January 28, 2015

HEARTBEATS

NEWSLETTER SUBTITLE

With weather in the 60's and 70's this week in Colorado who would think that it's January? We are so excited to enjoy the sunshine and warmth the next few days, but know that winter is not over yet!

Keep on reading below to see some of our upcoming events, hear about time contributions of our amazing volunteers and learn about some things that have recently happened at the ranch!

As always thank you so much for supporting us and the many riders we serve every day.

WOW, What a Number!

~ Top 2014 Volunteer Hours ~

Here at Hearts & Horses we are so fortunate to have such an amazing base of volunteers who are dedicated and passionate about what we do here every day and so generous with their time in helping those who need it the most. Below is a list of the top 15 individuals who had the most volunteer hours at Hearts & Horses in 2014.

2014 Top Fifteen Volunteer Hours:

1) Peggy Woodward --- 939

2) Dave Culbertson --- 806

3) DEBBIE DEHN --- 779

4) Kathy Bolinsky --- 726

5) Henry Palermo --- 701

6) John Pettibon --- 567

7) Wolfgang Becker --- 458

8) BOB HUFF --- 445

9) Laurie Levendusky --- 430

10) KATHY COULSON --- 341

11) JOHN REARDON --- 335

12) GINGER DODGE --- 297

13) Carol McKennan --- 265

14) Rich Hedlund --- 222

15) Karma Smith --- 220

All together we have around 200 Volunteers a week including Barn Team, Class Volunteers, Horse Leaders and Side Walkers. The Average Hours completed by most of our volunteers per week is 5!

THANK YOU for helping make Hearts & Horses such a special place in the world. We truly would not be able to exist without the support of all of our amazing volunteers and board members.

If a name is in CAPITAL letters they are members of the Board of Directors.

Hearts & Horses Upcoming Events

Johnson's Corner

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

6 AM-10 PM, 15% of Sales Donated

We are so excited once again to be partnering with Johnson's Corner for their Hearts & Horses Day. Just head out to Johnson's Corner on February 11th to grab a bite to eat and 15% of all sales will be donated to us! Check out their website here: Johnsons Corner

Loveland Aleworks

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

6:00-11:00 PM

For the second time Loveland Aleworks is hosting a "Pints for the People" night on Wednesday, February 18th to benefit Hearts & Horses. Head on out between 6-11 PM to have a pint and help out Hearts & Horses! You can check out their website

here: Loveland Aleworks

Barn Team Time Change

As you may have noticed the days are gradually getting a little longer and our horses would LOVE to be outside for more time to frolic and play!

Starting Sunday, February 1st Turn-Out times will change to 9:00 AM for Turn Out and 3:30 PM for Turn In.

We know our horses will love it! Thank you so much for your continued dedication to our herd! If you are interested in helping with Turn Out or Turn In and have been to a Barn Team Training please e-mail Katie HERE!

For a list of all Volunteer Trainings at Hearts & Horses and to learn more about getting involved, check out our website HERE!

Children's Hospital Autism Research

Volunteers still needed

Hearts & Horses is so excited to partner with Children's Hospital Colorado for a research study focusing on the effects of Therapeutic Riding on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study will take place at Hearts & Horses and run for 10 weeks starting March 7, 2015.

We are still looking for a few more Horse Leaders and Side Walkers to help out with the therapeutic riding lessons. Horse Leaders and Side Walkers must be able to keep up at the walk and trot.

Additionally we are looking for several volunteers to help with the "barn group" which is the control group and the 'barn activities' will be taking place in the ranch house so will require less physical activity.

If you are interested in participating but have never been to the ranch we will provide training to help you feel comfortable and confident with this study as well as your roles as either a Horse Leader or Side Walker or Barn Group volunteer.

We are looking for individuals to be consistent and reliable each week for the of the study! Interested? E-mail Katie at Katie@heartsandhorses.org to sign-up or call the ranch at 970-663-4200 x 305!

Current Session - Volunteer Spots Available

Are you looking to get more involved at the ranch or have an opening in your schedule that just popped up? Check out the list of open Volunteer Spots below and e-mail Katie at Katie@heartsandhorses.org to sign-up or call the ranch at 970-663-4200 x 305!

All of the current spots are for our Changing Leads program so in order to volunteer you must have attended a Changing Leads Training. Are you looking to get more involved with Changing Leads? Sign up on our website HERE for the next training on March 24th from 9 AM to 12 PM.

