Santa Ynez Valley Therapeutic Riding Program
2016 Newsletter

Student Spotlight
Amanda Sherman
               
Amanda Sherman has been riding with the Program longer than any other student.  June marks her 16th anniversary.  Over the years her riding skills have flourished.  She has ridden most of the Program's horses and worked on a variety of skills.  Some of her favorite riding skills to show off include turning her horse in a circle while in a "box" of ground poles and serpentining independently.  On her Saturday rides she enjoys riding her favorite horse, Freya.  Recently, Amanda has been riding her with a bareback pad so she can use her seat to control Freya.  In addition to riding, she likes to help us "desensitize" new horses with her wheelchair.  Once the horses are used to her chair, she likes to lead the horses from her chair.  Not only has Amanda been a joy to have in the program, she has also been a great help with the horses!

We have an electric mounting lift!
We are pleased to put into service a new Sure Hands lift system to assist our riders mount.  This will help people mount  and dismount more easily directly from a chair.  






The lift and structure were donated by:
Vikings of Solvang
SYV Youth Recreation, Inc.
Rodney Jacobsen
Jake Jacobsen
Kevin Serritslev
Corey Dotzler
Nielsen's Building Supply     

Patriot Spotlight
Our Patriot Rider spotlight is on Marine Bud Beveridge of Santa Barbara. Bud was the Patriot Rider's first Veteran participant and has attended consistently since February, 2015. Bud rides Hawk each week, but only after mucking all the pens and turning the water on in the arena and round pen to help address the dust before riding begins. Also, he is always willing to fix things and has a keen eye for spotting areas needing attention and then following through to alleviate the problem, such as patching a fence or fixing a broken pipe. He is a wonderful part of our Patriot Rider Program, and we are very pleased he has been with us for this past year.
Cowboy Ball - Save the Date

Mark your calendars for Saturday Aug. 20 
at Reata Oaks Ranch 
honoring Tina & Paul McEnroe

Live music, auction, hors d'oeuvres, 
gourmet Italian dinner by 
Chef Alfonso Curti, wine and beer.  

Call Robin at 805-325-1544 for tickets or sponsorship.
Spotlight on Elsie

Elsie is a beautiful Percheron/Paint cross and came to us through the generosity of Denise Morrison 4 years ago. She is especially popular with the gentleman riders that require a horse of her impressive stature. You can also see her stand perfectly still and allow the tiniest of riders draw hearts on her chest. 

She is pictured here giving a ride to a child from Vandenberg with dad in the background on a day dedicated to our local military families. 

We all love this sweet therapy horse and are very fortunate Denise chose our program for Elsie's home. 

Supporter Spotlight

Who is one of the most loyal, long standing and enthusiastic supporters of Santa Ynez Valley Therapeutic Program?  Please meet Judy Etchelecu Prutzman:  Judy has lived in the Santa Ynez Valley forover twenty five years.  She first became involved with our program
when our founder, Dr. Mary Ann Evans, was running  SYVTRP from her home in Solvang.  Judy's late husband, Albert Etchelecu, became instrumental as well when as a member of the Vikings Organization,he arranged to have the Vikings donate our mounting ramp.
     
Judy is originally from the east coast and started riding when she was in the fourth grade.  A favorite memory of hers is attending horse camp in Massachusetts!  Judy started riding again in retirement with husband Al on their ranch here in the valley.  She has two horses that are now retired from riding, Allegro and Jack , that currently live at Westwind Farms in Buellton.  Judy also owns a cat and dog.
     
Judy is retired, previously working as a nurse.  In her free time, she enjoys mahjong, volunteering at St. Mark's Church, gardening and  reading with her book group.  Judy, being a huge animal lover, also supports a  retirement/rescue home for abused horses in 
Alachua, Florida. 
     
Judy is very excited about our new Patriot's Riding Program and feels strongly that SYVTRP meets such an important need in our local community.  We are so lucky and proud to call Judy Etchelecu Prutzman a friend and supporter of Santa Ynez Valley Therapeutic Riding Program !

Thank you Santa Ynez Paint!

Thanks to Santa Ynez Paint, our fences and gates all got a fresh new coat of while and teal paint.
Volunteer Spotlight
Ruth O'Neill could very well be our longest running volunteer....that's right, she has been assisting SYVTRP since October 2003!  She has been a faithful participant in many different areas.  Ruth is an original member of our "Senior Volunteers" group, which is a group of volunteers who know the ropes and are qualified to act as mentors to other volunteers.  She has supported our program on both sides of our fundraising events (paid attendee and volunteer), has participated in parades and assisted during lessons for our students.  She has also been a past recipient of our annual Volunteer of the Year award.  Although Ruth will no longer be showing up bright and early every Saturday morning, we will still see her helping out by being on the team of riders who exercise our herd and keep them in shape for our student lessons.  Thank you Ruth, for always finding a way to support SYVTRP!

A special thank you to the Caughells for 13 years (and going) of Sunday night feeding & mucking and Mark Hemming for 9 years of Sunday morning feeding & mucking!  Your generousity is astounding!


2016 Calendar

June 17 VAFB Field Day
June 27, 29 Jul 1 Hoof n Boots Camp
July 22 VAFB Field Day
Aug. 20 Cowboy Ball
Nov. 5 Mah Jongg Tournament
Dec. 10 Riders Roundup & BBQ

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Thank you so much for your support!  
For naming opportunities please contact Robin at (805) 325-1544 or [email protected]