Many of our volunteers, as well as our followers, grew up reading horse magazines (and still do today!). We spent countless hours reading and learning, and trying out new tips and tricks on our wonderfully patient mounts. Fast forward to today, Drifter's Hearts of Hope has found its way into one of those magazines!
A huge thank you to Horse Illustrated for featuring our amazing Annie Project horses, partners, and adopters. We are so appreciative for the exposure and look forward to seeing the growth of the Annie Project in the coming years. If you're new to the Annie Project - read up on it here (pages 30-35), as well as on our website!

The wonderful 5th grade class from Northeast Elementary in Parker completed a Shark Tank project where they learned the ins and outs of how a business is run - from creating a product to selling it. They even went the extra mile and picked a nonprofit to donate to - DHOH! We are so grateful for your donation and impressed with your entrepreneurial skills!

​Meet the Team:

"Dear Drifter's Hearts of Hope,

My name is Gabby Goodwater. You may remember me from volunteering. I attend Northeast Elementary in Parker, Colorado. I am in 5th grade and we completed a project called Shark Tank. It is where you pick a nonprofit to donate to then you make a product and sell it and whatever money you make you give it to the non-profit.

The product that my group made was chakra bracelets and pura vida bracelets. We decided to make these products because big businesses make the same product, but super expensive, so that people want to buy them can't buy the. Our products were sold for $2, $3, $4 and we raised $274.20.

We chose Drifter's Hearts of Hope as our non-profit because I know a lot about Drifter's and it seemed like they should be more supported and known more, so decided to do Drifters "ps I begged my group".

After convincing my group to donate to Drifters, we would like the money to benefit the horses needs, like food, or to fix the barn when something goes wrong. Or if one of the horses had to have surgery, but I don't think it will be enough to pay for that.

Hopefully this is enough. Have a great year and a great Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Gabby G

PS....If Puzzle and Jigsaw are still there make sure to say hi for me. If not, then say hi to Cheyenne. Oh and if a volunteer named Ingrid is there make sure to say hi for me - she's my aunt."

"Dear Drifter's Hearts of Hope,

My name is Jake and I attend Northeast Elementary in Parker, CO. I am in 5th grade and we completed a project called Shark Tank. It is where we make things and sell them for money and with that money we donate it to a non-profit organization.

The product that my group made was bracelets. We decided to make bracelets because they are very professional and we knew people would buy them.  Our products sold for $2, $3, and $4. We raised $274.

We chose Drifter's Hearts of Hope as our non-profit to donate our money because they save horses and take good care of them.  After researching this non-profit we would like the money to go for food for horses.

Sincerely, 

Jake U"

"Dear Drifter's Hearts of Hope,

My name is Blake and I attend Northeast Elementary in Parker, CO. I am in 5th grade. We worked on a project called Shark Tank where we have to make something to sell to people.

My group made bracelets to sell. We sold our bracelets for $2 or $3 or $4. When we sold them on our market day we made $274 to donate.

We chose Drifter's Hearts of Hope because we wanted to help the horses. We want the horses to have lots of food and a safe place to play and sleep.

Sincerely, 

Blake C"

"Dear Drifter's Hearts of Hope,

My name is Olivia and I attend Northeast Elementary in Parker, CO. I am in 5th grade and we completed a project called Shark Tank. It was chaotic. It was stressful, but super fun.

We did it for two hours. The product my group made was pura vida bracelets and chakra bracelets. The chakra bracelets we made with beads the pura vida bracelets we made is with string. The producs were sold for $2 $3 and $4. We raised $274.

We chose Drifter's Hearts of Hope as our non-profit to donate our money to because we all chose that non-profit together an we want to help horses that are in need. After researching this non-profit together and we want to help horses that are in need. After researching this non-profit we would like the money going to Drifter's Hearts of Hope because we want them to get water, food, shelter, and medicine for the horses so they can live. I would love for the horses to get and have a good life.

Sincerely,

​Olivia T"

Yes we did! Thank you ASPCApro for sharing our Annie Project story. Crazy what we can do in just two years!
We couldn't have transitioned over 61 dude and guest ranch horses to adoptive homes without the amazing collaboration between our wonderful Dude and Guest ranch partners and adopters. Let's keep it up!

