Ogreeta – High Lonesome Therapeutic Equestrian Center held an Easter event Saturday to bring the community together, celebrate their riders and give residents an opportunity to see the passion behind their work.
The day began at 9 a.m. with a $5 all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. There were also donuts, fruits, sausage, bacon and coffee available.
During this time, kids and adults alike had the opportunity to take photos with the Easter bunny and the barn’s miniature horse. Attendees were free to walk around to get to know some of the horses used during their therapeutic sessions and received plenty of love from the barn cats. There was also a game for guests to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar to win and prize and a raffle.
At 11 a.m., an Easter egg hunt was held with more than 300 eggs to find.
“Thank you to all the volunteers who helped set up, cook, decorate, hide eggs, get food donations, clean up and every other task needed to make this event so fun and successful,” High Lonesome shared on its Facebook page.
High Lonesome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is “to support growth and healing of the mind, body, and spirit of individuals with varying abilities in a therapeutic environment through a partnership with equines.” Working with horses can have major physical and emotional impacts for people with a wide variety of diagnoses.
High Lonesome offers a wide variety of services, such as therapeutic riding, recreational riding, and a 10-week veterans program. The center is also the official training barn for the Cherokee & Clay County Special Olympics Equestrian Team.
High Lonesome is always looking for volunteers and has different opportunities. Lesson volunteers commit to the same day/time for a six-week session and include side walker and horse leader positions.
They also have opportunities for volunteers as barn helpers and fundraising/event helpers that don’t require the same day/time commitment as lesson volunteers. If you are unable to volunteer, High Lonesome also accepts donations on their website, highlonesomestables.org
Details: High Lonesome Therapeutic Equestrian Center is at 15712 Joe Brown Highway, Murphy, NC 28906. Call 828-835-3739 or email highlonesomestables@gmail.com.