To support the mission of the Spring Creek Horses Help Foundation, a family fun hoedown will be held at the Spring Creek Equestrian Center on Saturday, August 6th. This event, held from 10 a.m to 2 p.m at 16771 Pardee Road in Three Oaks, will offer games, face painting, vendor sales, snow cones, and more!
This “Down On The Farm Hoedown”, will support the nonprofit foundation, giving back to the community while introducing youth to the world of horses. Sally Bogert, volunteer and cofounder of Spring Creek Horses Help Foundation, tells us “We held a similar event in the Summer of 2020, called the Summer Bash, but we had to skip it in 2021 due to COVID.”
“In 2021, Spring Creek had sixteen children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor (now the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Southwest Michigan) attend classes on horse care and behavior and horse-back riding,” says Sally. The course ran for four consecutive Saturdays, and the project was hugely successful. “One of the most rewarding moments each time we hold a class is watching the children the first time they touch, groom, and fall in love with a horse.”
All funds raised from the hoedown will go directly into the Spring Creek Horses Help Foundation, an equine-based educational program that teaches horse behavior, barn and horse care, and horsemanship for local, under-resourced children and adults. In the Fall, the River of Life Christian School in Benton Harbor will be partnering with Spring Creek to send their fourth, fifth, and sixth graders to the farm for a similar class.
“During programs like this, the young people not only learn about horses, but they build critical life skills, including responsibility, teamwork, empathy, and confidence,” says Spring Creek. The Foundation covers all program costs, valued at approximately $465 per student, which includes classes, a Spring Creek Horses Help Foundation hoodie, snacks, and educational materials for the course.
Spring Creek Equestrian Center is owned by Alison Grosse, accomplished lifelong rider, who started the SCEC in 1995, and relocated it to Three Oaks in 2012. She also serves as the center’s trainer, and the President for the Foundation. The Spring Creek barn will be bustling with activity on August 6th, and weather permitting, will also offer line dancing, a mock horse show class, trail rides, a bake sale, and photo op with S’More the pony. This event is open to everyone, and promises fun for the whole family.
This full-service ‘equestrian center for everyone’, regularly hosts riding lessons, day camps, horse training, special events, and has active riding clubs that participate in horse shows. To learn more about this event and the work that Spring Creek Equestrian Center does in the community, please visit springcreek-equestrian.com.
By Jocelyne Tuszynski, MOTM Contributor
