs in the ground:  Teresa Barton, Alicia Cossota, Peggy Woodward, Jody Werner and the Larimer County 'Mid Weekers'
 
The next step in the garden is planting the flowers! Seedling planting has been rescheduled from June 11th to June 18th at 8am!  For questions or to join in the fun, please contact: tamara@heartsandhorses.org 
Welcome Meg! 
 
Please give Meg a warm welcome when you see her.  Here's a little about Meg:
 
"My name is Meg Broderick and I'm a sophomore at Bowdoin College in Maine. I live in Massachusetts with my parents, two younger brothers, and two dogs. At school, I'm studying neuroscience and education. I work as a sexual assault survivor advocate, ride on the equestrian team, and play club volleyball and intramural hockey. I've spent the last five summers working as a camp counselor at a horseback riding camp and a nanny. I became a PATH Intl. therapeutic riding instructor because horses and the sport of riding have had a huge impact on my life, and I want others to be able to have that experience. I decided to intern at Hearts and Horses because I think that I could learn a lot from the diversity of programs offered here and because everyone that I talked to here was excited about what they were doing. I'm so excited to spend my summer in Loveland!"
Music Video "Extras" Needed on June 26th
 
Thursday, June 26th - mark your calendars! 
 
Volunteers, riders, friends -- come one, come all!  Come on out and be a part of our next Hearts & Horses video - which will be a music video,
like no other!  
 
Check out these videos to get a glimpse of what we will be creating!
 
If you would like to participate please e-mail Tamara at tamara@heartsandhorses.org!  
High Hopes/Flo Rida
High Hopes/Flo Rida "Good Feeling"
HAPPY World Down Syndrome Day / Welt Down Syndrom Tag #HAPPYDAY Pharrell Williams
HAPPY World Down Syndrome Day - Pharrell Williams




Bring yourself, some fun dance moves and a smile on your face for a fun filled day of video taping! 












Our video will make its debut at the Hearts & Horses Annual Gala on October 11th, 2014! 
In This Issue
Quick Links
All American Car Show - July 5th
 
 The Northern Colorado Mustang Car Club presents the 7th Annual All American Car Show at the Outlets in Loveland, Colorado on Saturday, July 5th. There will be hundreds of Domestic Muscle Cars, Hot Rods, Motorcycles, Trucks, Sports Cars and Customs. 
 
Registration is open to all cars, trucks and motorcycles made by American manufacturers. 
 
Registration Fee: $20.00/car 
 
Pre-register to receive a free event t-shirt.

We are grateful that Hearts & Horses has been chosen as the charity beneficiary of this show for the 6th year in a row! 

Check out the All American Car Show Website HERE!
H&H on Radio!
 
KRFC Critter Patter at 88.9FM radio show hosted byJill Reynolds is featuring Hearts and Horses on Thursday 6/19 at 6:30 pm.
 
Critter Patter is a half-hour radio program featuring information on pet health and behavior topics as well as pet-related businesses in Northern Colorado. It airs at 6:30 p.m., Thursdays on KRFC 88.9FM, and can also be heard online HERE. 
Hearty Thanks!
 
Thanks to the following folks for their 100% donation of these beautiful dressage show pads with the H&H logo on them!
  • Pete Knaus - English Riding Supply
If you're interested in one of these for showing, please give us a call!  
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balloons2.jpg  Introducing our NEW Instructors! balloons2.jpg
Say Hello to CJ, Alex, Katye and Karen! 
 
Keep reading to find out a little more about these amazing individuals and also congratulate them on their recent accomplishment of obtaining their PATH Intl. instructor certification!  You'll see them teaching various lessons throughout the week here at Hearts and Horses during our Summer Session. Welcome everyone!
CJ Donovan  
 
CJ has a family history of ranching, with both her grandfather and great grandfathers working for W.C. Harris. She participates in preserving that way of life through her equine training and instruction. She went a step further in learning to ride English. CJ has rescued and rehabilitated unwanted, neglected and abused horses (and other animals) for over 25 years with great success. She continues to do so today and uses some of those horses for instructing her students, some of which have ended up adopting the horse they are matched with. 
 
She started a program through her facility where at risk youth can participate in riding instruction at a reduced cost or free depending on the circumstances of the family needs. She has helped injured riders return to riding with confidence after an accident. She has personal experience with equine therapy and knows first-hand how it can help a person rebuild their life. CJ had the opportunity to work with wild horses, including a herd of over 300 on a ranch in Wyoming. Through this she learned tremendous amounts of information on horse to horse relationships and became very familiar with reading horses. She is a volunteer fire-fighter and EMT for the Nunn Fire Protection District. 

