Razzle Some Dazzle at the Upcoming Horse Show
Calling all riders, parents, friends, and sponsors! On October 12th, we will be hosting the Horsin’ Around Horse Show and everyone is invited. Each participant will be showcasing a little bit of what we do here at the riding center and we would love if everyone would plan on attending. It is a our way to close out the riding season and celebrate our favorites, the riders. More details to come in the next newsletter!
Volunteer News
New Faces, Same Places
At Horsin' Around Therapeutic Riding Center, we are excited to introduce some new volunteers from PNM, Allie Smith, and a new therapist in training, Whitney Dutton, to our team! They are all bringing incredible enthusiasm and dedication to supporting our program, and we are thrilled to have them join us in making a positive impact. If you know anyone who might be interested in being a volunteer or learning more about how they can get involved, please invite them to reach out!
We are always looking for passionate individuals who want to contribute to our mission. Feel free to share our contact information with them or direct them to our volunteer program page for more details. Let’s continue to grow our community and make a difference together!
PNM’S DAY OF SERVICE SEPTEMBER 12
PNM has selected the riding center for a “Day of Service”. PNM volunteers will be at the center cleaning stalls, pulling weeds, and weather staining the pavilion, Thank you, PNM!
PRACTICE WITH PURPOSE FINALS SEPTEMBER 28
Practice with a Purpose will have their finals, a barrel race with $$ added. PWP has provided a fundraising opportunity for the riding center and helps to maintain a relationship with the horseman community.
HORSE SHOW OCTOBER 12
Before lessons wrap up for the winter, get ready for your chance to shine! Our Horse Show Event will be taking place on October 12 this year—we can’t wait to see your skills!
GETTING TO KNOW THE PEOPLE OF HORSIN’ AROUND
SPOTLIGHT—BOARD PRESIDENT NICK LYLE
Hey everyone, my name is Nick Lyle. I am the President of the board for the Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding Center. I am extremely passionate about horses and helping people, so this role seemed to be a good fit for me right away. My passion for horses comes from my experience as a farrier and a trainer. Outside of the horse experience growing up, I started shoeing and training horses for the Army in 2013. I was part of the Ft. Carson Mounted Color Guard for several years, which was one of the coolest jobs and best kept secrets of the Army. I was fortunate Enough to train the Color Guard horses on making them “bomb proof” with things like standing extremely still during large and loud ceremonies, grand entries to rodeos which include a Cavalry Charge with shooting pistols, saber demonstrations slicing fruit and vegetables while going over jumps, jumping in general, and cowboy mounted shooting demonstrations. These horses had to be EXTREMELY versatile and understand their job.
After getting the horses up to speed on understanding their various roles, it then became vital to train the riders on how to handle the horses through these various tasks, turning into training the riders as well. Let me tell you, horses are much easier to train than humans! As any horseman or horsewoman knows; no hoof, no horse. So we had to make sure that their hooves and shoeing protocol were always spot on, as the Color Guard could not afford to have any lame, off, or sore horses. Keeping the horses sound on a daily basis turned out to be quite the task due to the work ethic and demand of the horses.
While in the FCMCG, I earned multiple farrier certifications through the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization otherwise known as “ELPO”. I am very proud of those certifications because the organization is passionate about leaving horses better than we found them and is on the frontlines of researching new ways to help horses. That’s a little bit about me and how I got heavily into the horse world. Thanks for reading!
THANKS
A special thanks goes out to Old Mill and the Healy Foundation for being sponsors of Horsin’ Around.
BIRTHDAYS
August—Maverick R.
September—Steven M.
WINTER BREAK
Last day of lessons before winter break will be November 20th, weather permitting.