SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program

We had a wonderful Ride for SPIRIT event over Labor Day Weekend! We're so proud of all our riders that participated and showed off their skills. We got to know everybody a little bit better, and the community came together to enjoy a friends and family meal to celebrate, too! Shoutout to all people and horses involved in our program, for bringing this important mission to the community. Stay tuned for the next one in 2024!

Today was a good day!

After a few weeks of construction our field has been completely transformed! The remodel included leveling, drainage, and footing material to greatly improve the comfort and care for our herd.

Safe to say the ponies love it! Swipe ➡️ to see the before

This project would not have been possible without the support of our donors and a generous grant from the McLean Community Foundation. Thank you to all who contributed in making this a reality!

Max was one of the finest horses around! We will miss him deeply now that he has crossed the rainbow bridge. He brought smiles to everyone that had the pleasure of meeting or riding him. ❤️🐎 Please share your favorite memories and pictures of Max for everybody to enjoy!

Just in time for summer, we are excited to announce that SPIRIT officially has running water at the farm! We owe an enormous thank you to everyone who helped make this project a reality!

For many years our dedicated volunteers have trucked in water to fill our troughs and provide for the horses. We can now provide regular access to fresh, cool, and clean water for drinking & pony bathing!

Check it out! This is Max - he has new sunglasses to protect his eyes and help him see. He's here with James. They go way back! If you're at the farm and you see Max rocking the shades, give him the hang ten🤙 to let him know how cool he is!

Melissa, Erica, Tommy, Nicole, and David had a wonderful demonstration today. Congratulations riders!

Saturday 4/15 Frying Pan Farm Park is hosting a Horse Expo. SPIRIT will have a demonstration at 10:15 to show off some of our therapeutic riding and equine assisted learning students skills! SPIRIT will have a booth all day to share information about our programs. We hope to see you there!

It's windy. Stay home and safe! We will see you next Saturday!

Wow! Our spectacular volunteers are doing big things beyond SPIRIT. Congratulations Ashley! We are so proud of you and thankful to have you in the SPIRIT family!

Read the article below to see what Ashley has been up to:

William & Mary student makes her presence known with community service efforts During the recent opening convocation ceremony at William & Mary, Huang, now a junior, was one of two community members to receive the president’s award for service to the community. Assistant professor Janise Parker was also honored.

Teamwork to take Spirit home on a cold and windy day.

Winter break is over and that means that some of our fantastic helpers have to go back to school! Thank you to everyone who returns to SPIRIT break after break, year after year. We love our community!

Thank you to our friends at River Bend Pony Club for organizing and donating items to SPIRIT! Our horses will get to start the new year with clean tack, new grooming supplies and much more!

Suhani and Melissa take a winter ride together!

Dear followers, at SPIRIT we are humbled by and thankful for your everlasting support and generosity. You help us create moments of connection with each other. Moments like these. We ask that you consider setting SPIRIT as your Amazon Smile charity of choice. It is a simple way to contribute to our cause as you do some holiday shopping. Keep an eye out for wishlist information as the year comes to a close!

Shop smile.amazon.com

Alison and Huckleberry - two peas in a pod! They had a good time hanging around yesterday sharing some hugs

Boy, did we have fun with Halloween costumes this year! Thanks to everybody that dressed up. Of we didn't snap a pic, comment here to share with you SPIRIT family!

Thank you Maria for some great photos 🕷

Please join SPIRIT in welcoming Hanna Bleznak to the team! Hanna will be joining us to provide occupational therapy services incorporating hippotherapy.

Hanna is an occupational therapist with experience in outpatient pediatrics. Hanna grew up riding horses for fun and competition, and currently has one mare of her own! Over the years, Hanna has volunteered at therapeutic riding centers gaining valuable experience working with participants and horses.

A little more about hippotherapy:
Incorporating hippotherapy into occupational therapy sessions can add in targeting the strength, muscle coordination, sensory processing skills, and cognitive skills necessary for participating in activities of daily living and general attention tasks. The use of hippotherapy as a tool or strategy under the direction of a therapist has been reported to increase motivation and participation in treatment, as well as showing social emotional benefits when combined with other elements of a plan of care. 

Please contact us at [email protected] to learn more and register for sessions!

Support SPIRIT Open Equestrian Program

Spirit Open Equestrian Program Reviews and Ratings | Great Falls, VA | Donate, Volunteer, Review | GreatNonprofits Volunteer, donate, read reviews for Spirit Open Equestrian Program in Great Falls, VA plus similar nonprofits and charities

The before and after of a job well done!

SPIRIT is the best. Our organization has top status for years, and we are proud of it. You dan share your testimony, too and make us visible and on the top list again
Choose Spirit Open Equestrian Program, and write review.
Thank you!
https://greatnonprofits.org/home?utm_source=trigger_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=get_top_rated

We had so much fun with our relay races on Monday!

Lots of cleaning and organizing happening today! Thank you to all the EALs and volunteers that to help! help!

Thank you for the lovely poster Eastern Ridge School!
We loved having everybody at our workshop this year and look forward to partnering up again!

Happy Birthday to Vēsma Montvillo, instructor extraordinaire! Daudz laimes dzimšanas dienā!

Want to get involved with your local Equine Assisted Activities organization (that's us!) but not sure where to start? Have general questions about what we do? Want to come out with a group and help us with volunteer projects? Drop a horsey emoji and post your question in the comments below, we will answer it!

Please join us in wishing our Executive Director Michelle a very happy birthday! 🎂 🎈