Author: joell

Sammy really is a rockstar!  This lovely 14 year old son of All Thee Power out of the hard knocking mare Red Weather has always been willing to work.  He even completed two 30 mile endurance rides in fine form (somebody told me that a Thoroughbred couldn’t do endurance racing and so I just had to prove them wrong).

This year, Sam and his buddy Stan took us to the Abilities Expo in San Jose to demonstrate HorseBoy work.  Sammy was solid as can be under the lights and with all of the kids.  It’s clear that he’s called to do more and more work with ASD kids.  This coming year, he’s going to be our “go to” horse for camps and sessions.

But Sammy has a very long and weak back and the only way to protect him from getting sore is to do a lot of slow and consistent conditioning.  Sammy’s Christmas wish is for a “German Martingale” otherwise known as a “Market-Harbor.”  It’s a simple and humane training device that helps him to develop his top line muscles.  Also, he’s such a big guy that the Driving Lines we use are simply too short.   Sammy could also use his own set of Drive Lines.

Items can be shipped UPS  or USPS to the ranch:

Square Peg Ranch c/o Canyon Creek Equestrian Center, 11631 San Mateo Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Square Peg Foundation changes the lives of special needs and at risk children. Over the past year, over 120 children and their families struggling with autism, homelessness, ADHD, attachment and development disorders turned to Square Peg for help.

With your support we can serve more children and their families, as they learn to ride and care for rescued horses.

Square Peg Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit working towards the greater good of our community and beyond (learn more).

Your tax-deductible gift will enable us to:

– Continue to provide a safe and caring place for children and teens to learn horsemanship, care for rescued animals and be a part of a nurturing community.

– Rescue, care for and retrain more horses that deserve another chance at life.

– Grow our Autism Family Camps to serve more families, and communities.

With your help we can make significant change, and give more children and animals the hope they need most.

Please be generous.

Sincerely,

Joell Dunlap
Executive Director, Square Peg Foundation

Jack’s life was charmed.  He was a good racehorse, then an excellent show horse – trained and loved by responsible horsemen.  He repaid everyone with performance and affection.  In 2008, he lost his left eye, thus losing his place in the show community.  Official rules in the hunter ring labeled him as unsound.

So Jack came to Square Peg.  I hope you will believe us when we say that he marched fearlessly down trails and he jumped everything.  He taught beginners and advanced riders with alacrity. He approached everyone with openness and friendliness. He was one of the happiest souls we have ever known.  He never hesitated, and he never made excuses.  In doing so, he touched lives – the lives of kids who lived with disability, loneliness and hardship everyday.

Jack’s attitude toward what others might see as a glaring disability — a literal hole in his head where his eye should have been — had something to teach everyone at the ranch.

We lost Jack in late September most likely to heart attack. That sad morning, he was just gone, no sign of struggle or distress. He’d laid down and left us. In his life, he served everyone he knew with courage and cheer. We miss him so much. But we remind ourselves to be grateful for the gifts he gave and the lessons he taught us all.  Jack modeled how our attitude toward life’s challenges makes all the difference.

Two weeks later, the call from the racetrack came in.  “Can you take this four year old gelding?  He needs a home and the owners are getting restless.”  We called all our contacts, we thought for sure he would be easy to place.  He was physically and mentally sound, a great size, excellent bloodlines and conformation.  Certainly someone would want this handsome young horse?  But times are still hard and a home was not to be found.  And a home is just what he needed.

Winter is the wrong time to bring a healthy horse right from the track when feed is high and daylight for training is short. None of the staff had the time or the bandwidth to take on another project.  But he came anyway.  He’s now in the stall where Jack used to be.

Nobody will ever replace Jack of course.  But that doesn’t mean that our hearts didn’t break wide open for this kind and sweet gelding.  He’s fallen in love with Bob, the world’s best pony and we’ve fallen for him.

It is in Jack’s honor that we take on Confer, aka: “Slim Shady.”

Thank you Jack, for all the wonderful gifts that you have given us.

It’s that time of year again, time for us to ask for your support.  Your donation helps us save the lives of these horses and in return, they give joy to the kids who know the courage it takes to be a Square Peg.

Autumn is Half Moon Bay’s best weather.  Cool mornings and often the warmest afternoons of the year make us all a little bit giddy.  There’s very little fog and oh, what are those green and orange things dotting the fields – they’re pumpkins my friends and they are growing and morphing into the giant thing-a-ma-jigs that thousands upon thousands will drive to Half Moon Bay to behold.  Which translates (unfortunately) to traffic on Hwy 92.

The Half Moon Bay Annual Pumpkin Festival is October 13 and 14, 2012.  The barn will be closed.  No lessons and only the most stoic of volunteers will brave the tangle of traffic that invades our lovely little canyon each year.

Me, I’ll be visiting family in the northern-most part of California on the one weekend of the entire year when the barn is closed.  Enjoy that pumpkin pancake followed by pumpkin ice cream and washed down with pumpkin beer.

I know, I know, we just keep going on about surf and turf camp.  Why?  Let us show you why – take a look at IndoJax’s video below – while it goes specifically into the surf day of camp – and how magical that camp was, surfing was just a part of that magic.  Heck, horses were just a part of that magic.  The whole magic unfolded for a number of important reasons.  I could list them, but here  are words from a mom – the real heros of this story:

“The most incredible feature of the camp was the underlying spirit of caring, helping, community, and generosity that surrounded us during the 3 days.  We were all part of something much bigger than we could describe or see. We all shared a common goal of reaching past what seems possible to accomplish with our children, and extend ourselves into an unknown territory of “”what if”” and “”maybe”” and hope.   There is a phrase that “”it takes a village to raise a child””, but finding that village can be difficult in today’s world.  I felt that it was really there during those 3 days.

