Weir Appointed Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga Director of Strategic Growth

Kim Weir, former major gifts fundraiser at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, has joined Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga (THS) as Director of Strategic Growth. Weir will work closely with Dr. Erin Sisk, Co-Founder of Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga, and the THS Board of Directors and staff to develop and implement a strategic growth plan for the Saratoga Springs-based impact sector organization.

Weir duties will include development the THS fundraising strategy and expanding the engagement of the organization's herd of retired racehorses through therapy and program utilization

“I am certain that our team will immediately benefit from Kim's diverse business background, successful fundraising skills and her deep relationships across the Thoroughbred industry” said  Dr. Erin Sisk. “Kim's understanding of the racing landscape and personal commitment to sharing the gift of horses with all who need them, will provide our young and growing organization with an invaluable new asset to help us realize our bold vision for the countless lives we can heal and help with the therapeutic benefits of our horses.”

Weir also served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association in Washington, DC.

The San Diego native graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Spanish and International Relations and received her M.B.A from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary. She and her husband, Bob, moved to Saratoga Springs from the Washington D.C. area in 2018.

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TRF To Host Lowell 20th Anniversary Show

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) will host a worldwide livestream event Thursday, October 21 at 8 p.m. ET, celebrating the transformative power of horses through the TRF Lowell 20th Anniversary Horse Show. The virtual event will bring viewers inside the horse farm at the Lowell facility and provide an opportunity to experience the connection between the horses and the women currently participating in the program. The Lowell Horse Show will also shine a spotlight on several women who have successfully graduated from the program and gone on to brighter futures post-incarceration.

The live event will be co-hosted by Kim Weir, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at the TRF; and Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA). The two organizations collaborate closely to raise the funds required to care for the 50 horses in the TRF herd at Lowell Correctional Institution. Weir and Powell will be joined by Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Trainer, Mark Casse; FOX Sports Racing Analyst Acacia Courtney; and Niall Brennan of Niall Brennan Stables. The global audience will be invited to participate in an interactive online Q & A at the event's conclusion.

“Everyone who works with and cares for horses knows that they make us better people,” said Weir.” Without judgment, and without words, they teach us to be stronger, calmer, more present, more confident and more empathetic.

“The Lowell Horse Show offers a unique window for the whole world to see, hear and feel the impact that the retired racehorses have on the lives of the women at Lowell,” Weir continued. “I believe that everyone who joins us on October 21st will be inspired, uplifted and perhaps more hopeful about the potential for Second Chances in our challenging world.”

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TRF To Host Worldwide Live Stream Event From Lowell On Oct. 21

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) will host a worldwide livestream event on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET, celebrating the transformative power of horses through the TRF Lowell 20th Anniversary Horse Show.

For two decades, the TRF and Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida have been engaged in a powerful public-private partnership focused on saving horses and changing lives through the TRF Second Chances program. The virtual event will bring viewers inside the horse farm at the Lowell facility and provide an unprecedented opportunity to experience the connection between the horses on the women currently participating in the program. The Lowell Horse Show will also shine a spotlight on several women who have successfully graduated from the program and gone on to brighter futures post-incarceration.

The live event will be co-hosted by Kim Weir, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at the TRF and Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA). The two organizations collaborate closely to raise the funds required to care for the 50 horses in the TRF herd at Lowell Correctional Institution. Weir and Powell will be joined by Hall of Fame Thoroughbred Trainer, Mark Casse; FoxSports Racing Analyst, Acacia Courtney; and Niall Brennan of Niall Brennan Stables. The global audience will be invited to participate in an interactive online Q & A at the event's conclusion.

“Everyone who works with and cares for horses knows that they make us better people. Without judgement, and without words, they teach us to be stronger, calmer, more present, more confident and more empathetic” shared Weir. “The Lowell Horse Show offers a unique window for the whole world to see, hear and feel the impact that the retired racehorses have on the lives of the women at Lowell. I believe that everyone who joins us on October 21st will be inspired, uplifted and perhaps more hopeful about the potential for Second Chances in our challenging world.”

There is no cost to view the event, which will be broadcast online to any connected device and streamed live on the TRF's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter feeds on October 21. A recording of the livestream will be available immediately following the event's conclusion.

Sponsorship for the TRF Lowell 20th Anniversary Horse Show has raised more than $50,000 toward the operating cost of the TRF program in Ocala. All sponsorship dollars are dedicated toward the cost of care of the 50 retired Thoroughbred racehorses in Ocala within the TRF national herd.

The Platinum Sponsors for the horse show are the Heider Family Foundation and Dr. Nick and Stephanie Meittinis. Gold sponsors include the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (FTBOA), Mary and Gary West and Dr. Calvin E. Burgart. The Silver Sponsors are Jill and Bob Baffert, Churchill Downs Incorporated, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners & Blue Moon Aftercare.

Supporting sponsors include Bergen Stables, Brook Ledge Horse Transportation, Casse Racing, Jellyfish Water Company, Lazy Dog Cookie Company, Little Red Feather Racing, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Niall Brennan Stables and Polyflex Horseshoes.

Media Partners from across the Thoroughbred Industry have extended their support for the 2021 livestream event along with a diverse and enthusiastic team of Promotional Partners who have helped the TRF reach new audiences for this year's livestream event.

Last year, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation hosted a livestream horse show featuring the TRF Second Chances Program at the Blackburn Correctional Facility in Lexington, KY.

When: Thursday, October 21st 8:00 p.m. ET   

Where: Worldwide, https://www.trfinc.org/event/trf-lowell-20th-anniversary-horse-show/  

Direct Link to Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI3spYat2zE

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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Giving Horses And People A Second Chance

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is our industry's oldest charitable organization devoted to aftercare, launched in 1982 by Monique Koehler and providing sanctuary or second careers to thousands of horses in the decades that followed.

Aftercare has grown significantly since the TRF's founding, in the number of organizations that provide opportunities for retired Thoroughbreds and in awareness among many in the industry that it is simply the right thing to do,

TRF's Kim Weir joins publisher Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth in this week's edition of the Friday Show to talk about the TRF's Second Chances program that teams ex-racehorses with incarcerated men and women as part of a rehabilitation and vocational effort to get those individuals prepared for life outside of prison.

Weir is especially excited about an upcoming Horse Show on Oct. 21 that will be streamed live to showcase some of those inmates and the horses they care for. Go to www.trfinc.org for details.

Hackbarth had the opportunity recently to see real-world results of the program, writing about former Blackburn Correctional inmate Josh Ison, now working at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. (Read the story here.)  “The TRF Second Chances program at Blackburn taught me patience with horses, and people,” Ison said.

Paulick and Hackbarth review Woodbine Star of the Week God of Love, Mark Casse's third consecutive Cup and Saucer Stakes winner. The 2-year-old colt is the 99th stakes winner for Eclipse Thoroughbreds, a partnership that had its first runner 10 years to the day before the Oct. 10 Cup and Saucer.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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