Please add each person individually
Please help our children with a donation of $500.00 which will pay for ten therapeutic riding lessons.
Your donation of $250.00 will provide care for our horses for two weeks.
Your donation of $100.00 will pay for two lessons for one of our riders.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of our Xenophon volunteers. Alyson Sayuk-Rodriguez lost a battle to cancer on December 3rd . Alyson is the daughter of our instructor, Wanda Sayuk. Alyson was involved with Xenophon both through her mom and as an exercise rider for our horses. Her family said Xenophon held a very special place in her heart. Alyson was 32 years old. Our hearts go out to Wanda and John; Alyson’s husband, Carlos; and her brother, Greg, and sister-in-law, Tiffany. The family has requested that donations be made to Xenophon in lieu of flowers, and have asked that these funds be used for scholarships. If you would like to donate, please mail checks to PO Box 16, Orinda, CA 94563. Please make a note that donations are in memory of Alyson.
November 19th saw the end of our 2011 season. Despite construction delays we managed to operate 2 sessions of therapeutic riding and, thanks to the generous use of their facilities at Leap of Faith Farms in Walnut Creek, we were able to operate 3 sessions of hippotherapy. We were excited to begin operations in August at our new facility and for the first time ever we did not miss a day due to heat or rain. We also continued operations up until Thanksgiving for the first time ever. Our lighted covered arena was appreciated even more as the days got shorter, and parents and volunteers alike enjoyed the new heated office as the weather turned cold. While we were unable to hold our annual horse show this year, the last week of classes was filled with fun games and friendly competitions, along with the presentation of ribbons to every rider at the end of their lesson.
The staff at Xenophon wish you all a very a happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you in February of 2012 when we will make our change from a seasonal to year-round program.
ANNUAL PATH CONFERENCE IN KENTUCKY
This year, thanks to a very successful gala, Xenophon was able to assist 6 of its instructors in attending the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International’s (PATH) national conference in Kentucky. Over 775 people attended the conference from centers all over the United States and other parts of the world. There were 2 days of intensive classroom workshops and one day of practical workshops at the Kentucky Horse Park. Our instructors were energized and excited to be with so many peers and participate in advanced education and practices in our field. All brought back new ideas to enhance our program.
SAVE THE DATE – SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012
Be sure to mark your calendars for Xenophon’s annual gala event. Please note the new venue! This year’s gala, “An Enchanted Emerald Eve”, will be held at the Round Hill Country Club in Alamo. Our committee is hard at work and it should be a fabulous event. Invite your family, friends, and colleagues.
HALLOWEEN FUN
Many of our staff and students got into the Halloween spirit during our Halloween week celebration. We had costumes, games and special snacks. Fun was had by all.
Xenophon had a special visit to the center on Saturday, October 29th. The Lion’s Club of Walnut Creek came to visit to see our new horse, “Dandie”, in action. Dandie, whose full name is Dandelion, was purchased for Xenophon by the Walnut Creek Lion’s Club. True to form, Dandie showed what a special horse she is carrying her 2 students with special care, and allowing Aidan, one of our more advanced riders, a chance to show off his independent riding skills. In addition to their visit, the group worked to plant 3 redwood trees on our hillside. A big thank you goes to the Lion’s Club for their donation and for planting our trees.
For the 11th straight year, Xenophon participated in the Week of Caring and was the fortunate recipient of donated hours by both Wells Fargo and Chevron Corporation. Week of Caring is a county wide effort, spearheaded by the Volunteer Center of the East Bay, where corporations allow their employees time off from work to help local non-profits. This year we had a group of 8 people from Wells Fargo who came and built a brand new, 2-stall wash rack. A second group of 12 people from Chevron also came during the week and took on the task of painting our new office and sitting area. Both projects hugely enhanced our site. We are very grateful to the generous men and women of both of these companies for all of their hard work. Thank you from the staff, students and horses at Xenophon.
Wells Fargo Workers
Chevron helper paints office
Chevron people at work
The Chevron Crew
The Wells Fargo Helpers
Thanks to Chevron
What an amazing evening! The party to celebrate the opening of our new covered arena was so much fun. We were joined by 100 friends of Xenophon to honor those who helped to make this possible: Clark Construction, McGuire and Hester, The Lescure Company, Contra Costa Electric, and ISEC.
The evening started with a banjo band before dinner, then a delicious BBQ dinner. After dinner the DJ played country and western music and we danced the night away. It was a sparkling start to a new phase for Xenophon.
Charles Wilhelm generously donated his time last Friday, August 26th, to put on a ground manners clinic for our Xenophon horses and volunteers. The clinic focused on developing a relationship of leadership with the horse. Charles focused on teaching how to do this by getting the horse to respect personal space and to move their feet away from the handler when asked. Our four Xenophon horses were brought in and Charles demonstrated with each one of them. He had all 4 working around him in minutes and ground tying in the arena. It was fabulous to watch. Many of our horse handlers were then able to try. It was a refreshing and fabulous learning experience by both the participants and those that audited. Thank you, Mr. Wilhelm for donating your time and providing us with this wonderful opportunity. Our horses thank you as well.
We made it! After a wet spring, with many delays and a summer full of construction, we are officially open and running lessons in our brand new facility. Our covered arena is beautiful and is it is at least 10 degrees cooler due to the shade and a light breeze that blows through the structure. The horses seem happy in their new surroundings and they surely must appreciate the shade as well. Our new office and sitting area is homey and welcoming and the new deck has provided a lovely place for parents to sit and watch their child ride. We are still finishing up some important pieces. The electrical is still being installed and should be finished the end of this week, and the plumbing is going in, but all in all we couldn’t have asked for a better result. A big thank you goes to Neil Howry, Chuck Harris, Clark Construction, McGuire and Hester, Contra Costa Electrical, The Lescure Company, ISEC company who built our deck, Garden Lights, and of course, PG&E who allowed all this to happen.
Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who turned out for our Saturday Work Day on August 20th. Many hands made very light work of all that had to be done to get the center ready. We moved into the new office and sitting area, put in the loft in our tack shed (thank you Terry Murphy and Ron Bass for taking on that hot stuffy job), stained the deck, moved hay, cleaned out the hay shed and tool shed, and many other tasks. It was a very successful day.
Our first student to ride in the new covered arena…
