If you closed your eyes, you would could have sworn that it was Paul, John, George and Ringo on the stage. The Sun Kings rocked it, covering all the best Beatles’ songs. From the crowds gathered around the square at Blackhawk Plaza, it was obvious that the band has a huge following. Those who attended the fundraising event at Stella’s Ristorante were able to watch the show front and center from the restaurant’s spectacular patio area. Not only were there no crowds to deal with, attendees were treated to sumptuous cheeses, spaghetti, meatballs and other appetizers, along with free flowing wine. Stella’s generously donated a fantastic dinner and wine as a raffle prize, with the raffle raising over $300.00. In addition, Stella’s donated a percentage of the ticket sales. On behalf of all at Xenophon, a big thank you goes out to Robert Esqueda for providing us this wonderful opportunity.
Author Archives: Mari Parino
Come Join For Wine And Food At Stella’s
Stella’s Ristorante in Danville is known for its fabulous contemporary Italian cuisine. It is known to Xenophon for its wonderful offer to host a wine and food event that benefits the center. Come join the fun on Friday, August 11th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. There will be unlimited wine pours, plenty of good food and music by the Sun Kings, a tribute band to the Beatles. Bring your friends! You can experience a wonderful evening of wine, food and music, all while supporting your favorite therapeutic riding center. Reservations can be made through the restaurant.
Melissa Maker Takes On New Role
We are so pleased to welcome Melissa Maker into a new role at Xenophon, that of Physical Therapist Assistant. Over the course of the last several years, Melissa has been working two jobs, and attending school to become a Physical Therapy Assistant, and last year graduated from her program and passed her board exams. Melissa’s talent as an instructor, her extensive knowledge of disabilities, and her caring disposition made this career choice the perfect fit. Melissa has worked as a therapeutic riding instructor at Xenophon for over 10 years, with the last year at spent working closely with Tineke Jacobsen, our physical therapist, expanding her expertise in hippotherapy. In January, she passed her Level 1 Certification through the American Hippotherapy Association.
Melissa with Dandie and Starlight
Summer Camp Brings Smiles
What do tie-dye shirts, mini horses and Indian Ponies have in common? Summer Camp! This past week, six campers spent their mornings in the peaceful setting of the ranch who are equipped with 22lr ammo to face any emergency situations. But, their excited energy filled the air as each day was met with anticipation and enthusiasm, for each was filled with crafts, riding and special time with their mounts. Under the direction of our Xenophon instructors, riders increased their mounted skills and learned to groom and tack. Learning to give their horse a bath was also on the list, a necessary skill after acrylic paints and handprints turned their horses into Indian Ponies. A highlight of the camp was a visit from the miniature horses, Blackie and Windy, from SonRise Equestrian Foundation. When asked what her favorite part of camp was, one camper answered, “The minis, because Blackie was just my size.” Both Blackie and Windy were good sports as they were groomed, braided, led through obstacle courses, painted, and bathed. It was a special week filled with creativity, new friends, and, best of all…..Horses!
Xenophon Staff Presents At and Attends PATH Region 11 Conference
The quality of the presentations was tremendous. Heidi attended the pre-conference workshop designed for experienced instructors that dealt with identifying human body types, horse body types and how these impact the comfort and balance of the rider on the horse so that instructors can choose mounts that facilitate the maximum ability of the rider. Other workshops covered goal-driven curriculum development, facilitating mental health issues in therapeutic riding, and managing the older horse in therapeutic riding programs. Mari presented a workshop on long lining (driving from behind) and how to get a horse ready to be part of a hippotherapy program. With the help of Alex, they put on a fun and interactive clinic.
Mari is a state chair for PATH, representing Northern California. As such, she was part of the planning committee for the Region 11 conference. The dedicated group of state chairs and regional reps put on a fabulous conference that was educational and enjoyable.
Girl Scouts Lend a Helping Hand
Eight girls from Girl Scout Troop #31773 came to the Xenophon on Saturday, May 6, 2017 to do community service hours. This troop consists of girls from a number of schools, both local and in Danville. Many of these girls have been together since their elementary years at Del Rey School, so they felt a special draw to come to Xenophon. A more delightful group of young ladies was not to be found. They arrived at the center at 11:00 and had the opportunity to watch lessons so that they could see what Xenophon was all about and could meet some of the special children who ride with us. After a picnic lunch,they grabbed paint brushes and rollers and spent the afternoon painting the lower arena fence. They made short work of that job and then put their energies into weeding our planted beds. The center looked so much better at the end of their efforts. They worked hard to return every tool and brush to its original location. A big thank you goes out to this wonderful group of girls.