Don’t you miss the good old days of Talent Shows? Or perhaps not, because it isn’t exactly feasible to bring your horse up on a stage to ride them around? Now, this is your chance to show off those talents which may have been long hidden from the non-horsey world!

Drifter’s Hearts of Hope is hosting a rescue-only Talent Show sponsored by Dover Saddlery! ​All DHOH horse graduates (aka horses adopted from DHOH) are welcome to participate within the following categories:
- Kid horse (“kid” is between the ages of 0-14)
- Annie Project horse
- Green horse
- Senior horse
- Open
(*Please limit to two categories per horse/rider pair*)

How to Participate:
1) Each contestant will email a 1-minute long “freestyle” video to [email protected] displaying the talents possessed by their DHOH horse and it’s rider! *You have until October 31st to enter you submissions*

2) DHOH will then post the videos to our Facebook page and the post with the most likes per category will win! We will post the videos within a day of receiving them, so the earlier you get your entries in, the more time you have to get likes!

3) The winners will receive a $75 Dover gift card, a cooler with the DHOH brand embroidered on it, a super soft DHOH t-shirt, a Right Horse grab bag, and, of course, bragging rights! We’ll even feature you on our website 😊

The goal of our Talent Show is to give back to our fantastic adopters and their horses, as well as promote just how fabulous rescue horses can be! A huge thank you to Dover for being such fantastic supporters of rescue horses!

“To see her go from being a horse that was in transition - a horse in a rescue facility - all the way to being loved by countless kids … is so wonderful and rewarding.”
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Each semester, a group of horses from the Dumb Friends League Harmony Equine Center, Drifter's Hearts of Hope and Colorado Horse Rescue make their way to the Temple Grandin Equine Center. CSU Equine Sciences students work to train the horses over the course of a semester before they become available for adoption. The students learn about at-risk horses and the horses receive necessary training to find loving homes. We are thrilled to support this exciting collaboration.

Good news! Now you can help our rescue horses every time you buy groceries at King Soopers just by using your loyalty card. All you have to do is register your loyalty card in the Community Rewards Program on the King Soopers website.

-Visit: https://www.kingsoopers.com/signin
-Log into your existing account
-Search for Drifter’s Hearts of Hope (Organization #GUO87) in the “Community Rewards” link in the “My Account Menu”
-Click “Enroll”

If you don’t already have a loyalty card, you can request one at the customer service desk at any King Soopers or sign up at: https://www.kingsoopers.com/account/create/

Thank you for all your continued support! We couldn’t do it without you!
​
(Please let us know, if you need help getting enrolled. We can walk you through the process. It only takes about 30 seconds once you know where to go!)

As a community of horse people and owners, we all love our horses. And many horse lovers ask us about what they can do to ensure a good future for their horses. As Tom Roberts once said, “Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.” Proper training is a key element of our rescue, and it does not come cheap. Thankfully the Colorado Unwanted Horse Alliance (CUHA) has recognized our efforts and awarded us a grant to further our training program and we couldn’t be more appreciative! With this funding, we will be able to give more horses the quality training that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. We pride ourselves on educating our horses well, and greatly appreciate CUHA partnering with us to make our training dreams a reality!
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“If you are fond of a horse and wish to do him a real favour – train him well. teach him good manners, good habits, both in the stable and under the saddle. You need never worry about the future of such a horse if any reason you may have to part with him. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well.” Tom Roberts - The Young Horse

"Some people say that horses walk into your life for a reason. But Miss Moppet doesn’t walk, she struts. A sashay perhaps. She came strutting, sashaying, and quite literally, waddling, into the lives of the Drifter’s Hearts of Hope (DHOH) volunteers in late 2018.  

She came from a kill pen, and was rescued hours before she was going to ship to slaughter. When she arrived at the rescue facility, she had a USDA sticker in her mane when she arrived at our facility. In late 2018, DHOH became partners with the Right Horse Initiative and no longer rescues horses from kill pens, and Miss Moppet was one of the last pulled.

