Is it just us, or has 2014 really flown by? We’re not quite sure where the time has gone, but we have been looking back on the past year and feeling thankful for progress made, lessons learned, and for all the horses who have touched our lives and who make it all worthwhile. There has been a lot going on here at Horses With Hope, and we look forward to continuing that momentum forward into the new year!
In 2014 we made two trips to the New Holland auction, one in the spring and the other in the fall. We brought back a total of 4 new horses, 2 minis, and one mini donkey. Of these Harlow, Baxter, and Acadia are currently a part of our program and in training, while Snickers is now available for adoption.
During this past year we successfully placed 3 horses, 2 minis, and 1 mini donkey. After several years spent growing up and then in training at the farm, our two Spanish Mustang geldings were adopted out to loving, lifelong homes: Magic now lives in Massachusetts while Echo is happily settled just a few towns away. After only 4 months in our program, Teak proved to be an all-round gentleman ready to teach a young rider the ropes, and we’ve had some great updates from his new family in Warren. Minis Coco and Dash also found their forever homes in Maine and Massachusetts respectively, while sweet mini donkey Eddie has become a loving pasture companion for his new family in Appleton.
We also had many successful and educational outings with our ‘in-training’ crew. Ozzy may win the prize for versatility: he went to Popham Beach, Camden Hills State Park, and the Union Fairgrounds multiple times, did several ‘in-hand’ classes at one of the Tri-Country shows, spent a morning working cows up in Searsport, and participated in a 5-day horsemanship clinic with Bryan Neubert. Ozzy is currently available for adoption.
Raven and lifetime resident Hopie had a busy summer competing in various schooling shows around the state. The girls began with dressage and 2-phase shows, but also did a lot of cross-country jump schooling and took part in a 3-day eventing camp. Raven finished her season with a completion at her first 3-phase event and an excellent cross-country clinic at Groton House Farm in Mass. Luna tagged along with Raven during several of her schooling outings to local farms, and also spent time at the Union Fairgrounds.
Looking ahead to the new year, we hope to continue to grow as an organization and to expand our network both locally and out of state. Each horse that we take into the program will have their different strengths, and our goal is to have a wide range of contacts across the riding disciplines in order to find the right homes for our horses. We look forward to hosting bi-annual open houses, and to bringing our horses to more clinics and competitions. We are excited to see how our current horses progress, and it is always wonderful to be able to offer new horses a fresh start at our farm.
Many thanks to everyone who supports us, and a very Happy New Year to all!
