veterans

Hope After Service, a new organization pairing retired racehorses with veterans with PTSD, as well as with autistic children, has been formed in Shawnee, Ok. Founded by disabled veterans Ashton Strader, Robert Whitlow, and Craig Whitlow, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit's mission is "bringing hope, healing, and renewal to veterans, retired racehorses, and communities nationwide." The founders have backgrounds in racing and plan to select retired racehorses to undergo retraining as trusted companions and therapists, offering solace and healing to those in need. Horses in the program not suitable for this work...

For obvious reasons, Mike Cannon has enjoyed the run that Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) is on. It's not just that he's become a Grade I winner this year, has earned $933,823 in his career or that he is the morning line favorite in Saturday's GII Eddie Read S. at Del Mar. That matters to Cannon, but maybe not as much as the fact that the horse's success has allowed him to pump a large sum of money into a charity he supports, The Special Operations Care Fund (SOC-F). While...

Boone McCanna was one of the leading jockey agents in Northern California, and prior to that in Washington, having represented Kevin Krigger, Dennis Carr, and Frank Alvarado among others. A third-generation horseman, McCanna had a vision to combine the tranquility of the his family's horse ranch outside Spokane, where his father would rest his racehorses in the off-season, with off-track Thoroughbreds and veterans in need of relief from the effects of PTSD suffered while serving in combat. In 2014, with the help of Jerry and Janet Hollendorfer, Down The Stretch...

Eagala, a global organization of mental health professionals dedicated to incorporating horses into psychotherapy treatment, celebrated their 20th anniversary with a four-day event hosted at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky this past weekend. The group is dedicated to furthering equine-assisted psychotherapy and personal development techniques, focusing specifically on veterans and servicemen suffering from PTSD, as well as suicide prevention, substance abuse recovery and rural mental health issues. On Saturday, Feb. 29, Eagala hosted a live demonstration and panel discussion in partnership with the American Horse Council and the...