Bowl-a-Thon

Thank you to all the riders, volunteers, and bowlers who came to our 21st Annual Bowl-a-Thon on February 22nd! Because of your support, we raised money to support our Competition Team, scholarship funds, and operating fund. Congratulations to Landry and Sutton King, who were crowned Kings of the Bowl-A-Thon in the under-18 category, and to Baylee Owens, who was crowned Queen for the over-18 category, for bringing in the most pledges.

Helen Collins and Executive Director Anne Spiess

Helen Collins Receives Award

Helen Collins received the Lifetime Dedication Award at the Horses with Heart Bowl-a-Thon event held on February 22. Helen has been with Horses with Heart for over 20 years. She has volunteered in several capacities, including serving on the HwH Board of Directors, previously as Board President and currently as Board Treasurer. She also has been a volunteer for many years with the Competition Team, enjoying time spent with the riders and horses. She continues to give countless hours of her time due to her devotion to the organization and calls Horses with Heart her "happy place".

HwH Quilt Raffle Update

The winning ticket was drawn at the Competition Team meeting on March 15th. Congratulations to Gloria Reid! But Gloria graciously gifted the Quilt to Pam Berry who is feeling very blessed. Thank you to all who contributed in support of the Team.

Competition Team Update

Team HwH was able to have our first practice back in the saddle on Saturday March 22. It was a beautiful day and all our riders were happy to be back with the horses. We will have practices each Saturday at 9:00, 11:00 and 2:30, preparing for our first show at CVEP on April 19th. If you’ve got some time on Saturday, please come out to see what we do and to cheer us on. We could also use a few more volunteers. If you’d like more information on what we do or how you can help please call Pam Berry at 928-899-4759 or email her at hwhcompteam@gmail.com

Volunteer Orientation

A BIG Thank you to our Hospitality and our Check-in Teams!

Thank you to the Hospitality Team consisting of Helen Collins and Lisa Deardorff. And thank you to Sue Jordan, Laura Jaramillo, Kris Dockum, and Bonnie Moreau for helping with check-in. Together they assisted over 160 people at the Returning Volunteer and New Volunteer Orientations. Thank you teams, for making the events so special!

Volunteer Appreciation Week

This year, we are celebrating Volunteer Appreciation Week, the week of Monday, April 21st through Friday, April 25th. We appreciate our volunteers all year round, but Volunteer Appreciation Week gives us an extra chance to celebrate the dedication and hard work of our volunteers. Our volunteers will receive a special HwH keepsake, as well as treats!

Appaloosa Meadows Tack Sale

Wants and Needs at the Ranch:

Our horses really enjoy walking over the ground poles, and it is fun for riders too! It teaches the riders how to lift their seat out of the saddle in the two point position and it does help condition the horses by making them lift their feet over the poles. We are in need of replacing some ground poles; after years of contact with the ground they have begun to disintegrate. Home Depot has landscaping/tree poles that work very well for our needs. If you want to help our riders and horses, we would appreciate 10 new poles!

Chino Valley Library program Marvelous Minis.jpg

Marvelous Minis Events

The Marvelous Minis program spent the month of March warming up for the busy season ahead. Jan Grise has several community events, school visits, and senior living visits already on the calendar for April!

We had a Minis Handling training on March 5th that brought together several brand-new volunteers to the MM program and three new Miniature Horses to our herd! The new volunteers learned the nuts and bolts and what to expect during our various programs. The new Minis were exposed to a wheelchair and other aspects of being the centers of attention at our visits.

Long-time volunteers and seasoned Minis also attended to acclimate the newbies. We have quite a herd of Minis now: Rob & Michelle Whan have 5; Meg Blackmon has 2; Heidi Harvey has 1; Linda Smith has 1; Ela Matten and her daughter Claudia have 2; and, of course, HwH has Rocky! Plus there are 1 or 2 more Minis who would like to be in the program who were not able to make it to this training.

March 20th found Rocky, Brady, Liberty, and Frosty at a Chino Valley Library community event where I read my newly published children’s picture book to the crowd and the Minis won the hearts of all who were there as they mingled!

Happy Spring from the entire Minis Team!

Mary Smith, Marvelous Minis Program Coordinator

Upcoming Obstacle Challenge

Brave Hearts

Do You Owe Arizona Taxes? Use Your AZ Tax Credit to Support Horses with Heart!

Horses with Heart is a qualifying charity in the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit Program. Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar cuts in your state tax liability: donate $938, for example, and you could cut your tax bill by $938. Under Arizona law, your dollar-for-dollar tax credit could be up to $470 for a single person, $938 for a married couple filing jointly in 2024. Be sure to consult your tax advisor to see how your HwH donation can benefit you.

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Volunteer of the Month - Annette DeMarco

Annette DeMarco is a fabulous volunteer and wonderful person in general. Since Spring of 2023 she has volunteered in several roles including our mucking team. Her most recent role with us has been utilizing her technology skills to help format and facilitate our event programs. This is a huge job and we can’t thank her enough for the hours of time and talent she puts into these programs. Annette is also our Wranglr software go-to person. She is a master at helping other volunteers get their time-keeping questions answered. Thank you, Annette, for your desire to give of yourself here at Horses with Heart.

1. How long have you been with Horses with Heart? I started mucking in 2023. I love it! It is honest physical work. Plus, you get to hang out with horses!

2. Why do you volunteer at HWH? The folks at Horses with Heart are marvelous. Their dedication to the mission, their selfless commitment to making a difference is very inspiring. As much as I love horses, as much as I want to help serve, it is the people behind this organization that motivates me to do as much as I can to help.

3. What is your favorite memory? I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the Silver Carriage class. I had never driven a horse drawn anything before. Learning about the history, skill and competition was very exciting for me. But the best was the end, where after weeks of practice in the ring, we were let loose on the grounds to take a tour. Thrilling!

4. What would you share with new volunteers? Your skill level doesn't matter, there are plenty of people that can help you grow. And there are tons of ways you can help. Your efforts will not only benefit the organization and those it serves, you will also reap far more than you sow.

SAVE THE DATE! ~ Prescott Rodeo Parade

We have started planning our entry for the Prescott Frontier Days Parade, scheduled Saturday, July 5th. We will be creating some new banners for our entry this year, so if you would like to donate towards this, please make a note on your donation. If you would like to join the planning team, please contact Sherry Hoover at sherryhwh@gmail.com.