01/20/2025
Cece, a stoic and steady presence in our herd for the last 12 years, has crossed the rainbow bridge. She has taught us so much about independence and respectful boundaries while here, and even let a few of us experience a pacing gait she used in her harness racing days! Cece was also known to make the goofiest faces while in the barn- brightening everyone’s day. She will be missed deeply.
01/17/2025
FIELD PARTY! Please join us Saturday 1/18 from 12-2pm for some field mucking! We will have pizza and water available to support our hard working volunteers! We are hoping to take advantage of the warmer temps and clear conditions to get some mucking done on our field. Please RSVP to [email protected] so we know how much to order!
01/10/2025
Glory crossed the rainbow bridge this morning surrounded by people who love her (both 2 and 4 legged) and many more in spirit.
Glory was a trusted teacher for many participants over her 13+ years in the program. Glory could also be trusted to greet anyone she heard at the gate and occasionally unlock the feed room for a snack as she saw fit! At 32 years old she was retired in the late spring of 2024, and we couldn’t be prouder that she got to spend time being a horse, and grazing on all of the grass she could dream of in her retirement with her pals Buttercup and Huckleberry.
Thank you Glory, for all the lives you touched. Please share a memory of Glory in the comments to help us celebrate her long and wonderful life.
01/07/2025
Snow day at the farm ❄️ another big thank you to our volunteers and staff who are working hard in this cold weather to clear the snow, put out hay for traction on the mats and keep our herd fed and happy!
01/06/2025
An extra special thank you to our volunteers and staff who came out this weekend to help with snow prep at the farm! Our horses have warm blankets, mucked field, extra hay, full heated waters, and a reinforced hay shed. The farm is ready as it can be for all the ❄️
12/03/2024
Oh Hay, Remember Us?
Hi Friends!
It’s us—Glory, Huck, and Buttercup! We’ve hung up our saddles and are now living the good life, enjoying our retirement after years of helping so many amazing people. But here’s the thing: just because we’ve slowed down doesn’t mean we’ve stopped needing love and care!
This Giving Tuesday, we’re hoping you’ll remember us—and help us live our golden years in comfort. Your support ensures we get everything we need: cozy bedding, tasty treats, and plenty of TLC.
With grateful hoofbeats,
Glory, Huck, & Buttercup
11/26/2024
Well done to Hannah on Skye, Alyssa on Spirit, Tabitha on Grace, and Sarah on Luna! Our EAL’s do a great job helping us school our horses during off weeks and provide them some variety from their daily jobs!
11/13/2024
Thank you to Caroline and her family for sharing their SPIRIT story! Read about it below ⬇️
“Caroline’s world was so tiny when she started therapeutic riding at Spirit, and she had no desire to explore more; everything seemed so big and scary. Her first horse, Cocoa Bean, wasn’t that much bigger than she was, so maybe that wasn’t so scary. But then she discovered that horses could go fast! And that was fun! She laughed and laughed and laughed. Still, to this day five years later, big smiles every time she gets to trot.”
10/17/2024
Thank you to Cheryl and her family for sharing their SPIRIT story! Read about it below ⬇️
“We attended a horse expo at Frying Pan Park a few years ago, which is where we found out about SPIRIT. We were looking for a therapeutic program that would allow Cheryl to spend time with horses, talk to them, practice grooming skills and have social interaction with other adults. The unmounted therapeutic program was exactly what we were looking for. Cheryl took part in riding programs when she was younger, but was no longer interested in riding. She looks forward to her time with the horses every week. On SPIRIT day, Cheryl’s mood is upbeat as she anticipates her session with her “kids” as she calls them. She has already chosen her outfit the day before (horse themed, of course). She dutifully prepares “treats” for the horses every week (apples and carrots). I think it is her favorite activity outside of therapy. She considers her therapists her friends and enjoys talking with them as well as the horses. SPIRIT is definitely the highlight of Cheryl’s week.”
10/14/2024
Please check our redesigned website sponsored by the Virginia Horse Industry Board (VHIB)! We are so grateful to the VHIB for this generous gift. Their sponsorship funded a redesign as well as an accessibility upgrade with Accessibe. This upgrade means our website is now ADA accessible with multiple different features. Not only does this redesign open up the possibility for more people to find us who need SPIRIT, it makes it easier on our end to maintain and update the website.
After you check out our updated website please head over to the Virginia Horse Industry Board website to see what they are all about and the causes they support.
10/09/2024
We are a few days late to wish Smudge a happy first anniversary at SPIRIT! From his first day it was clear he was born for this job, and he has become one of our most reliable horses in the program! Thank you to Kris D. for sponsoring Smudge!
10/02/2024
We are enjoying the transition into Fall!
10/02/2024
In 2017, SPIRIT packed up and moved our horses and belongings from a rental location bordering FPFP on to the park land we had just leased. During this transition, our future was uncertain. We purchased a lovely property to use as a safe landing spot if we needed to relocate. We named this property "Sully Farm" in honor of our biggest donor who was key to making the purchase possible. As it happens, in the last 7 years SPIRIT has grown and evolved, and there is no longer a need for us to keep Sully Farm - the Board of Directors has agreed to sell the property and use all profits to establish a reserve fund for continuing operations and growth in service to our mission. The decision to sell speaks volumes - we are proud of our continual service to Fairfax County Park Authority and our commitment to our clients and community. We'd be remiss if we didn't thank each and every one of our supporters (that's you!) as we've established ourselves and our home. Here's to the future!
09/27/2024
SPIRIT volunteers are the best! Thank you to Ashley Huang for creating this video!
SPIRIT Volunteers
09/24/2024
Shoutout to Jenna - she has been working hard with the rest of the staff during the transition of seasons here at the farm to ensure all of our programs run smoothly and that the horses and farm are cared for behind the scenes. Thanks for stepping up and filling in everywhere we need you, Jenna! ✨️ If you know Jenna, drop a thank you in the comments below!