Bring Healing To Horses And Humans In Need

Seasons Greetings!

Snow is falling, and the summer props, toys and games have been packed away. The horses are enjoying a break from the daily hustle and bustle of activity and the volunteer staff is relaxing a bit with family and friends.

Sounds peaceful and quiet right?!?

It is, but underneath all the peace and quiet is a flurry of activity as we prepare for our Holiday Gala on December 7th at the beautiful Endicott Visitors Center and Museum, and as we make the plans for our upcoming program year.

Here's how we finished the year

• We finished our season with a bang! Many of our riding students came to the farm on October 12th to show off to their riding skills. Trooper and Cisco were AMAZING! From simple patterns, a little walk and trot and even showmanship, our horses and students proudly showed the results of all those hours of hard work and dedication! We are all so very, very proud! Click here to see some photos from the event!
• We began our pilot program Equine Facilitated Breast Cancer Rehabilitation and will be offering sessions to 8-10 women in 2014
• We began the Excelsior Thoroughbred Advancement Program which will facilitate the rescue or rehabilitation of a retiring Thoroughbred racehorse and retraining for placement in therapeutic programming.
• Borrowed Freedom was featured on the front page of the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin in Anothony Borrelli's wonderful news piece that showcased our work. You can read the full article on our website
• We welcomed Cisco, a WONDERFUL registered Quarter Horse to our program and he quickly has become a favorite of everyone, from students to staff!
• We welcomed Veda Tupy as an instructor. Veda is the former head coach of the Binghamton University Equestrian Team, and is an accomplished professional competitor and trainer. We will now be able to offer riding lessons year round in her covered arena. Our students also have the opportunity to compete locally and to participate in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association.

In all, I would say this year was a wonderful success. Unfortunately we didn't achieve our goal of $15000 through our Global Giving campaign, but we still were able to provide a wonderful year full of opportunities to for some incredibly special people.

We will be launching several small microprojects in the upcoming months and we hope that you will continue to support our efforts as we ring in the new year!

Wishing you all a holiday season full of the best and brightest, and all the love and peace in the world!

Sincerely,
Colleen Cheechalk and the Borrowed Freedom Team!

Links:

• The Borrowed Freedom Website