SHOW YOUR SPIRIT!!! YOUR FRIENDLY "NEIGH"BORHOOD HORSE BLOGGER RETURNS

Welcome back Hands and Hearts for Horses fans! It’s time for another weekly installment of our new blog, courtesy of me, your friendly mysterious “NEIGH”borhood horse blogger!! I’ve been keeping an eye on the barn and I’m back with some new updates!

If you missed out on last week’s blog, make sure to check it out! It has the first hidden clue to my secret identity! Tune in each week for another clue! Remember if you think you know which horse I am, shoot us a message or email stephanie@handsandheartsforhorses.com but don’t ruin the mystery for our other followers by posting your guess publicly! Can you piece together the clues and figure out which horse I am? Because I’ll never tell, well not until enough of you have guessed my secret!

In case you didn’t know readers, for us at Hands and Hearts for Horses, all our volunteers, staff, and riders are near and dear to our hearts! They are our closest human companions, and we love getting to see their happy, smiling faces every day! I’ve noticed that once a year when the humans have us all get together to put on a big show, they give out awards to one special volunteer and one rider who truly exemplify the spirit of Hands and Hearts for Horses! They named it the Russ Jinright Spirit Award after one of the herd’s all-time favorite volunteers Russ Jinright! I’ve heard stories from some of the horses that he was on our board of directors for many years, volunteered religiously multiple days a week and even came and saved some of our stranded horses by changing a flat trailer tire late in the evening! He passed away in 2016, but we will always carry his memory in our hearts!

RUSS JINRIGHT

Russ exemplified spirit, dedication, and had a beautifully caring and compassionate personality!

This year a big storm came through on the day of our Russ Jinright Memorial Christmas Show and we all had to hunker down and stay safe and warm! But this meant we missed out on getting to see who the volunteer and rider of the year were! Oh BOY, I think that’s a shame! So, I’m here to get the word out, I think this rider and volunteer deserve their time in the spotlight!

First up, I’m happy to announce that our winner of the 2023 Russ Jinright Spirit Award for a rider goes to Mariana Williams!!! Mariana has been riding with us since 2018! She is always full of joy and excited to ride! She has come so far since first starting with us, originally needing a leader and two side-walkers to ride, and over the years working her way up to riding independently on most of my friends! She is a regular at our shows and even went to compete in the Special Olympics! We are so proud of her and her hard work! Her instructor Devyn says that every week when she finishes her ride she gives her horse a pet under the saddle pad and I know from experience that we horses sure love it!

Mariana Riding Jimmy!!

“For one to fly, one needs only to take the reins.”

— Melissa James

Next, I want to give ALL the congratulations to our 2023 Russ Jinright Spirit Award Volunteer winner Kaiden Pratt! From what I’ve been hearing around the barn, Kaiden has been an ESSENTIAL volunteer at Hands and Hearts for Horses over the last year! Although she is only 14 years old she is one of our most dependable, hard-working, and trusted volunteers! We horses know we are in safe hands whenever she leads us in lessons and she always makes it really clear what she wants us to do! I can’t begin to say how much we horses love having a volunteer around who loves learning new things, and is always so patient with us and willing to work through things with us! I’m sure glad she got the recognition she deserves and won this award this year!

Kaiden Playing Twister!

“The heart of a volunteer is never measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.”

-DeAnn Hollis 

Well loyal fans, I think that wraps things up for this week! Help me show Mariana and Kaiden some love and congratulate them on their amazing accomplishments! I’ll be on the lookout for anything newsworthy and will be back next week for another exciting blog entry! If you think you already have a guess as to my identity, shoot me an email, or tune in for next week’s clue! Remember, I won’t be confirming or denying my identity until quite a few people guess my identity!

‘Til next time!

XOXO Your friendly “NEIGH”borhood Horse Blogger!