At a charity horse show in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland, over $11,000 was raised on August 24 to help Stable Life, a registered non-profit organization that supports wellness and mental health through an Equine Assisted Program.
Stable Life created its Spirit Horse Program in memory of a local woman, Alison Walsh, who lost her battle with mental illness at the age of 25. Walsh’s horse Tinker inspired the idea and the program was born.
Each year, Stable Life hosts a fundraiser called Spirit Horse Day; last year the group built an arena. “This year it was decided that a horse show would be a good event to raise awareness and funds and to get the horse community more involved,” says Stable Life program director Erin Gallant in a CBC video:
Tinker also took part in the show and is a big part of the equine therapy program, where participants interact with horses, usually from the ground. “Horses are a mirror of us, and they reflect back to us how we’re feeling,” says Gallant. “When you’re struggling with anxiety or mental health issues often you need something to empower you, and a horse empower us, but they also carry some of the load or burden we might be feeling and they help us release it.”
The horse show was a success, drawing 24 riders, and the funds raised will go to horse care and costs associated with running the program to ensure that it is affordable to those who need it.
