By Colleen Cheechalk | Program Director
Greetings from the farm, and the beautiful Southern Tier of New York!
We are so happy to finally be getting the show on the road here at Epona Farm. After an incredibly soggy June, with over 11 inches of rain recorded here at the farm, construction projects and sessions are finally underway and scheduled as normal. The arena expansion at the farm is a large scale project that has required significant alterations to our plans, and if it hadn't been for the constant heavy rain, it would have been completed in early June as planned. But I am happy to say that fencing will be in, and we will be able to use it after this week!
Our youth adaptive riding and horsemanship students are beginning their lessons and summer camp this week. Our adult programs, HOPE With Horses and the Warrior and War Horse program will be starting in August and continuing into October. This will be our first full season offering sessions in this format, and we are so excited to finally take this step into a group based, drop in, EFL model. This will help us serve more, for less, and ultimately...that helps everyone. We also are excited to announce that our sessions and work in equine assisted learning and mental health will now have support from a Licensed Clinical Master Social Worker, which will help us expand and enhance our work with trauma victims, those with active mental health special needs and our support of our Veterans.
Our heartfelt thanks to...
Special thanks is going out to the Woodstream Corp, for their assistance in helping equine based 501c3 non-profits get the high quality fencing and supplies they need. The arena will be fenced with 5 strands of beautiful, extremely safe and veterinarian recommended, Electrobraid fence. It will also allow us to keep the open, natural environment we have developed, while providing a safe boundary for horses and humans.
Special thanks is also going out to our friends at Nanticoke Gardens who donated hundreds of dollars worth of beautiful plants for our gardens and planters here on the farm. I am a third generation customer of Nanticoke Gardens, and we are thrilled that they thought so kindly of us to help us complete our extensive yearly gardening project!
Many thanks to Tribute Feed and Gumz Farms for their yearly donation through their UPC program. Those little labels add up big for us, and their help this year made many important parts of the arena expansion possible. We are so very grateful for their continued support!
And of course, many thanks to all of you...for your support which helps us bring this important work to the community we serve. The horses are truly a lifeline to new beginnings for so many, but we cannot do it without the good people behind us who give so generously. We are so very, very grateful to have you on our team.
Warmly,
Colleen Cheechalk
Program Director and Founder
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