Check out the Great Strides photos!
The EFMHA (Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association) Board congratulates Terry Lewis for being named NARHA Region #2 Instructor of the Year. She was nominated by the staff, and the photo was taken at the official recognition at the NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) Conference in mid-November. (Our Board Chair Brad accepted the award for Terry - that's him in the maroon Great Strides shirt in front!)
Our Online Dance Party and Benefit in Second Life was a Blast!
We had a great time at our Dance Party in Second Life, with 50 people in attendance. We raised awareness, friends and funds ... all at the same time! DJ services were provided courtesy of DJ Nexeus Fatale (Thanks, Nexeus!) The dance space provided courtesy of AMO Island (Thanks, In Kenzo!) The image is from the AvaStar, a publication in Second Life.
Great Strides Hearts & Hooves Event was a great success! Terry Lewis was honored for being named NARHA Region #2 Instructor of the Year. She was nominated by the staff, and is shown here being recognized during our event by Joy, Linus, Cat and Elise.
Great Strides Hosts Hearts & Hooves Event was a great success!
Hearts & Hooves Host Committee:
Mike Knapp, Vice President, Montgomery County Council
Honorary Chairperson
David O'Connor, Olympic Equestrian Gold Medalist
Karen O'Connor, Olympic Equestrian Bronze Medalist
Derick Berlage,
Carol Brunetto,
Victoria Carson,
Carolyn DelGrosso,
Mike Erskine,
Dan Leiter,
Laurie Savage,
Randy Scritchfield, and
Kathleen Sentkowski
Thanks to our generous event sponsors, donors, and funders who made this event possible!
Great Strides Wins Henry L. Dixon Community Action Board Award!
The Community Service Awards recognize individuals and organizations in the community that uplift the promise of Community Action, "to change people's lives, embody the spirit of hope, improve communities, and make America a better place to live." The Community Service Awards are named in honor of the late Henry L. Dixon, a long-standing member of the Community Action Board (CAB). He was a vocal representative of the CAB and a friend to low-income residents of the County.
Pictured above (from left) are Brad Lewis, Board Chair; Lauren Newman, Administrator of CSN; Karen Morris, Montgomery County Program Manager; and Joy Gill, Executive Director.
We had a great Earth Day!
Thirty volunteers came out on Earth Day to help us plant and weed and take care of our grounds. The team of dedicated volunteers then enjoyed a well-deserved "Thank-Q Barbeque" and received recognition certificates for their many hours of service.
Thanks, to all our volunteers, we truly couldn't do it without you.
Welcome to our Newly Expanded Leadership Team!
Great Strides is pleased to introduce our newly expanded leadership team. Our new Executive Director, Joy Gill (back row, right side) joins us as Terry Lewis (front row, right side) moves to be our Clinical Director. With them are Colleen Steigler, Marj Hollis, Elise Scott (l to r back row) and Emily Osborne (left side, front row). Joining them is Zacky Lewis, the newest addition to the Great Strides family.
Thanks, y'all, you are the glue that keeps the Great Strides magic growing so strongly.
Welcome to our new Board Members! (Fall 2006)
Great Strides welcomes our new (and not as new) board members. Here you see our board hard at work (left to right): Christopher Payne, Barb Jones, Tom Sardelis, Cydne Nash, Joyce Watanabe, Sharon Cash, Executive Director Terry Lewis and Patty Harmon. Thanks, y'all, you are our foundation and we appreciate your time and work to keep the Great Strides magic growing so well.
Our Newest Arrival
Caramel's baby mule.
Great Strides was pleasantly surprised to learn that Caramel had given birth
to a lovely little mule at the Great Strides farm, back in February. This little lady is spunky and fun and we all fell instantly in love. She's currently at another farm, weaning off of her Mom, but she'll be back!
Click on her photo to see pictures of her first day at Great Strides.
Big sky at Great Strides Farm!
Our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Festival of Horses, 2005
Great Strides was joined by many dignitaries at our Ribbon Cutting for the new Indoor Arena. (L to R: Mike Erskine, Pres. Maryland Horse Council; County Council Member Nancy Floreen, State Delegate Karen Montgomery; County Council Member Mike Knapp; County Council Member Steve Silverman; His Highness Linus; Terry Lewis, Executive Director; Amy Sickel, Board Chair; and Brad Lewis, Board Treasurer.)
Our Annual Fall Festival was Saturday, October 15 from 11 am to 5 pm & we had a blast! The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Indoor Arena was a great success with 3 County Council members and 2 State Delegates and the President of the Maryland Horse Council attending! (See the home page for a photo.) We had fall food (hot cider, donuts, fruit and hot dogs), riding demonstrations (driving, dressage and other styles that don't begin with a "D") and a huge tack sale Thanks to our board and volunteers for making it such a wonderful day!