Open Volunteer Spots:

Day	Time	Position
Wednesday	5:45-6:45 PM	2 Horse Leaders
Friday	4:00-5:00 PM	Instructor Assistant
Saturday	12:00-1:00 PM	Horse Leader

In This Issue

Wounded Warrior Project

Quick Links

Hearts and Horses

"Happy" Video

Make a Donation

King Soopers Cards

Get Yours Today!

Do you shop at King Soopers? How would you like to be able to donate to Hearts & Horses just by purchasing groceries? King Soopers donates to Hearts & Horses every time you use your King Soopers Community Card! It's really that easy! If you do not have one you can pick one up in the office today or we can send you one! Just

e-mail Amy HERE!

Horse Spotlight

"Noble"

This handsome guy is Noble. He is Reds very distant half brother and joined Hearts & Horses in October of last year! Noble is a 15 hand Missouri Fox Trotter which means that he has a gait instead of a trot, so he's a bit smoother than most! He has a very fun, curious personality and is always guaranteed to put a smile on your face with his personable antics. Noble is only 8 years old and has a bit of maturing yet so he can be quite playful at times.

You may have noticed that Red and Noble look alike. If you're trying to find the difference between the two here are some key things to look for! Noble has a small white star on his forehead while Red has a solid face. Red also has a brand on his left shoulder while Noble does not. Next time you're out at the ranch see if you can tell them apart from afar and if you can come up with any more differences!

Same Faces, New Titles

Staff move into new positions at Hearts & Horses!

Michele Kane, Veterans Outreach Specialist

Greetings! My name is Michele Kane and I have been on staff at Hearts & Horses as an instructor, after receiving my PATH Intl. Instructor certification about a year ago. I graduated from CSU with my Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In 2011, I retired as a Major from the United States Marine Corps after 20 years of service.

I enjoy teaching therapeutic riding & Veterans classes and it has been a dream of mine to do this full-time ...and my dream has come true!

I am excited for my new role as the Veterans Outreach Specialist, in addition to teaching classes. As a Veteran myself, I am so honored to be here and be able to spread the word about our Veterans program, "Hearts & Horses for Heroes." We have so many exciting things planned for the program, I can't wait to accomplish them all!

Hannah LaPointe, Program Coordinator

Hello Hearts & Horses family! My name is Hannah, and I've been at Hearts & Horses for a couple years now. In May of 2013 I graduated with a Master of Social Work degree from CSU, and two weeks later completed my PATH Intl. Registered Instructor Certification!

I am a native of Colorado and have been horse-crazy since age 10. I graduated from the University of Colorado in 2009 with a Bachelor's in Sociology and a minor in Nordic Studies. After my time at CU-Boulder I served in AmeriCorps working with at-risk youth for two years, and then moved to Fort Collins to pursue my graduate work.

I'm very excited to accept the position of Program Coordinator and continue to help with the Changing Leads program. I look forward to meeting new riders, volunteers, and supporters of our programs, so come say "Hi" if I haven't met you yet!

Wounded Warrior Project Comes to Hearts & Horses

On Wednesday, January 21st Hearts & Horses hosted a Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Introduction to PATH Intl (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) for a group of Veterans. This event included Veterans and their family members, with each individual being paired with one of our equines and learning leading, grooming and horse behavior. The participants were able to observe several of the horses at liberty in the arena in order to better understand equine communication and worked with their horses in the arena leading and grooming them. At the end of the session all participants stated that being around the horses gave them a sense of calm & peace, which is one of the benefits of Equine Facilitated Learning and something we strive for in our programs.

Check out this response from one of the attendees:

"Thank you guys so much for having myself and my wife out to visit on the Wounded Warrior Project event yesterday. I had the opportunity to meet Allie. She is such a sweet mule and we definitely made a bond. As sit here typing this up this morning I can't help but wondering of how many lives that you all impact. Thank you all so much for doing what you do and keep up the good work."

Hearts and Horses for Veterans

Hearts & Horses is so thankful to WWP for allowing us the honor and privileged of working with this group of Veterans. For more information about the WWP please visit their website HERE.

~ If you are, or know of a Veteran who could benefit from lessons at Hearts & Horses please

e-mail Michele Kane at Michele@heartsandhorses.org. Lessons are provided free of charge to all

Veterans who are accepted into the program ~

Thanks for YOU and all you do!

Sincerely,

Your Hearts and Horses Family

Hearts & Horses is proud to be an Affiliate Agency of:

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