Our workshop on June 8th-11th was very successful! We had a group of 3 female veterans named Christina, Alexandria and Mary. Each of their horsemanship skills improved greatly over the 3 days they were here.

One of our vets, Mary, began the workshop with a fear of horses. She explained how she grew up watching Mexican cowboy movies, where the horses are made out to be very violent. The horses in the movies would always attack and trample people and run them over. We explained to her that horses are naturally very gentle creatures, and they would only behave that way if they felt like they needed to in order to survive. As long as they feel safe they will be kind and willing partners. Over the weekend, Mary worked with Eva and she reported that Eva cured her of her fear!

This particular group of veterans really bonded with each other over the course of the weekend. They had a campfire every evening, where they shared stories of their experiences in the military. On the end of our final day, our team member Jewels led a sharing game where we each shared something that made us happy, then sad, then grateful. Everyone was very vulnerable and genuine with their shares, and we all got to know and understand each other on a very deep level. It was evident that these veterans took away a lot from their time with the horses and each other.

This group also very much enjoyed getting to spend time with the cats and the dogs of Living Free Animal Sanctuary. We took some of the dogs for a walk around the property, which resulted in Alex filling out a application to adopt one of the dogs! We also always have at least one cat person. Christina would never have left the cattery on her own free will.

Every one of the vets from this group was excited about the idea of coming back for Part 2 and they were making plans to return on their final day here. They all really bonded with their horses over the weekend too, and requested that they work with the same horses when they return.

In addition to working with the horses, the group took some time to unwind at nearby Lake Hemet.

All in all, it was a memorable weekend! Take a minute to browse the photos below.