CJ made the choice to become a therapeutic riding instructor after being ask to facilitate riding instruction for a young lady who was diagnosed with a disease that less than 20 people in the united states have. Working with this young lady had a tremendous impact and made her realize she could help others live improved lives through therapeutic riding.
Alex Whittey 
 
I fell in love with horses as a young girl and started riding when I was 5 years old. Since I grew up in New York City, I had to travel quite a distance to my riding lessons but the journey was worth it. While surrounded by my equine friends I felt happy and at home. I went on to spend my summers in upstate NY where I helped train horses off the racetrack how to jump and competed in cross-country, stadium jumping and dressage. I still remember the glorious feelings I had when galloping through a field on my favorite mare Allison and how we won, together, the blue ribbon for our three-day event. That, to me, was one the most magical moments in my life.
 
At age 22, I moved away from the horse world to purse life on as many different paths as I could manage. I acquired three college degrees, had a career in the music industry, worked in low-income housing for individuals dealing with mental health and/or addiction issues, created a successful fundraiser for an equine therapy program for the Washoe County School District in Reno, NV, traveled a lot, lived in places like Alaska, France and Costa Rica, fell in love, got married and had two children... and after many years of living in many different places and exploring many different paths, my family and I decided to finally settle down here in Fort Collins.
 
I discovered Hearts & Horses while searching for a therapeutic riding program for my son. I remembered how horses had made me feel as a child and was hoping my son would benefit from his own experiences with the equine world. I soon transitioned from an observer at Hearts & Horses to a volunteer horse leader. My daughter began to ride here and then I became a rider once again and that is when the floodgates opened. Those precious memories from my childhood began buzzing around in my brain, new old feelings were igniting something inside of me; and then, a little birdie whispered in my ear, "When are you going to become an instructor?" So, here I am today, honored and grateful to be a part of the staff at Hearts & Horses as a PATH International certified instructor, with hopes that I can bring some magic into the hearts of those who are a part of this amazing place, which I like to say, feels like home. 
Katye Zwiefka
 
My name is Katye Zwiefka and I have been living in Fort Collins, Colorado for about 3 years now. I served in the United States Marine Corps for 5 years and was deployed in Iraq during my enlistment. After my enlistment ended, I moved to Connecticut where I have had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the power of therapeutic horseback riding in my own life. I started riding for my own healing and recovery with High Hopes in East Lyme, Connecticut. It was there that I
 found new passion and rekindled my love for horses. After riding for a few months I knew I needed to be more involved, so I started volunteering. Leaving Connecticut was a bitter/sweet decision. I wanted to be closer to my sister and I also didn't want to give up the connections I made riding. My amazing sister (who also rides with me at Hearts and Horses), did some research and found Hearts and Horses and found they had a program for Veterans as well. I was so thrilled I would not have to give up my therapeutic riding!
I moved to Colorado the end of September 2012 and that very weekend, before I had even began unpacking, I came out to the ranch for volunteer training. I filled out the paperwork for classes and started the next session.
After volunteering in classes and with the Barn Team I knew I wanted to do more. I became a PATH member and was blessed with the opportunity in May 2013 to take the Instructor Certification Course and complete my student teaching hours. Stefani Viktora-Anderson has been a wonderful instructor and a great mentor to me. Along with Stefanie and with the support of Hearts and Horses, last week, I am pleased to say I have earned my certification!
I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to heal through riding and it warms my heart to be able to share it with others. Hearts and Horses is an amazing program and I am truly honored and humbled to be a part of it! I look forward to working with you and seeing you around the ranch! 
Karen Krob 

A friend of mine once observed of her relationship with her mare, "as much as I saved her, she saved me." That feeling is one to which I can relate, and it inspires me to seek to further understand human-equine relationships and facilitate human-equine connections. I started volunteering at Hearts and Horses approximately two years ago, after meeting Tamara at Hearts and Horses at a workshop on equine stretches and massage. 
 
Since that time, I have horse-led and side-walked, interned with the Hearts and Horses for Heroes program, and ridden as a BMRA student. I am also a graduate student in the educational psychology program at UNC, focusing my attention on human-animal relationships and how we learn together in a variety of settings and situations. These experiences, in conjunction with my equine experiences outside of Hearts and Horses, led me to pursue certification as an equine specialist in mental health and learning and, most recently, as a registered-level riding instructor through PATH Intl. I can't think of any way I'd rather spend my life.
Thanks for YOU and all you do!

Sincerely,

Your Hearts and Horses Family

Hearts & Horses, Inc. | 163 N. CR 29 | Loveland, CO 80537 (Map)
970-663-4200 | info@heartsandhorses.org | http://www.heartsandhorses.org




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