James River Horse Foundation shows “Spirit of Virginia” * The Racing Biz

Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne Youngkin published a Spirit of Virginia Award on 31 July on the James River Horse Foundation.

The prices recognize the unusual contributions of Virginians in their field. Only six are published every year.

In the spirit of the morning ceremony outside Barn 4 of the State Farm Work Center in Goochland County, it may have the first pair that they receive a gift.

“It was my job here in the barn to provide the daily care for the horses, but at the end of the day it was exactly the opposite,” explained Becky Owens, an alumna of the James River Horse Foundation program. “They took care of me.”

The crowd gathered for the presentation, included guards, prisoners, riders, chosen officials and media who listened carefully when Owens described how the program influenced its life. The horses “played a major role in my rediscovery of self and time for healing at the horse farm,” said Owens.

The James River Horse Foundation holds 26 off-track Thoroughbreds in the State Farm Work Center and in many cases rehabilitates to a level where they are adopted. A maximum of eight prisoners of the adjacent national farm correction facility can participate in the program. Owens recognized some of the memorable thoroughbreds that were present during her rehabilitation.

“There was a cunning gelding here on the farm with the name Tuck,” started Owens, and ignited a chuckle in the current participants of the program. “This guy tested my patience almost daily and working with him has taught me consistently perseverance, a skill that has proved to be invaluable in my recovery.”

Owens then introduced Doc, an older gelding who “had all the diseases that every old horse can handle.”

Doc is one of the ‘lifers’ of the program, which as the current President Janis Paiva later explains, is to embed the surroundings and other horses in Barn 4 to become adoptable outside the site.

“The cherishing of him again was health to make contact again with motherhood in me that I had to exercise so enormously and fill that feeling of goal,” said Owens.

Owens continued to describe Happy, “a chestnut mare who was the embodiment of a teenage girl”, who broadened her relationships with confidence and boundaries.

“Building trust in a relationship with her has taught me valuable lessons that I now apply to my own teenage daughter,” Owens offered.

Owens now works on Radford University as a specialist in recovery support. She remains involved with the James River Horse Foundation “to coach my colleagues and to share the knowledge and skills I have gained.”

The James River Horse Foundation has 80 horses – teachers like the Governor who referred to them – by cycling through the program. Dozens of prisoners have participated over the years.

The horse curriculum developed by former program director CJ Weldon has three primary phases, ranging from beginner to teaching assistant, the highest level that Owens completed. Owens was one of the original eight participants in the program when it was again defined in 2019.

“We not only worked on the farm, we also worked on ourselves,” Owens voted. “We have taken care of each other as the horses.”

The governor was well impressed.

“Becky, I have to tell you, you could have handled the entire program today,” he said.

Suzanne Youngkin, himself an avid horse woman, spoke enthusiastically about the blessings of the program.

“We just can’t be more proud of the tires that are built here between people, the ties between women and horses and the tires of the horses and their own renewal, and the greener meadows that are available to them,” she said.

The First Lady visited the facility in 2023 on a much colder day and fell in love with the facility and his mission.

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“She arrived in 2023 and stayed for two to three hours and visited each horse and spoke with every woman,” Paiva recalled. “When they called to tell us about the prize, we thought they just visited the facility again.”

“There is something whole, whole, special, very spiritual and it exists between women and the horses here and that is what we are here to celebrate,” the First Lady told the meeting.

That something, she added, connects directly with the goals of the Spirit or Virginia program.

“The spirit of Virginia is a recognition of life -changing organizations, life -changing individuals and a commitment to deliver more than you ever thought you could,” explained the governor about the prize.

“This organization serves two incredible missions. A mission that saves horses from potential abuse of potential slaughter or neglect and acknowledges that they too have been created by an almighty God.” Youngkin went on. “It brings those horses in this second incredible mission that is to transform lives and show a way and to offer a huge moment of self -recognition and training to get into life.”

Paiva notes that the program helps participants to develop other life skills than those in the horse world, something that the governor also emphasized.

“The program is not only a path, but a skills to fully benefit from that opportunity,” Youngkin added.

The spirit of Virginia is in ample stock in Barn 4, whether it is given or received.