Heidi Richards | Horse Racing Free Tips

Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation: ‘When I Don’t See Them Returning To Prison, That Means Everything’

What inspires someone to fight for those who can't fight for themselves?

In the case of corrections officer Heidi Richards, she jokes that she has “selective hearing” when it comes to the word “No.” It took the horsewoman five long years to convince the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement an equine program at the Pleasant Valley State Prison, but Richards simply refused to give up.

“I kept on seeing inmates come back to prison,” Richards explained. “I fought so hard because I kept on seeing these kids come back. They were 20, 25, 30 years old and it's their second, third, fourth time coming back to prison. And I'm like, 'Why are you guys coming back to prison?' And they're like, 'Because you guys don't teach us anything.'”

Eight years later, Richards has founded a program that has seen zero of its graduates return to prison.

“About every three to four months I run their numbers, and when I don't see them returning to prison, that means everything,” Richards said. “Because it means every bit of hard work, every hour I donated to that program has paid off.”

A relative newcomer to the correctional system, Richards made the move from a position at Harris Ranch when her daughter was three years old. She wanted a job with more regular hours, and thought she might spend five years at the 40-hours-a-week gig.

Instead, Richards found she enjoyed the challenge.

Ten years in, Richards heard about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances program, which offers inmates the opportunity to learn how to work with horses, and decided to capitalize on her own horse experience to bring the program to California.

The TRF backed her right away, but the initial challenge was in convincing the Pleasant Valley warden to allow Richards to implement the program. After five years of wading through the red tape, the next challenge was in applying for the CDCR's Integrative Programming Grants. Only 52 grants were awarded throughout the entire state of California, and though Richards' was approved, it didn't include enough funding to pay for a project manager to put the whole program together.

“They were like, 'Well, it looks like we can't do it,'” Richard recalled. “And I was like, 'Oh, no, well, we can. We'll do this. It's going to happen.'”

Richards logged over 700 volunteer hours building the program from scratch.

“A lot of people helped me when I was a kid; people in the horse industry gave me horses, gave me tack, gave me lessons for free,” Richards said. “There were people who took me up to endurance races when I was like, 'I don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I want to go do this race.' I had a lot of people volunteer their time to me and never charged me.

“I always said if I ever got the chance I wanted to give back too, so that's what I did.”

The program includes five of the TRF's herd of retired racehorses. The inmates, in groups of 15 at a time, care for the horses and take college-level classes in anatomy, injury treatment, nutrition, and other aspects of the care of horses. West Hills College pays the instructional fees, which opens the door to possible careers as farriers, veterinary assistants and caretakers.

“By doing this, this pulls them and this gives them something, an option to get out of the gang lifestyle,” said Richards. “It's something they've never even dreamed about, never even knew about, because most of the students I have in my class have never even touched a horse.”

Richards' efforts earned her the 2020 Correctional Officer of the Year Award from the CDCR. The award honors a person who serves as a positive role model and fosters an environment that supports a balance between professional development, professional job performance, and personal wellness.

Today, Richards is preparing to open similar programs at two more California prisons.

“I remember thinking, 'Maybe I could make a difference,'” she said. “When I got the first horse on the grounds, I was like, 'Okay, I did it.' And then to see my first class graduate and these guys go home, and not come back, that just means everything.”

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California-Based TRF Second Chances Program Celebrates First Anniversary

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, ten student/inmates began a new semester at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Equine Care Program at the Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) at Coalinga, California.

There was no better way to celebrate its one-year anniversary.

“The four groups that made this happen – the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, the (California) Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, West Hills College and Harris Farms – worked extremely well together,” said Heidi Richards, whose work with the Equine Care Program earned her the CDCR's 2020 Corrections Officer of the Year Award. “We had 30 student/inmates in the first class, and 28 were certified. We are very excited about how successful the program is.”

The Equine Care Program at PVSP opened Oct. 16, 2019 and coincided with the prison's 25th anniversary celebration. The program is an extension of the TRF's Second Chances/Groom Elite Program that began in 1983 at the Wallkill State Correctional Facility near New Paltz, NY. Former racehorses enjoy a tranquil sanctuary home at Second Chances, which is now offered at prisons in New York, California, Kentucky, Florida, Illinois and South Carolina. In return, the horses provide hands-on vocational instruction in horse care as well as lessons in mutual respect, compassion, responsibility, and trust.

In collaboration with West Hills College, PVSP's Equine Care Program is a two-semester course that, at conclusion, not only certifies its participants to work at entry level jobs within the racing industry but gives them six transferable college credits. The program at this minimum-security facility is offered to student/inmates within five years of parole.

The fledgling program managed to hold strong despite the turmoil of 2020.

“Our biggest concern was the pandemic,” said Richards, who also is the West Hills College instructor for the program. “But our COVID-19 numbers were low enough to open the program this semester. Warden Scott Frauenheim and everyone here did a great job in maintaining the program. They kept testing everyone at the gate and, additionally, the staff was tested every 10 days. They were really on top of it.”

