Footprints Therapeutic Riding Center NEEDS your help!!!

As most of you know Under the Angel’s Wings Rescue, Inc. is a nonprofit horse rescue. Currently we are not only working hard at keeping up with the 22 horses we have in our care at this time we are also working to raise money to open a Therapeutic riding program for disabled children in the high desert and surrounding areas. For a bit of my story and the desire to open this Riding Center please go to our website at www.FootprintsTRC.org and click “About Us”. The need is extremely high in this area as the only program that existed up here was closed about 4 years ago. Now, there are no facilities and other facilities are approximately 50 + miles away and have extensive waiting lists and are unable to accommodate the needs of all the children in their areas. Some children are traveling 2-3 hours in order to find a facility that has an opening. A 2-3 hour trip is a long trip for anyone on a weekly basis but can be even harder on a family with a disabled child. We are hoping to open this new facility in order to help each special child that wants to ride!

Our plan is to open a Therapeutic Riding Program in the Phelan, CA as soon as possible. The purpose of this Therapeutic Riding Center is to bring joy into the lives of disabled and handicapped children through supervised and safe equestrian activities designed to promote and improve physical, mental and social well-being, and to give these children a sense of adventure, freedom, and accomplishment. For any child, mounting a horse can be a frightening prospect. But before long, children are wearing heartwarming grins that lift the heart. Child who did not speak are talking to the horse, children who were trapped in a wheelchair are walking, there are many miracles see thru Therapeutic Riding. The opportunity for them to leave behind even if just for an hour, the world of wheelchairs, crutches, special classes, tutors, doctors, hospitals and medicine is often more therapy than the best educational or medical minds can deliver. Therapeutic riding provides the following for disabled and special needs children:

· Improving balance, coordination and posture
· Strengthening muscles and increasing flexibility
· Improving respiration and circulation
· Building self-esteem
· Developing social skills and teamwork
· Increasing concentration, patience and self-discipline
· Fostering a sense of freedom and accomplishment
· Having fun!

Our goal is to use rescued horses in a positive way to help our community.
Using rehabilitated horses to help rehabilitate the children in and around our community. We feel that pairing these two endeavors together will provide unlimited potential of benefits to those in our community helping both animals and children in need. This will give the unwanted and rescued horses a place to belong and be wanted and also the children a place where they too can enjoy themselves and have that sense of freedom and peace.

We are in need of several things in order to get our New Therapy Program off the ground and running. We have one of the most important items needed and that is the therapy horses. We have several great candidates in our already existing rescue program who have been tested and will do great in the Therapeutic Riding Program and they are looking forward to their newfound duties in life.

However, the biggest obstacle that we are facing is a location for the center to operate. We originally had planned to use the existing rescue property in Phelan, Ca but upon submitting our application for a permit we found that the zoning here at this location does not allow for a facility of this type. Most properties in Phelan would be suitable for this except of course where we are currently located is not. So we are left with the only option of seeking the funding in order to purchase another property here in Phelan. This was not something we had planned on doing so we have no funding available for this, so we are in need of your help!!

We are open to all offers of any type of help, please if you have any ideas or Input feel free to email me at Courtney@uawr.com. If you or someone you know has a property in Phelan that they would like to sell and carry the loan for us that would be wonderful. If someone has the funds (approx $75,000) to purchase a property here that would work with us on purchasing the property from you that too would be wonderful! If you or someone you know has property up here you would be willing to donate for the tax write off we are a 501 (C) (3) and can offer a tax receipt for a write off on any of these options. If you can not donate something as large as the entire funds for the new property please can you help by donating towards the “Riding Center Property Fund” the Disabled Children and Adults of the Inland Empire and I would greatly appreciate your help and your generosity!!

We are aiming at $75,000 in order to purchase a new property for the Therapeutic Riding Center. I know it sounds like a HUGE amount but I KNOW for the Disabled of the Inland Empire we CAN do this and we can make this dream and project a REALITY!!!!

If you can donate towards the funding even small donations are a huge help so please do not feel what you can offer is too small!! Please send any amount you can today so we can make this Riding Center a reality!!

You can send funds via Pay Pal to Courtney@uawr.com, if you do not have a Pay Pal account but want to use your credit card email me at that address and let me know the amount you would like to donate and I can email you a secure invoice to donate via credit card. You can also mail a check to Under the Angel’s Wings Rescue at PO Box 293683 Phelan, Ca 92329 Please be sure to make a note on all donations for “Riding Center Property Fund”.



Following is also a list of other items needed for our program if you would like to help with any of theses items too:
· Tack Shed/Storage for Equipment (Must be wooden as our winds up here blow away the metal ones)
· Equipment racks, saddle stands, hangers, and storage for Tack Room
· Tie and Wash areas for Saddling and grooming horses (concrete areas needed)
· Helmets (All Sizes, must be ASTM Approved)
· Saddles, Bridles, Reins, and Pads (English & Western)
· Brushes, Hoof picks, and all misc. grooming supplies
· Pipe Corrals Panels for arena fencing, and stalls. (3 & 4 Rail in any length)
· Shelters (8 x 10 or larger, 6 needed)
· Office supplies (Paper, Ink 4 Epson WorkForce 610 printer, pens, clipboards, etc.)
· Thick Plywood to build a Mounting Ramp & Block
· Handyman to turn the plywood into a Mounting Ramp & Block (plans provided)

Thank you in advance for all your kindness and generosity in making this happen!!
Sincerely,

Courtney Hobson
President/Founder