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“So you think you want to be a therapeutic riding horse?” Trial Horses Part 1- Horse Selection

July 1, 2015

If you haven’t already noticed, we have a few new visitors at the barn!  There are currently three trial horses at our Cicero location- Cinnamon, Domino and Captain.  While we are hopeful each of them will excel and be happy with their new jobs, we also know this job isn’t for every horse. Our horses make being a therapeutic riding horse look easy, but in reality, therapeutic riding is a hard job that not every horse is cut out for.  The mental focus and discipline it takes to be a reliable therapeutic riding horse can be overwhelming to a lot of horses.

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Gypsy Dreamin’

June 19, 2015

Did you know Agape is competing to win one of 10 Gypsy Vanner horses?  LexLin Gypsy Ranch, based in eastern Tennessee, has partnered with PATH International to provide 10 Gypsy horses to 10 PATH centers around the country through their Gypsy Gift program.  Much to our excitement, Agape was nominated and selected to compete! The LexLin Gypsy Ranch page describes Gypsy horses as follows: “For hundreds of years, nomadic people known as Gypsies have traveled the roads of the United Kingdom in beautifully carved and decorated living wagons.  To maintain this wandering way of life, they created an extraordinary breed

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Picture Perfect

May 12, 2015

The morning was beautiful.  Volunteers were buzzing around the barn, braiding the horses’ manes and tails with ribbons and giving them glitter hearts on their hips.  The finishing touches were being put on the arena and observation room, Hopalong Cassidy had arrived,things were just falling into place and the weather!  Put simply, it was heaven-sent. The Mane Event was off to a great start!  As the morning went on, the horses were tacked and warmed up in the arena as students and their families were filing in and the “parking lot” pasture was filling up.  It was going to be

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In Memory of Seth

January 23, 2015

On behalf of the entire Agape team, it is with great, great sadness that I share with you that our beloved Seth passed away on Thursday afternoon around 12:30pm. This happened very unexpectedly, and needless to say, is devastating news.

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Find Your Attitude of Gratitude

November 27, 2014

Today, I am at Bradford Woods working with an awesome volunteer group.  They have done so much: sweeping the hay loft and barn, grooming the arena, and even building steps for our outdoor mounting ramp!  It’s very cold outside, but they’ve spent the day laughing and smiling and working hard.  I am so grateful that they took the time out of their busy schedules to help us out.  The work that they finished in a couple of hours would have taken us much longer!  It is so inspiring to be surrounded by such great and giving people! As we dive

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Love & Grace at Agape

September 8, 2014

In 2013, Agape served 1,401 riders.  As of the end of July, just halfway through 2014, we served over 1,566 riders and gave 3,687 lessons! WOW!! Expanding to Bradford Woods has been a HUGE success.  We had a crazy busy summer, but it was amazing and recently we took a moment to remember what we do and why. On August 22nd, nearly 100 people came out to Agape South at Bradford woods to eat, play games, watch lessons, and most importantly, take a moment to enjoy and relax.  Volunteer, Bern Lytle, did an amazing job leading us in prayer and reminding us

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The Therapy Horse

August 15, 2014

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” – Sir Winston Churchill At Agape we really do see miracles happen every day, and it would not happen without the assistance of Our Horses. Only 3 out of 10 horses have the capacity to be a therapy horse.  Not only does a horse have to be an athlete, but also possess the ability to handle stress and highly emotional situations. These gentle giants can read, reflect and respond to human emotion that we are incapable of communicating ourselves.  This is what makes

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A Par for the Horse Hole-in-One

June 24, 2014

I know exactly what you are thinking. It’s that question that keeps you up at night. That question that no matter how many sheep you count seems to always be on your mind. You know…that question of what do you get when you combine 22 sponsors, 30 amazing volunteers, and 100 golfers? The answer isn’t exactly clear until you experience Agape’s annual Par for the Horse golf outing for yourself! This year, Agape’s annual Par for the Horse golf outing was June 6th, a day that turned out to be one of the prettiest days of summer so far. With generosity and kindness

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Cheers to Generosity

May 1, 2014

On April 26th, we raised our ice cream floats in celebration of Agape’s second annual Drive to Ride online fundraiser.  We are very excited to announce that with the hard work of our volunteers, staff, and riders, Agape was able to exceed our goal and raise $27,708!!!  This is equal to 162 lessons!   WOWZERS!   We are so grateful for all of those who donated and our hard working fundraisers.  Agape is so fortunate to have such a strong community! More specifically, the E.A. & Frances Reichart Charitable Foundation generously blessed Agape with a $15,000 Drive to Ride donation!  Additionally,

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Our Roots & Our Wings

April 24, 2014

March 2014 marked a very important time in Agape’s history – it marked 20 years of service to our central Indiana community at our center in Cicero. As many of you may know, Agape was actually founded in 1986, by Cheryl Miller and her daughter Dawn.  Cheryl and Dawn were given the opportunity to partner with Indiana University Bradford Woods to serve youth with disabilities through equine-assisted therapy during the summer. This summer program was the start of Agape and it was in this fertile ground that the mission and vision for our organization took root. In 1992, Dawn unexpectedly

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