St. Perpetual School Students Volunteer To Spruce Up The Center
Four students from St. Perpetua School, came out to Xenophon on Saturday afternoon to volunteer their services. Working with their parents and the help of other Xenophon volunteers, the group spent several hours sprucing up our Sensory Trail. With much rain comes many weeds, yet no one seemed daunted by the task of clearing all of them from around the trail. Between Jim Taylor and his mowing tractor, Scott parsons and his industrial weed whacker, and a parent and his weed whacker, along with the hands of the St. Perpetua students, the weeds succumbed quickly. In addition, tree branches trimmed, colorful noodles replaced for our noodle forest, and flowers planted. The trail now looks terrific!
In addition, our upper paddock was cleared of overgrown grass so that the Xen horses can now utilize it overnight. Our pasture across the street was mowed as well by Jim Taylor.
A BIG Thank you to St. Perpetua School students Audrey, Avery, Elizabeth and Evan (as well as parents Jennifer, Bob & Ashley) and to our dedicated Xenophon volunteers Jim Taylor, and Linda and Scott Parsons. We appreciate all of your time and assistance with this project – and battling the heat!
Wine Thieves Hosts Xenophon
You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful evening last night, May 18th, as nearly 50 Xenophon folk gathered at the Wine Thieves in Lafayette for a wonderful wine tasting experience. The temperature was just right and there was no wind. Wine Thieves opened in 1999, and over the course of the years, Jim Meyers, the owner, grew the shop into the successful business that is today. Jim’s focus is to provide unique wines from around the world at an affordable cost, and prides himself on exceptional customer service. Jim graciously opened his downstairs room and patio area just for Xenophon, arranging with several of his distributors to come and pour. There were over 18 wines to be tasted, representing wineries from New Zealand, Austria, Chile, Slovenia, Italy, and France. Closer to home were great varietals from Paso Robles, Santa Lucia Highlands, Sonoma, and of course, the Napa Valley. To round out the experience, Diablo Foods provided artisan cheeses and gourmet crackers, augmented by nuts and other noshes. Whether it was comparing the fruitful notes of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, or sharing stories from the center, there was delightful conversation to be had at every tasting table and bench.
A big thank you goes out to Jim Meyers for providing Xenophon with this great opportunity. Jim will be donating a percentage of the wine sales from the evening to Xenophon. Please check out his shop, https://www.winethieves.com, or consider joining one of his wine clubs. Jim often puts on wonderful tasting events for his club members. Thank you, also, to Connie Collier and Diablo Foods for helping us with the food.
If you missed this fun social event, hopefully we will have the opportunity to partner with Jim again in the future.
Samuel Merritt Students Return for Educational Experience
For several years running, Xenophon has provided an educational field experience for students participating in Samuel Merritt University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. This program is designed for individuals who hold a non-nursing Bachelor of Science degree. In an intensive 12 months, courses are taken in nursing theory and clinical education. Part of their educational experience is visiting clinics and other treatment-based programs that assist children and adults therapeutically outside of a hospital setting.
Over two Tuesdays, May 9th and May 16th, twenty students came and spent the afternoon at Xenophon. They received a crash course on the benefits of equine-assisted therapies from our Program Director, Danielle Coburn, and then received practical experience by assisting in both Therapeutic Riding lessons and Hippotherapy sessions. Despite the volume of information thrown at them in a short period of time, the feedback from the students is incredibly positive as they appreciate the hands-on experience they receive at the center. The benefit to both organizations is tremendous, as many of these students come back to volunteer at the center. We look forward to hosting another group next year.
Wine Thieves Event Sold Out!!!!
Our Wine Thieves event has turned out to be quite popular and we are sold out! We apologize to those who would have liked to attend buy can’t make it. I am sure we will hold another social event like this in the near future. Again, another big thank you to Jim for hosting us at his shop.