When founder of Faith Equestrian Therapeutic Center, Bonnie Rachael, was a teenager, she had no idea that through her love for horses, that her life would be used to help others, but seeds for service were planted in her at an early age. “I was just a wayward child who loved horses,” she said, and that love led her to Wicklow Stables in Savannah, where two women who cared for her would give her life direction. “Mary Heard and Barbara Lingle were great ladies who taught me about responsibility,” said Rachael. “They said if I cleaned stalls that I could ride, and that was all I needed to hear. They told me if I wanted to buy a horse that I needed to get a job. I got a job at Burger King and bought an untrained horse and boarded him at Wicklow, and they taught me how to train him. That was the seed that was planted about responsibilities.” As a young adult Rachael began her life of service to others, and she became a police officer – a mounted police officer, of course! While she and her police horse, Buster, protected Savannah’s streets another of her dreams came true – in 1992 she acquired five acres in Effingham County and she now had two horses. “God had a vision for my five acres,” said Rachael. “While I was still a police officer I read an article about a therapeutic center and I thought that was something I could do. I learned about PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship), and I got their book about how to get started, and that’s how it all began,” she said. “I wanted to do things professionally, and the book taught me the things I needed to know.” She and Buster retired from the police force, and she began her serious quest to build a therapeutic riding center. “In 2006 I had a small barn, three horses and two students. My first student was Daniele Collins; she had spinal bifida and had no feeling from the waist down. My second student was Michael Holton who has Downs Syndrome, and he continues to ride with me today. People volunteered to help, and an Eagle Scout, Alex Partain, built a work station for my barn. Another Eagle Scout built the original office building,” she said. “I always called it ‘The Little Red Schoolhouse, and now it’s used for the Pony Pal Camp and other educational tasks for the kids.” That was the beginning, and Rachael had no idea that God’s vision for Faith Equestrian was much larger. Fast forward to today: Faith Equestrian Therapeutic Center is celebrating 13 years of service to our community using Therapeutic Riding and Equine-facilitated Learning (EFL) to work with young individuals with disabilities. The results and growth of the program have been outstanding. Faith hired a program director, Hallie Myers, who has been instrumental in developing the school program: -They currently work with eight local public schools that bus their children with special needs to Faith Equestrian’s equine assisted learning program weekly throughout the school year. -They serve over 160 children annually including summer camp programs, therapeutic riding, and participation in local and state Special Olympics of GA horse shows. -They provide job training for young individuals with disabilities. Their mission is to help children thrive in our community and beyond using the power of the horse! “Growth is one of God’s blessings,” said Rachael. “I always want to be sure I do the right thing, but this, Faith Equestrian, has always been God’s plan, and the facility just took off! Now we have 12 therapeutic horses, serve over 160 kids, an education center, a covered arena and housing for employees! “I’ve always just walked in faith, and I’ve felt that I’ve just been along for the ride!”

At times Rachael would ponder a vision for the facility, and somehow seemingly impossible tasks would be performed by volunteers. It seemed like Faith Equestrian was being put together like a puzzle. When the EMD Chemical Corporation wanted to donate a three piece, twenty-one hundred square foot portable office building to Faith, Rachael wanted the building, but she had doubts: How would they get it there? The space to put it would require removing about 25 trees; how could that be accomplished? And it needed to be refurbished – another: how could that be accomplished? And, what would the building be used for? But by faith she accepted the generous offer. A volunteer with a back hoe removed all the trees, and Faith Equestrian won a generous in-kind grant from Gulf Stream that involved over 100 volunteers who would refurbish the building. Before work was begun on the building, and volunteers put side walks around the grounds for wheelchair use, and new fences for the horse enclosures. Then, in two days, the building itself was completely refurbished. It was repaired and painted inside and out, and at the end of the two days it was furnished and ready to go! It was an “Extreme Makeover” at Faith Equestrian! The building was furnished with a sofa and chair, office desks and a board room table. Shelves lined one wall and contained many needed supplies: everything from copy paper to cleaners! “It was a miracle!” said Rachael, “and I immediately knew what it would be used for – an educational center for Equine-facilitated Learning!” Equine-facilitated Learning (EFL) is an educational approach to equine-assisted activities. The primary intent is to facilitate personal growth and development of life skills through equine interactions. “Through riding and interacting with the horses, students develop strong work ethic, self-esteem and self-confidence,” said Rachael, “and we’re all about giving them self-confidence and self-esteem! They learn work skills and life skills so they can gain inclusion in society.” Rachael knew that Equine-facilitated Leaning would be extremely beneficial to students with special challenges, but “It was really hard to break into the school system,” said Rachael. “Teachers thought, ‘It’s a nice field trip. It’s a pony ride.’ They couldn’t comprehend how these students could greatly benefit from the horses. But seeing is believing, and teachers saw their kids open up with the horses. “Students who would not do physical therapy would look up to see a horse, and those students with constricted joints in their hands would let us open their fingers and put a brush in their hands, and teach them to use their muscles to brush a horse. The teachers were amazed! It was an eye opener, and the teachers became our advocates in the school system.” School Superintendent, Randy Sherouse, also became an advocate. After he was invited to watch some of the students interacting with the horses, he allowed a budget for bus transportation to bring the students to Faith. But God wasn’t finished with the facility. Next door to Faith Equestrian is a house on five acres that had been for sale for nine years, and you guessed it – it became part of Faith Equestrian. The house was refurbished and is used as housing for the program director. A most recent blessing is a covered riding arena has been built on the property. Money for the arena had been raised by the parents of Rachael’s first student Daniele Collins, who had passed away earlier that year. “She had been a really good friend,” said Rachael, “and we had dreamed about having a covered arena. It was built in her honor. The arena has been a catalyst for our growth – it was hard to get people to volunteer in the hot sun before the cover, and without volunteers the dream of Faith Equestrian could not have become a reality. The Faith staff, donors, volunteers, and of course the horses make it all happen.

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- Faith Equestrian Center is the only Premier Accredited Center in our Region. - The main focus at Faith Equestrian Center is now Equine-facilitated Learning, and eight Effingham County schools bring 70 students for weekly Equine Facilitated Learning sessions. - Therapeutic Riding is after school, Saturdays and evenings.

For more information, or to volunteer or donate: Office: 912/ 728 – 3728 and 912/ 655 - 1480 Website: faithetc.org