Hurricane Katrina Hay Relief
Great Strides is grateful to all those who contributed to our collection of hay and feed for horses affected by Hurricane Katrina in September of 2005. In response to urgent requests from the Louisiana Farm Bureau, the director of the horse rescue center near Baton Rouge, and the LSU horse rescue hotline, our Executive Director Terry Lewis and board member Vicki Carson spearheaded this very successful effort. We worked with rescue and relief workers in Louisiana and Mississippi to coordinate getting them help in the form of donations and supplies. Over just two weeks we collected over $8,350 and over 640 bales of hay for horses stranded or abandoned in the Gulf region. Thanks, again! Click here to see photos of our hay relief effort!
Great Strides moved and you can get a look, right now! For more photos of the farm click here!
Our barn
Brad & Terry hang out with Linda Kohanov at the
Annual NARHA Conference in November, 2003.
Congratulations to Terry on becoming an Approved Instructor in the Epona Approach
In November 2005 Terry Lewis graduated from her year-long training to become an Epona Approved Instructor, under the tutelage of Linda Kohanov. Linda is the New York Times best-selling author of the Tao of Equus and her methods and approach will greatly enrich our programming and our healing work. Learn more about Epona Equestrian Services at: www.taoofequus.com.
Wow, what a great donation this was to our 2003 Silent Auction!
Olympic Gold Medalists David and Karen O'Connor generously donated posters, horseshoes and other items to our Silent Auction!
The Festival of Horses, was fun, again, this year! The festival took place on Sunday, September 14 from 11 am - 5 pm
We had a good crowd of staff, friends and family for the 2003 Damascus Day Parade. Linus and Cupcake came out to meet their adoring public and were universally loved. What a couple of ponies!
Sara turned 22 and got a 14-carrot necklace for her birthday! Don't forget to join us at the Festival of Horses, this year! The festival will be on Saturday, October 16, 2004 (Rain Date - Sunday, the 17th) (Click on the picture to learn more about our horses...)
Maryland Home and Community Care Foundation (MHCCF) has awarded Great Strides a grant for $7,500 to support training for all of our staff this year. They will attend the NARHA and Horsepower conferences! Terry Lewis and Nancy Talbot were treated to lunch and were received the news personally from MHCCF's Treasurer. Thanks MHCCF!
We had a great time staffing the Howard County Horse Show Association event at TaylorMade Stables on May 11 & 12, 2002 ...
Afterwards, Brad & Terry rode in the Old Peoples Riding Club (OPRC) classes. Special thanks to all our great volunteers who came out to work the event, including our judge - Rebecca Roach.
Learn more about OPRC by visiting their website. THANKS, OPRC!
Linus, one of our favorites, won 2002 Therapy Horse of the Year for NARHA Region 2! Congratulations, Linus ... what a guy!
Terry & Brad Lewis, our Clincal Director and Board Member, served as Faculty at Horsepower 2002, in February. They're now helping others who are starting new programs around the country!
Terry Lewis, our Clinical Director, has been in the media! She was heard on radio on Voice of America (VOA), and was featured in the Gazette Newspaper! (Click on the link to read the article.) She's pictured with Carol Pearson, host of "Talk To America" on VOA.
Terry and Brad attended the 2001 Annual NARHA Conference, in Seattle, WA, October 29 - November 3. They're pictured with Molly DePreckel, then-President of EFMHA the Equine Facillitated Mental Health Association
Our Treasurer actually rides! That's Sara and Pooh with him...
Terry and Brad meet Nita Jo Rush and Pat Parelli at the Maryland Horse Expo.
June 23 - 25 - Parelli Natural Horse*Man*Ship Clinic
Nita Jo Rush, PNH-Endorsed Instructor, from St. Cloud, MN presented a Two-Day Partnership (Level 1) Clinic & Harmony (Level 2) Private Lessons. Fourteen riders learned the Seven Games on the weekend, while another group worked on advanced levels on Monday. A good time was had by all and the fund-raiser was a success! To learn more about Nita Jo Rush, visit her website at:
www.pnhsavvy.com.
Wow! Jumping on command!
Former board members Teri Gruenberg and Amy Sickel with Clinical Director Terry Lewis at the 2001 Maryland Horse Expo.
Terry, Brad and Judy with Isabella "Boo" McDaniel at the 2001 Horsepower Conference, in Temple, NH.
Terry and Brad with Barbara Rector, co-founder of EFMHA at the 2001 Horsepower Conference, in Temple, NH.
Judy and Brad meet Nozomi Tsuda, from Tokyo, Japan, at the 2001 Horsepower Conference, in Temple, NH.
Great Strides supports EFMHA (the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association)
Visit EFMHA's listserv site at: EFMHA-Open Listserv.
The photos below are some of the EFMHA Listserv members, including two from Great Strides! Can you pick them out?
[Source: EFMHA Frappr Map page at: http://www.frappr.com/efmhaopen]
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