“This will make you cry.”


Special Olympics


Posted By on Jun 18, 2015

Thank you to all of our riders, horses, volunteers, family and friends who made this year’s Special Olympics a true success. Last Saturday, the riders competed at the Hoofbeats Center rather than at the Va. Horse Center Complex, as in years past. The athletes came from all over Rockbridge County, southern Virginia, and even West Virginia. Despite 90-degree weather, the riders breezed through their equitation, dressage, trail,...

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Katy Barron – a Hoofbeats volunteer since she was just 8-years-old – began a new job this fall in NYC designing clothes for Kohl’s, jumping into a new and exciting phase of life. Throughout her childhood and adulthood, Katy’s experiences at Hoofbeats have shaped the successful woman she is today. As an “absolutely horse crazy” 8-year-old, Katy first came to Hoofbeats in 1993, where she would spend every weekend for the next almost ten...

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When you’re a disabled veteran, you have lost everything, said U.S. Army staff sergeant Aaron Heliker. Heliker told his story in the 2014 award-winning documentary Riding My Way Back – an emotional film that Hoofbeats has screened multiple times for our volunteers and supporters. Heliker was only 19-years-old when he hugged his mother good-bye for his first deployment in active combat zone. He served several tours of duty...

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#GivingTuesday


Posted By on Dec 2, 2014

By Jinae Kennedy Every year, it seems like Thanksgiving gets shorter and shorter. Happy Thanksgiving! – And now it’s time to hit the malls.  One day of feeling thankful, and then the commercial madness sets in. Black Friday, Cyber Monday… now we even have Gray Thursday? But thankfully, a new trend is starting. #GivingTuesday. A day for giving back. Today, Dec. 2, a worldwide campaign is encouraging people to kick off...

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Congratulations Marsha!


Posted By on Nov 24, 2014

Hoofbeats Volunteer of the Year, Marsha Lunsford, said she knew that helping people through horses was something she just had to be part of. Through her dedication to this calling, Lunsford has since made an incredible impact in Virginia communities. She has assisted with Hoofbeats lessons since last March and has gained her certification as a therapeutic riding instructor. She hopes to open her own therapy center in Highland County...

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