Issue 41 December 2014

Mark your calendars!

Course A Student & Volunteer Dates

January 5 - March 29, 2015

Student & Volunteer Awards Party

January 17, 2015, 2-4:00 PM

Open Arena Riding Bring your horse out and ride in the large indoor arena! Go

to the HETRA Website to sign up for days & times

SAVE THE DATE!

Blue Jeans & Dreams May 2, 2015

Interested in touring the

new Gretna Barn? Go to events page of HETRA

The Heartland Hoofbeat Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy

Follow us on Social Media

Preparing for Winter - Thank you HDR!

HETRA

10130 S. 222nd St.

Gretna, NE 68028

(402) 359-8830

www.HETRA.org

With the recent arctic blast, winter has officially arrived! HETRA staff and volunteers have worked hard to winterize the new facility. The heaters in the stall area have been serviced so volunteers and horses are warm while getting ready for sessions. The new handicapped accessible restrooms that were installed in the fall are now heated. Next on the project list is heating & insulation of the indoor arena.

In late November HETRA was awarded an $81,550 grant from HDR to cover the cost of heating and insulating the indoor arena. HDR, Inc. is an architectural, engineering and consulting firm based in Omaha. This project will be completed over the holiday break, so it will not interfere with the lesson schedule. By January 5th, the start of Course A, the students, horses and volunteers will be toasty warm during sessions!

The next project on the list is to run water and electrical lines to the outside pens. Staff are currently running hoses from the barn to water the horses living outside. We are also using propane heaters to keep the water tanks from freezing. Running these lines will allow the installation of automatic heated water tanks as well as lighting for the volunteers, staff and horses. We have received quotes and the estimated cost is $8,000 to complete this project. If you are interested in supporting the winterization project please contact us at (402) 359-8830, or visit our website at www.HETRA.org.

The HETRA Tack Shack

is now open! We are

stocked with many items!

Call us to set up a time to

come and shop -

(402) 359-8830. Looking for that perfect Christmas Gift?

Are you looking for some gift ideas for that hard buy for horse lover?

Gift certificates for riding sessions, day camps and to the Tack Shack are available in the office. Just give us a call and we can mail you a gift certificate for that special HETRA student! They make great stocking stuffers!

Make a donation or sponsor a horse in honor of that special person in your life. Donations can be made from the HETRA website at www.HETRA.org or you can mail your donation to HETRA, 10130 S. 222nd St, Gretna, NE 68028. We will be happy to send acknowledgement to the person you are honoring.

Shopping via the internet is the perfect opportunity to double your giving with the click of a button. When you shop on Amazon this year, please select HETRA as the beneficiary of your Amazon Smile points. Amazon shares part of the proceeds with HETRA every time a customer selects us. There is no additional cost to the shopper. For that person that has everything, consider selecting a gift from HETRA’s Amazon Wish List in his or her honor. We'll send a note letting them know a gift has been received in their name (just let us know where to send the note.) Goodshop is another on-line shopping site that gives back. Select HETRA as your non-profit of choice when you log on. TAGG (Together A Greater Good) offers a free mobile app that when used at over 80 local businesses, the business will donate a percentage of your purchase back to HETRA.

Issue 41 December 2014

Nebraska Dressage Association hosts event at Gretna Barn

On October 18th and 19th, the Nebraska Dressage Association (NDA) hosted

a symposium featuring Olympic Canadian Dressage rider and trainer, David

Marcus at HETRA. It was a great success!

Eight riders and horses of all levels, received one on one training with David

Marcus. Those who were not able to ride were able to watch and learn,

including many HETRA instructors and staff. Everyone had the opportunity

to learn from the clinic including the importance of saddle fit to the finer

points of collection.

Additionally, the NDA and its’ members were kind enough to donate items

to HETRA including a bag of Equine Senior Feed, polo wraps, paper

towels, and paper. Thank you NDA members for the donations and an

amazing and educational event!

On November 9th, HETRA hosted a screening of “Riding My Way Back”, the story of a human, a

horse, and hope. The “Riding My Way Back” film project educates, promotes, and brings awareness

to the powerful healing of therapeutic riding for our veterans, and has won multiple film awards.

The screening gave HETRA the opportunity to spread information about our Equine Services for

Heroes Program. For more information on this film go to www.ridingmywayback.com

Documentary Screening at HETRA

Special Thanks The Gretna Area Chamber of Commerce awarded HETRA with the 2014

Non-Profit Service Award! Special thank you to the Gretna Area Chamber and all those that voted for HETRA. We are very excited to be a part of this wonderful community.

Thanks to the Kiewit Companies who held a jeans day and donated supplies from HETRA’s wish list.

Thanks to volunteers from Bellevue University for volunteering at HETRA during the United Way's Day of Caring 2014. On Friday, October 10th, over 800 volunteers converged across the Omaha-Council Bluffs-Bellevue metro area with one goal: to make a difference through volunteerism on United Way’s Day of Caring. Dozens of projects later, our city has been changed for the better. Thanks to the local individuals, companies, organizations and nonprofits that this year's special day of volunteerism was a success. Your commitment to change is an inspiration - and by combining your efforts, you make our Community Strong.

