Thank you for all of your out pouring support for HORSEPOWER at this difficult time.

The only thing we can think that might help is to contact the Piedmont Saddle Club and ask them to drop this suit. We don't think they considered how many people this is going to hurt. Here are a few letters for support that were sent to the Piedmont Saddle Club.

Mr. Taffer,
I am writing to you with the earnest hope that maybe one more email will help you to reconsider the unethical eviction of HorsePower TLC.  This is an organization that has helped so many children and adults with disabilities that it is unthinkable that Piedmont Saddle Club would even consider making them leave, especially using such ridiculous accusations as road maintenance and landscaping.  I see nothing but massive improvement to the property and have seen Jan Clifford and her staff working hard to not only provide this extraordinary service to disabled individuals but to also maintain a wonderful environment for them to grow and thrive in. 
I am still in shock that you and the saddle club have started this process especially since Piedmont Saddle Club continues to advertise "joining forces" with HorsePower on the home page of their website.  What a complete misrepresentation.
I hope that you realize what an asset HorsePower is to the property and what a mistake this eviction is.  The children need this organization.  Don't take away their smiles and their happiness.
Cyndi Shaw

Mr. Taffer,

I honestly have serious doubts that you'll even open this based on the subject line, but I had to try.I started volunteering for Horsepower in 1995, when they were in Brown Summit, just starting out and had next to nothing. I helped move when the Saddle Club became available, and I remember the excitement of that move. I remember how grateful everyone was to be moving into that facility. I simply can not fathom how you could do this to them. Have you ever seen a class? Have you ever seen the smiles on those kids' faces? Do you have any clue at all what throwing them out would mean to hundreds of handicapped children? Do you care? Jan Clifford and the entire organization have done nothing but IMPROVE that property, (I was there when the covered area was built) and improve the lives of thousands of people, myself included, both able bodied and handicapped. For 16 years +, the people that run Horsepower have given everything they have to give, their time, their money, and their love to that organization and to those kids. Would you really destroy that because the driveway isn't graded? 

I'll tell you what... let them stay and then you name the time and day and I will come grade the driveway and do anything else you need / want done. 

Sincerely,

Mary Hole

“The Piedmont Saddle Club was created in 1950 as a place that horse lovers could come, enjoy their horses and fellowship with other horse lovers.  60 Years later.....” Does the Piedmont Saddle Club no longer believe in this statement?

Piedmont Saddle Club has been so important in the lives of so very many people. People who not only love horses, but people who were able to benefit from the much needed therapy that only a true horse lover or a child with special needs could understand! People who would not otherwise have the opportunity to come together for therapy and share their love for horses.

My son Justin has been a rider with Horsepower for 10 years. We were not  certain that Justin would ever walk, but at age 4 he took his first (difficult) steps towards a horse! We were/are not certain he would ever talk, but he has begun communicating through sign language, and at first would ONLY do so while he was riding. It is hard to be sure just what Justin knows or comprehends but on Wednesdays, when he gets his boots out of the shoe basket and asks (through sign) to “walk on” we know he truly understands the Power of a Horse! I was certain that remarkable gift, the power of the horse, was something the Piedmont Saddle Club understood!

So how could it possibly be true that Piedmont Saddle Club no longer believes in the importance of providing a place where horse lovers, can enjoy fellowship, and MUCH needed therapy?

I Pray that you PLEASE reconsider your eviction of Horsepower!
I Pray that you find a way to work out your issues, and most of all I BEG of you (at Christmastime no less) Please, Please find it in your heart and do not evict the children who need you the most!

A Heart Broken Mother....

Hello Mr. Taffer,

I am very disheartened to hear the sad news about the issue with the Horsepower Organization.  I truly hope and believe that both groups would come to an agreement in order to continue the Horsepower Therapy services provided there at Piedmont Saddle Club.  Here is just one of many reasons as to why.

My daughter, who is now 17, was diagnosed with global developmental delay and cerebral palsy symptoms at the age of 2.  It was with Horsepower’s therapeutic help that she has been able to gain self-esteem and confidence as a young lady at the age of 15.  This is a child who has struggled every day at school, and still struggles to just ‘fit in’, because she knows she’s not ‘normal’.  Horsepower has given her many friends that help her feel ‘normal’.  Just this past Spring, she has graduated from Horsepower’s program and is now taking group lessons at a local riding facility and is working on cantering and jumping.  She demonstrated some of her skills at Horsepower’s Holiday Open House this past Saturday.  I wish you could have been there to see her with all the progress she has made and that HUGE smile on her face!  There are others in the riding program who have needs just like my daughter, and others that are much more severe!  How can you see fit to just evict a wonderful program that assists so many members in our community with special needs, especially since there are no other programs with this type of therapy offered?  I know - I have checked!

So, during this ‘festive’ time of year, please reconsider your choice to evict Horsepower.  It is not just the organization who is affected, but the livelihoods of individuals and families who depend on Horsepower for their therapeutic needs!

