Brave Hearts

Horse of the Month - Romeo

Romeo, one of our new horses for the 2025 season has been working his way into the staff’s and volunteer’s hearts. He is a 19 year old, sorrel quarter horse gelding, with “Eeyore” eyes, who has previous ranch experience. His HwH training is coming along well. In fact, he was used for the Returning Volunteer SST training, and he was a prince during the hour and a half of crazy training antics!

Competition Team Update

The HwH Competition Team will begin their spring riding session on Saturday, March 8th with a team meeting starting at 9:00 AM. We will review our routines and safety practices as well as spend some time grooming and some ground work. The following Saturday we will begin with regular classes at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 2:30 PM. Our spring session will run through June 6th, which includes CVEP Horse Shows on 4/19, 5/10 and 6/7. Please come out and watch our progress as well as cheering us on at the shows.

Wants and Needs

Our horses really enjoy walking over the ground poles, and it is fun for riders too! It teaches the riders as well 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 a few more poles would work wonders.

Mounting Practice

If you are interested in learning how to assist with mounting and dismounting the riders in their classes, we have a training for you!

Thursday, March 13th at 10:00 AM

We have room for 10 individuals to have hands-on practice, and if you would prefer to watch and just get a better idea of how and why, we also have space for you!

If you are interested in hands-on training, or to watch, please email Sherry Hoover at sherryhwh@gmail.com by March 10th.

Appaloosa Meadows Tack Sale

Marvelous Minis Visit Memory Park ~ March 20th

The Marvelous Minis and volunteers will be at Memory Park on March 20 starting at 2:00 PM. This event is open to the public.

Trudy Chapman-Radley Recognized by Senior Referral Network

The Senior Referral Network recently honored Trudy with the 'Hometown Halo' award and presented her with a $500 check. Trudy then donated the $500 to Horses with Heart. Congratulations and thank you, Trudy!

Upcoming Horse Handler Trainings

It’s that time of year again, horses are coming back to Horses with Heart!

Are you new to horses? Would you like to have additional confidence around horses? Do you want to get involved in the Grooming Team or the Marvelous Minis program? If yes to any of these questions, one of these training sessions is for you!

If you want to be on the Wednesday morning Grooming Team, select this one:

03/12 New Volunteer Groomer Horse Handler Training 10:00 AM
Please email your interest to Bonnie Moreau at bchere58@hotmail.com.

If you have been, or want to be on the a part of the Marvelous Minis Program, this training is for you:

03/05 Marvelous Minis Horse Handler Training 1:00 PM
Please email your interest to Jan Grise at jangrisehwh@gmail.com

If you want more General Horse Handling or work your way to become a Horse Leader, or help with turnouts, this training is for you:

03/01 General Horse Handler Training 1:00 – 2:30 PM (Please note that if you would like to help with classes, you also need to attend a Safety Support Team Training)
Please email your interest to Sherry Hoover at sherryhwh@gmail.com

***Please note that some of the information for these trainings will overlap, so there is no need to attend multiple trainings. ***

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.

DONATE

Volunteer of the Month - Maureen Owen

Maureen has done it all at Horses with Heart. She has served on Safety Support Teams throughout her early years of volunteering and spent many hours mucking and feeding. In the past, she has given our miniature horse Rocky a winter home. Maureen was also the Volunteer Coordinator at one time. She has helped with many events throughout her years including Bowl-a-Thon, Volunteer Appreciation Events, Have a Heart Barrel Race, and more.

This is the second year in a row that Maureen has co-chaired HwH's Annual Bowl-a-Thon with Kim Pagones. Her artistic talents, organization, commitment, hard work, and enthusiasm are the reasons behind Horses with Heart's successful and enjoyable Bowl-a-Thon. Thank you, Maureen, for all you do for HwH!

1. How long have you been with Horses with Heart? I have been with Horses with Heart since 2008. (OMGsh it could have been 2007, same year as Jan Grise). It's been such an adventure I lost track of time.

2. Why do I volunteer at HwH? It started out that I had some time to give back and from the moment I was introduced to this wonderful organization by Helen Collins, I knew this was where I needed to be. Over the years it has also been because any time spent away makes me miss all of the great people I have had the pleasure to volunteer for and with. It's like a family.

3. My favorite memory? I have so many awesome memories I can barely answer this one. One that stands out is when Helen invited me to a Bowl-A-Thon early in 2008. I bowled with a special needs young man. We had so much fun. I knew I wanted to be part of this organization so I've been volunteering since.

4. What would I share with new volunteers? There are so many volunteer opportunities throughout this organization and you can learn and experience so much. The staff, lead volunteers and mentors are a group of exceptional and knowledgeable individuals who are there to assist you. If you find you aren't happy with or able to fulfill a task, don't give up. There are so many tasks to choose from just pick one or more that you can work with. It is truly rewarding.

SAVE THE DATE! ~ Prescott Rodeo Parade

We have started planning our entry for the Prescott Frontiers Day 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 project, please make a note on your donation. Our next planning meeting is scheduled Monday, March 17th at 9:00 AM in the HwH office. If you would like to join the planning team, please contact Sherry Hoover at sherryhwh@gmail.com.

Blue Ribbon Moments

February 3rd Winner: Jeremy Owens
February 10th Winner: Kristina McConnell
February 17th Winner: Mark Adams
February 24th Winner: Ryder Allen

Calendar of Events

March 1st ~ New Volunteer Orientation and SST Training, 9:00 – 10:30 AM and 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM respectively
March 1st ~ General Horse Handler Training, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
March 5th ~ Marvelous Mini Horse Handler Training, 1:00 PM
March 8th ~ Competition Team Kick-off Meeting, 9:00 AM
March 12th ~ New Volunteer Groomer Horse Handler Training, 10:00 AM
March 13th ~ Mounting Assistant Training, 10:00 AM
March 17th ~ Rodeo Parade Committee Meeting, 9:00 AM
March 20th ~ Marvelous Minis Event, Memory Park in Chino Valley, 2:00 PM
March 24th ~ Session 1 Begins
April 4th and 5th ~ Appaloosa Meadows Tack Sale, 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM