SpiritHorse Liberty to host Walkathon

LIBERTY - Unless you are a parent, family member or caregiver of someone with special needs, you may not be familiar with SpiritHorse Liberty and all the wonderful things the organization does. Incorporated in 2010, SpiritHorse Liberty provides horse riding lessons that are research-based, private, equine-assisted, and highly effective for those with special needs like cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome or even the physically handicapped. SpiritHorse offers these services FREE OF CHARGE for special needs children/adults including veterans, foster children, and more. Riders without special needs may ride for only a $30 donation.
We have seen children talk, sit and walk for the first time. Better core and muscle strength, focus, balance, self-respect, social ability, and cognitive processing have come from this program. Each lesson includes horse management as part of the curriculum, incorporating responsibility and ownership. Each student, to his own ability, may lead, groom and saddle his pony or horse before lessons. While riding, the student’s individual needs such as speech, sensory, balance/other physical, behavioral and cognitive processing are all being addressed through equine therapy by our certified instructors and volunteers.
So, how does SpiritHorse make all this possible? We write grants to companies for donations and get support from the community and fundraising events. Your donations make it possible for our special needs children and adults to receive this needed therapy FREE of charge.
SpiritHorse is announcing a fundraising event, the SpiritHorse Liberty Walkathon 2021, on November 14th (rain date December 4). Please help SpiritHorse thrive by being a Walkathon participant or sponsor and encourage others to do the same. PARTICIPANT means you will walk, and seek sponsors of your mile(s) walked, with all funds paid to SpiritHorse Liberty to benefit our kiddo riders. You’ll join us for your walk at the event location any time between 10 am – 3pm at 112/115 Linden Lane in Liberty near the TVE. You can even walk (or jog) at a safe location of your choosing for this event! SPONSOR means you wish to sponsor the miles walked of one of our event co-leaders or any other participants with a maximum of 5 miles walked. At this event, there will also be a silent auction, therapy horse(s), certified equine therapy trainers to talk to, refreshments and more. All are welcome to stop by and there’s plenty of street parking.
Here’s how to register for this event: Send an email to the event coleaders (Liberty High School students) Matthew Girard and/or Lily Kearly-McNutt at Matthewgirard06@icloud.com or Lamm321@icloud.com. In the email, provide your full name, phone numbers, mailing address and any other details you wish to share. We’ll be in touch to discuss participation details and send you the event flyer. Please also share the flyer with others and consider if you have items you or others can donate to our silent auction. You may also call Stephen Kearly at (936) 641-3126 or SpiritHorse Board President Craig Girard (661) 542-1441 with questions or to register.
A core piece of this event is to encourage discussion and education opportunities about special needs individuals. In any business, leaders and staff should always be open to learning more about the circumstances and special needs of people with developmental and other disabilities. This better understanding will result in more accommodations and improved experiences for these less fortunate families - whether it’s dining, recreation, employment or other purpose served by the business.
Thank you in advance for giving back with SpiritHorse and participating in our November 14 Walkathon! Visit our Website at spirithorseliberty.org. You may contact SpiritHorse Executive Director Donna Wiebelhaus at (936) 641-0165 or spirithorseliberty@yahoo.com.