Waddling isn’t her most common gait, but nonetheless she waddled around our facility, heavily pregnant with a baby that came to be known as Timmy Tiptoes. At just two years old herself, she gave birth to a colt just days after being rescued from a terrible fate.

Miss Moppet proved to be a kind mother, and a big fan of attention. When people would come by to pet baby Timmy Miss Moppet liked to remind the folks that she too is quite beautiful and worthy of numerous pats. After weaning her baby (and causing nearly every volunteer, potential adopter, vet, farrier, and various other guests to succumb to her charms) we sent her off to 60 days of professional training with Ruben Mendiola. He started her under saddle and she began to show off her fancy footwork.

I went over to visit Moppet at Ruben’s facility and saw her under saddle for the first time. A 15 hand, 3-year-old liver chestnut with flashy chrome and one blue eye, she is objectively stunning. When she moves, it looks like she’s putting on a show. She dances around the arena with the grace and elegance of a horse five times her age and a hundred times further in training. 

Upon seeing her talent, Jacqui Avis, the President of Drifter’s Hearts of Hope, decided to enter her in the Battle on the Rockies, a rescue-only horse show in Colorado. I was asked if I would ride the talented young horse, and quickly agreed. We spent weeks training for the trail and ranch riding portions of the show, while also dabbling in English riding, which we both knew was our true passion. She excelled at both English and Western due to her confidence and bravery. She drags tires, walks over bridges, is nearly unflappable on the trail, and will jump anything. Over the course of our several month-long tenure together, I’ve never seen her spook.

Though we knew it from the beginning, Miss Moppet continued to show just how special she is. She walked into the show ring a 3-year-old with 60 days of training and walked out showing that while she might be a bit of a spitfire, she has nothing but potential for success in just about any arena. Since then, we have really spent a lot of time working with Miss Moppet to help refine her into the fantastic horse she was always meant to be. She will now happily pony other horses, ride out alone, go English or Western, jump logs, canter through open fields and genuinely wants to please in all of her work. We have numerous wonderful horses that range from semi-retired kid horses through performance horses, but Miss Moppet walked right out of her past as an un-started pregnant filly and directly into the entire rescue organization’s hearts.

Over 400 horses have passed through our doors, and each one has been a wonderful horse in his or her own way. Numerous have gone on to very successful second careers ranging from winning in the show ring to safely piloting the grandkids around the backyard. Miss Moppet, and the hundreds like her, are testaments to just how fantastic rescue horses can be! 

Miss Moppet is now available for adoption through Drifter’s Hearts of Hope, a 501(c)(3) horse rescue located in Franktown, Colorado. She is looking for an experienced rider to help develop her into the champion we all see in her. If you are looking for a horse more akin to the semi-retired kid horse, we also have several that would love to teach your kids the ropes! Our adoption application can be found at: www.driftersheartsofhope.org. Please feel free to send us an email at [email protected]."

Article published in The Plaid Horse

​Do you love your DHOH horse and want others to get that same kind of unconditional love? Participate in our new referral program! If you do the following, you'll receive a very, very soft DHOH t-shirt (limit one per referral)!

​Refer one potential new adopter and have them mention your name on the "Why would you like to adopt a horse?" section of our adoption application

1. The potential adopter passes the adoption application, home check and riding evaluation
2. The potential adopter decides to make a DHOH horse their forever family member
3. All of the above is completed between August 13-September 30th.

Thank you all for helping us help more horses! Happy trails all - we greatly appreciate the wonderful lives you give to these fabulous horses!

Jacqui Avis is not only DHOH’s hero everyday, but also 400+ horses’ hero, and recently she was recognized as Denver7’s Everyday Hero! From medical care to nutrition plans to coordinating adoptions to fundraising to event planning to managing the barn, she does it all with a smile. Every horse who has found their way to us whether it be through auctions, owner surrenders or the Annie Project, has experienced her kindness, compassion and unparalleled knowledge. We are so blessed to get to work with such a change maker and life changer!!
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Do you want to be an everyday hero just like Jacqui? Help our hero help more horses through donating to fill our hay barn. It costs $4,500 a month just in hay to support our horses! Celebrate the amazing work that DHOH and Jacqui Avis does by lightening our fundraising load for the month. Our horses will appreciate your heroic efforts!