April is National Volunteer Month!
How do we even begin acknowledging and thanking our amazing volunteers for all the hours of dedication and hard work? Over the last several months, this exceptional team has helped us move our entire facility and create a warm and welcome environment in our new location. They've also got down and dirty--and often very wet--during the rains, pitched in extra time when shifts were short-staffed, and continue to work tirelessly to make it seem effortless to our participants and our herd.  

We always say, 'we couldn't do what we do without our truly wonderful volunteers'... our volunteers are truly at the core of our success. 

To our lesson volunteers that enable our riders to have a safe and enjoyable session; to our Barn Crew volunteers that muck and feed and muck some more; to our Tack Shack team that sorts, cleans, and displays all our tack donations- THANK YOU for all you do! Thank you for your time, energy, smiles, and open hearts. You all make Hearts the wonderful place that it is.

Are you interested in joining our AMAZING volunteer team? Please fill out our online form to get started!
In Loving Memory of Buddy
We are so very sorry to share the news that Buddy passed away on Tuesday night. After colicking Tuesday morning, our Equine Care Committee made the difficult decision to let Buddy go peacefully. He was surrounded by staff, volunteers (both old and new), and his loving herd.

Buddy has been with the Hearts program for over ten years. In that time, he has helped hundreds of individuals, mostly children, to achieve their goals. Buddy was the horse that everyone started with. He was kind, gentle, and so patient. He taught us that big things come wrapped in small packages. As the alpha of the Hearts herd, Buddy helped us welcome all the new horses into the program. He kept the Bad Boys in check and always set an example of strength, steadiness, and focus.

His passing will be felt by everyone - horse and human - and he will be sorely missed. We want to thank his dedicated sponsor Gilda for supporting him these last couple of years and helping us to provide him with the best care possible. And a big thank you to Beverly Mester for her donation to cover his veterinary costs from Tuesday.

We love you, Buddy. Thank you for making the Hearts program what it is today.
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Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center | (805) 964-1519 | info@heartsriding.org | www.heartsriding.org