Stephanie Brennan has been elected to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Board of Directors. The TRF board provides leadership for carrying out the Foundation's mission to provide sanctuary for retired racehorses no longer able to compete on the racetrack and to save them from possible neglect, abuse and slaughter.
“Once again the TRF has hit a home run by adding Stephanie to the Board,” said Patrick Mackay, President and Chairman of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. “We welcome and look forward with great enthusiasm to her sharing her firsthand knowledge and expertise in Thoroughbred aftercare for the betterment of our herd.”
A resident of Ocala, Florida, Brennan served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Niall Brennan Stables and in 2009 founded Final Furlong, LLC, a Thoroughbred retirement initiative solely for graduates of Niall Brennan Stables and through that organization has rehomed nearly 200 off-the-track Thoroughbreds.
“I am excited to be a part of the TRF,” said Brennan. “As a strong supporter of aftercare, I am particularly interested in the liaison between the TRF and the correctional systems. It creates a world of opportunities for both equines and inmates to have hope for a better future.”
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.”
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation will host an open house Dec. 3-11 at TRF Sanctuary at Chestnut Hall in Prospect, Kentucky featuring a Holiday Designer Show House to benefit the organization's herd of nearly 500 retired racehorses.
The historic farmhouse will be decorated inside and out with decor in rooms designed by Cherry House Furniture, K.P. Designs, Living Spaces by Lyn, Debhelin Designs, Little Mount Lavender, Abbey Custom Interiors, Jason Jennings Designs and All Lit Up. The event has been spearheaded by volunteer Elizabeth Rosenberg and is being staffed by volunteers and friends of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
The house will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily except Sunday when the hours are 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and can be purchased at www.trfinc.org or can be purchased for $25 at the door.
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation will open the doors of the historic house at TRF Sanctuary at Chestnut Hall this December with a Holiday Designer Show House to benefit the organization's herd of nearly 500 retired racehorses.
The historic farmhouse will be grandly decorated inside and out with exquisite decor in rooms designed by Cherry House Furniture, K.P. Designs, Living Spaces by Lyn, Debhelin Designs, Little Mount Lavender, Abbey Custom Interiors, Jason Jennings Designs and All Lit Up. This event has been spearheaded by volunteer Elizabeth Rosenberg and is being staffed by volunteers and friends of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
The event will run from Friday, Dec. 3 through Dec. 11 and the house will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily except on Sunday when the hours are 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and can be purchased at www.trfinc.org or can be purchased for $25 at the door.
The TRF Sanctuary Farm at Chestnut Hall, located on 25 picturesque acres in Prospect, Kentucky, opened in April of 2021 and is home to 11 retired Thoroughbred racehorses. The farm has hosted numerous events since opening and has welcomed thousands of visitors through tours with Visit Horse Country.
About TRF: Founded in 1983, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a national organization devoted to saving Thoroughbred horses no longer able to compete at the racetrack from possible neglect, abuse, and slaughter. As the oldest Thoroughbred rescue in the country, the TRF provides lifelong sanctuary to retired Thoroughbreds throughout their lifetime.
Best known for its pioneering TRF Second Chances program, the organization provides incarcerated individuals with life-changing vocational training through its accredited equine care and stable management program. At eight correctional facilities across the US, including one juvenile justice facility, this program offers second careers to its horses and a second chance at life for program graduates upon release from prison. The TRF Second Chances Program at the Wallkill Correctional Facility provides a home for 40 retired Thoroughbred racehorses and has been changing the lives of returning citizens for nearly forty years.