Sincerely,

Karen Meacham

Dear Board Members of Piedmont Saddle Club,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to you.  I am a parent of a special needs child who rides every week at HorsePower.  I have recently learned of your intent to evict HorsePower from your facilities and am struggling to find the words to express the disappointment and astonishment I am feeling about this.

Obviously, you have not witnessed the wonderful things that the staff and volunteers at HorsePower do every day and the pure joy they bring to so many special needs children and adults.  If you had, there is no way you would pursue this eviction.  I have never met a more dedicated group of people who love children and horses. 

My daughter looks forward to her ride every week.  She is at her happiest when she is sitting atop her horse – you’ve never seen such a big smile.  Kathryn cannot play other sports or take dance or any of those “normal” extracurricular activities so the horse therapy has been a blessing.  For a short time each week she feels like any other child.  Not only is the horse therapy helping her emotional and mental state, but it is also helping her physically.  In addition to the happiness it brings her, we’ve seen improvements with her balance, her gross motor skills, and her fine motor skills.  I honestly don’t know how I am going to tell her that she will not get to ride any more if HorsePower is evicted.  Would you like to meet my daughter and explain it to her?

Every day I look at my daughter and think about just how unfair life can be.  There are so many things that she will never experience and as a parent it breaks my heart because these are things that are out of my control.  However, you have the control in this situation, and you can prevent adding another “unfair” thing to the list. 

I urge you not to follow through with this eviction as it would be a huge mistake and would be harmful to so many deserving special needs children and adults.  I can only hope during this wonderful holiday season, that you can look inward and find the true spirit of the season in your heart to help settle your differences with HorsePower so that this wonderful organization can continue serving our community.

Regards,
Tara Lawrence

Below are a few of the many ways you can donate to HORSEPOWER:

Monetary Gift - We are grateful for your financial support.  Every dollar counts!

Cash or check made payable to HORSEPOWER.

Credit Cards ‚ we accept all major credit cards.

Pledge - paid in quarterly or monthly installments.

Sponsor a student rider for a six-week session.

Sponsor a horse for one month or a whole year!

State Employees Combined campaign-Designate HORSEPOWER #2546

City/County campaign Designate HORSEPOWER #6010

Please click on our contribution form, fill it out and either mail or fax to us at the address below.  Or, you may drop off your gift - we would love to thank you in person and give you a tour!  You may also include the information in an e-mail.

HORSEPOWER Therapeutic Learning Center

8001 Leabourne Road

Colfax, NC  27235

Attn:  Jan Clifford

jan@horsepower.org

(336) 931-1424 Fax (336) 931-1425

Corporate Sponsorships ‚ HORSEPOWER holds several large fundraisers every year and we need sponsors to help underwrite the event.  Join other businesses and corporations such as ACC, Inc., All Seasons Travel, American Express, Bank of America, Bank of Oak Ridge, Banner Pharmacaps, Bernard's, Kinsley Bates, BI-LO, Bunker Hill Stables, Carolina Mule Association, Chick-Fil-A- Wendover, CW Myers, Flow Lexus, Foot Hills Ford, Greensborough Tile & Stone, Jefferson Pilot, Kiwanis of the Gate City, Ling & Kerr, Mobile Milling, Morrisette Paper, Novartis Animal Health, Piedmont Chemical Industries, Piedmont Ford Sterling Truck Sales, Piedmont Truck Tires, Inc., Poplin Farms, Proctor & Gamble, Purgason's, Quality Cooling & Heating, Quality Printing, Royal Diadem Jewelers, Tarheel Paper & Supply, Technology Concepts & Design Inc., Tencarva, TIMCO, Time Warner Cable, Trading Post, R.L. Vanstory, VF Playwear, Viewpoint Leather Works, Vulcan Materials Company, Wal-Mart, and Wrangler Westernwear who have selected HORSEPOWER for their charitable giving.

Shop Purgason's - Web: Click Here - the area's English & Western Barn & Tack Supply Store

Southern States Proof of Purchase Seals - The Special Horse Organization Winner's Program (S.H.O.W. Program) is a unique opportunity for HORSEPOWER to earn financial sponsorship for special events.  HORSEPOWER can collect and submit proofs-of-purchase symbols (samples shown below) from eligible bags of Southern States and Triple Crown horse feeds.  We will accrue a 25 cent credit for each eligible proof of purchase (10 cents for Reliance proofs of purchase.)  In addition, all bulk bin deliveries of Southern States pelleted horse feeds are worth $10 per ton and Reliance is worth $4 per ton.  For bulk bin deliveries, the original customer copy of the delivery ticket qualifies as proof of purchase.

YOU CAN HELP HORSEPOWER BY MAILING US YOUR PROOFS OF PURCHASE AS SEEN ABOVE - THANK YOU!!  

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