I was amazed at how all the volunteers (surfing, camping, horse riding) were so engaging with the kids, and how willing they were to play with the kids.   This gave me a huge break from constant childcare, which translates into a huge decline in stress level.  It was 3 days of respite for me.

 

I personally liked the small group of campers better than a large group.   My child doesn’t like large groups with lots of noise and confusion, so the smaller group was perfect for us.   It also allows for him not to feel as “”lost”” as he often does in a big group.

Camping was great.   But then, we love camping.  Being in nature is so very healing and renewing for us. It was great it was near to home too.

Having an SNK can be so exhausting and lonely, that it truly seemed like a miracle to have so many volunteers willing and wanting to help.  I cried when I saw 5 people around the surf board with my son, all helping him and encouraging him.  I don’t know if I’ve ever been blessed with such extravagence of generosity of community…. just in the simple act of helping.

My child likes sensory stimulation of waves in the ocean, so the surfing was a great extension of that.  He has been SOO proud of learning to do a sport that most of his friends don’t do.  Like many other kids on the spectrum, he has difficulty with team sports, and is left out of most of those. So the surfing and horsebackriding were great.

I liked that the camp didn’t pressure the kids to ride or surf.   My son likes to watch most everything first, and observe it for a long time before he participates.    Those hours when he isn’t surfing or riding, or even participating in the music circle aren’t lost on him… he is soaking up so very much. I was actually quite amazed that the surfing instructor and horseback riding instructors had the magic touch to get him out of his comfort zone to try riding and surfing.

The unstructured time was good because it gave the kids time to be themselves and chose activities to play. The swords worked out great!!

Probably the number one reason this camp worked for us was that it was for parents and children together. My child won’t do a camp by himself without a parent, and it’s hard to find camps for both parent and child.

I loved the music circle.   The person who came to do it was fabulous.

The food was fabulous, and just knowing that it came from such a wonderful restaurant was amazing.

After we got home, my child did some things in the next week that I’ve rarely seen him do before, mostly that involved getting out of his shell.   The camp did wonders for his self-esteem and self-confidence — just being accepted, welcomed, and built up by so many genuinely caring volunteers was invaluable and unmeasurable.   For me, the camp was a much needed respite, and encouragement.  I learn more from other parents of SNKs than I ever learn from our MDs or books, so being able to have time to meet other parents and get to know them was wonderful.  For me, having an SNK has been so lonely and difficult, and just being given the opportunity to participate in something so generous felt like a miracle.”

 

Back from our first collaboration of horses, camping and surfing for autism families. Words can’t describe the experience. These photos, taken through the lens of one of the moms, tells the story of celebrating family, childhood, horses,tribe,  nature and surfing.

This was a collaboration between Jack Viroel and his crew at IndoJax Surf Charities, Iliane Lorenz, Jenny Lockwood and Rupert Isaacson of HorseBoy Foundation, Rocky Raynor and the fantastic kids on the Half Moon Bay Surf Club Team and Square Peg.  We’d like to publicly thank Robin Camozzi and Carl Hoffman at HMB Feed and Fuel for providing a beautiful setting for the event, Lucinda Mandella and the folks at  CARMA for the support that made it possible, Peter Finch and Nikki Medora at KGO for the live interview (click here to listen), Bo Razon for the world-class music, Terri Milkovich and 231 Ellsworth for the yummy food that saw us all through, for Square Peg volunteers, Rachel Bisaillon, Deborah Lynn Rod, Max Freiberger, Aaron Schneider and Susana DuLait.  Even surf legend Jeff Clark showed up to join in the fun!

None of this would be possible if it weren’t for our ranch manager Greg Crosta and head instructor Sigourney Jellins and their cast of fantastic volunteers for holding down the Square Peg fort while we were away.

The families were the key to it all of course.  We are so grateful for the trust they showed us as we fumbled our way through our first efforts.  Being able to share laughter and silliness, food and adventure with them all was a treat we will savor for a long time to come.

Finally, I can’t forget to thank our horses for the camp; Bob, Bert and Django – stars forever!

“Cavalia is a fresh mix of equestrian and performing arts, multimedia and special effects. Conceived by Normand Latourelle and often labelled an equestrian ballet, Cavalia is a spectacular and moving tribute to the relationship between men and horses throughout history, a dream of freedom, cooperation and harmony. In a fairy tale setting filled with poetry and emotion, the show innovatively integrates acrobatics, dance, aerial stunts, live music and equestrian arts. Under the White Big Top, a 50-metre stage permits the horses to express themselves in all their splendour, nobility and strength, often completely free.”

Square Peg was given a unique opportunity to partner with Cavalia. We have been granted a block of tickets to the show on Saturday, August 4th.

100% of the sales of the tickets below will benefit Square Peg programs.  Join us on Saturday August 4, 2012 as we enjoy the show in community.  See you there!

Tickets are limited and it will be first come, first served.  All tickets will be at Will Call. Please know that there will be no refunds.

All tickets will be at Will Call

Every time we can, we try to let the kids speak for themselves – especially when it comes to horses they love.  What follows is a statement from the heart about our beloved Cometa from a child who knows and loves him like no other.