Thanks to Metro Omaha Medical Society for awarding HETRA a $2,970 grant to fund student sponsorships.

Thanks to everyone who attended the 2014 Ranch Run. This run was organized by the members of St. Augustine Episcopal Church and was held in Skyline Ranches on October 19th. Close to $2,000 was raised for HETRA.

On August 20th, volunteers from Farm Credit Services helped with barn cleanup tasks. Thank you for all your help!

Hubbard Feed Inc - HETRA was selected for the Hallmark Charity Award - Their $5,000 donation will go towards feed and care for our amazing therapy horses.

Thanks to Midlands Community Foundation for awarding HETRA a $3,775 grant for printing marketing material to be used in the Cass and Sarpy County area.

HETRA Development Director, Jodi Teal, accepts the

Gretna Area Chamber Non-Profit Service Award.

Issue 41 December 2014

HETRA’s miniature horses are now available during regular lessons! Before moving to the new barn, they were only

available to students during HETRA Summer and Jimando camps. They are great for grooming, leading, and to

introduce students who are afraid of the big horses. The “minis” have also been great HETRA ambassadors to the

public, appearing at many public events and marketing booths. Read below to learn more about the minis!

Meet the Mini’s

Name: Belle

Gender: Mare

Age: 22

Breed: Miniature Horse

Time at HETRA: 1 ½ Years

Favorite activities: Being

groomed, having her mane

braided, snacking with Stormy

Reflecting on 2014 at Jimando Farms

Name: Stormy

Gender: Mare

Age: 4

Breed: Miniature Horse

Time at HETRA: 1 ½ Years

Favorite activities: Being led,

rolling, playing with Belle,

getting Dirty!

2014 was very busy at Jimando Farms. We completed three driving days and six miniature horse camps at the farm.

These events included collaborations with three outside organizations, 36 participants, and 110 volunteer hours.

All of our regular Miniature Horse Camps this year featured special themes. The non-horse stations (and occasionally the horse stations) were built around these themes. At Pirate Camp, students went on a scavenger hunt to find all the necessary pirate regalia such as their eye patch. During Cowboy/girl Camp, HETRA instructor Tom taught the basics of roping. These themes added a new level of fun and learning to the camps and had students coming back for more.

The first collaboration of the year was with Conservation Fusion. They agreed to partner with us for a second year of Mini’s and Madagascar Camp. Students got to learn about the people and lemurs of Madagascar. As part of camp, they decorated signs which are in Madagascar now being hung in the school Conservation Fusion built for the students there. HETRA’s second collaboration was with Easter Seals Nebraska. As part of a weekend respite camp, Easter Seals brought a diverse group of students to Jimando to learn about and work with the HETRA Miniature Horses. This event included 12 Easter Seals students, 6 Easter Seals staff, 3 miniature horses, 1 welsh pony, 3 HETRA instructors, and 9 HETRA volunteers for the largest Miniature Horse Camp ever held at the farm.

During Mini’s and Space Camp, students learned about astronomy and even got to perform a few experiments. At the end of camp, they each received a free ticket to a show at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Mallory Kountze Planetarium courtesy of the UNO Physics Department.

2014 was a great year for HETRA at Jimando Farms. Everyone at HETRA looks forward to another year of partnership at Jimando Farms and with the Dolan Family. HETRA Student enjoying a Jimando Driving Day

Interested in becoming a HETRA Student or Volunteer?

HETRA offers a variety of services including,

Therapeutic Riding, Hippotherapy, Therapeutic

Carriage Driving, Veteran Services and Public Riding.

All sessions are conducted by a PATH, Intl. certified

riding instructor or therapist. If you are interested in

getting a student registered or have more questions

please visit our website at www.HETRA.org or call us

at (402) 359-8830.

HETRA is always looking for dedicated, motivated

individuals to become part of our team. Volunteers are

needed on weekday evenings and weekends. We also

have volunteer opportunities available during the day to

help clean stalls. If you are interested in volunteering

please contact Sara at sara@hetra.org or call

(402) 669-1504.

Issue 41 December 2014

Save the Date!!

Blue Jeans & Dreams

May 2, 2015

HETRA is wrapping up the 2014 Annual Drive to Ride Campaign! Funds raised by the campaign go straight to the

Student Sponsorship Fund. HETRA endeavors to never turn a student away for a financial reasons, and funds raised

during this campaign allow HETRA to financially assist many families. Volunteers and staff have been working

together to help each fundraising team headed by a HETRA student. Teams set fundraising goals, and as they reach

certain levels, the student receives discounted or free services. Check below to see the progress of each team.

Team Alexis – $100.00

Team Arslan - $35.00

Team Caroline - $80.00

Team Daniel - $250.00

Team Drew - $24,395.00

Team Ethan - $4,800.00

Team Gracie - $50.00

Team Jack - $1,351.05

Team Jacob - $400.00

Team Logan - $739.14

Team Maddie S. - $41.05

Team Mariah - $220.00

Team Marissa - $75.00

Team Marley - $14.50

Team Molly - $910.44

Team Payton - $50.00

Team Tristan - $100.00

Drive to Ride Teams still raising funds for Student Sponsorship

10130 S. 222nd Street

Gretna, NE 68028