Warden Frauenheim, who will retire on Friday (October 30) after 26 years of state service and the last seven as PVSP's warden added: “I am proud and honored to have been the first Warden with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to start an Equine Care Program. I am grateful to provide a unique rehabilitative program that helps incarcerated people follow a new path in their lives. Although COVID-19 placed a hold on Pleasant Valley's Equine Program, Pleasant Valley State Prison has commenced with the program and its college courses. The Pleasant Valley Equine Program just completed its first year of program, and I foresee many more successful years to come.”

Presently, the student/inmates are working with two former racehorses. Michael the Man, a 13-year-old Kentucky-bred who had 60 races and earned $197,724 from a record of 11-8-9 and California-bred Slycy, who is also 13, earned $230,606 and posted a record of 14-10-7 from 52 starts.

The horses live on the Equine Care Program's two-acre facility that student/inmates built and help maintain in addition to their work with the animals.

A CDCV grant of $300,766 was secured last year with the help of the West Hills Community College District to fund the Equine Care Program at Pleasant Valley State Prison until 2022.

“It is hard to believe that the program is only a year old with all that Heidi has accomplished,” said TRF Executive Director Pat Stickney. “We are incredibly grateful to all the groups that came together to launch this Equine Care Program which, under Heidi's leadership, will continue to have such a positive impact on the graduates and the horses for years to come.”

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Second Chances Farm Manager Heidi Richards Made the Program Happen and is Awarded by CA

Heidi Richards is a lifelong horsewoman and rancher. She grew up riding, and at age 16, began working at a Thoroughbred training center. Since that time, Richards has re-trained and transitioned more than 100 off-track Thoroughbreds.

When Richards moved to Coalinga, California, a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, for college, she began a 10-year career at Harris Farms where she worked in every aspect of the breeding and training of Thoroughbreds. Her career on the farm ended when Richards began to feel conflicted about the long hours at work away from her child.

“It was breeding season and my son was three and I was working 100-hour weeks,” said Richards. “I really wanted to be a hands-on mom, so I needed to make a change. The only place close by that paid well was the prison. I planned on staying at the prison for 10 years and then going back into horses.”

That was 17 years ago. Since making the transition, Richards has been a full-time correctional officer at the Pleasant Valley State Prison. Not long into her career, Richards began to think about ways to help the inmates break the on-going cycle of recidivism.

“I started asking them why they keep coming back,” said Richards. “The answer was always that they didn’t know anything else in life.”

That got Richards thinking about a horse program. Her first idea was to start a program for mustangs, but it required permanent fencing and more space than she had. In her research she found the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Second Chances Program.

“When I found the TRF program, I immediately starting calling them and working with my superiors to get it done,” said Richards. “I had the support, but not the funding.”

Richards did not give up and found an opportunity through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Innovative Programming Grants in California Prisons program. Richards met with West Hills Community College District and worked tirelessly to put together a unique partnership and secured a three-year grant for $300,776.

“It was a dream come true after four years and 10 months of hard work,” said Richards. “Of the 52 grants issued, they said that this one was the best one. That is because the program is so good. It is also an excellent example of private-public partnership because I couldn’t have done it without the support from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Second Chance Program, Harris Farms Horse Division, and West Hills Community College.”

Pivot now to a horse program in a prison in the California hills. The entire structure: paddocks, barns, classroom etc., are all within the high security fence. In other TRF programs, the horse farms are outside of the fence and sometimes a short drive away. In those programs, at least one extra security person is needed to oversee the inmates. This can cost more than $50,000 to $75,000 per year. Therefore, having the program within the security fence saves the prison money. There is another interesting benefit to this set-up.

“Other inmates can watch the program and see the horses from a safe distance,” said Reid McLellan of The Elite Program, who provides Richard’s curriculum and teaching tools as he does for other Second Chances facilities. “The Second Chances program in California is unique in a number of ways. The Groom Elite Program course is actually taught through West Hills Community College, which allows participants to receive college credit. The arid climate presents unique challenges requiring more hands-on care plus management techniques used by horse farms in that area. And, Harris Farm provides ongoing support plus sends horses for rehabilitation if necessary and retraining.”

“Richards, a certified Second Chances Groom Elite instructor, is a very accomplished horsewoman and rancher that brings a great perspective about people and livestock to this program. Kudos to her for making this happen and providing another model whereby Thoroughbreds and people in need are brought together.”

The results reported so far are positive in every respect.

“I am constantly amazed at how all 15 men are so moved by the horses,” said Richards. “I have their complete attention at all times and they take their responsibilities very seriously.”

The program is 18 weeks long with five horses and 15 men. One graduate is assigned to feeding the horses on weekends and overseeing their care when Richards is off.

On July 8, Richards was named the 2020 Correctional Officer of the Year by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for her effort in spearheading the Pleasant Valley State Prison Equestrian Program.

To learn more about the TRF’s Second Chances Programs, go to www.trfinc.org.

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