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“We need to reinforce our fences to protect both our horses and the properties of our neighbors.”
— Lift Me Up! President Bob Best
Upcoming Events
*Film Screening of Disney’s Secretariat from 1-3 p.m., Jan. 31. Free. Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, VA 22066
*Book signing featuring Kate Tweedy, daughter of Penny Chennery and co-author of Secretariat’s Meadow: The Land, The Family, The Legend, 5-8 p.m., Feb. 8, 2014.
Cost: $50 for entrance, $35 per book copy. Fairfax Hunt Club, 1321 Lake Fairfax Drive, Reston.
Lift Me Up! Seeks Help from Community for New Fences
Many know the story of Secretariat, a thoroughbred horse who overcame great physical limitations to win the 1973 Triple Crown, taking home wins at the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. However, many may not be aware of Northern Virginia’s historical ties to Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chennery, who rode for the equestrian team for the Madeira School in McLean before graduating in 1939.
During January and February 2014, Great Falls nonprofit Lift Me Up! will share Secretariat’s story with Great Falls and Reston residents in a film screening of Disney’s Secretariat, as well as a book signing featuring Chennery’s daugher, Kate Tweedy, co-author of Secretariat’s Meadow: The Land, The Family, The Legend.
In the book, Tweedy and her co-author Leeanne Ladin detail the history of The Meadow, a thoroughbred farm in Caroline County, Va., once owned by the Chennery family. In the movie Secretariat, for which Tweedy served as a consultant, the champion thoroughbred horse helps to financially save The Meadow after winning the Triple Crown in 1973.
LIFT ME UP!’S THERAPEUTIC RIDING PROGRAM offers horseback riding lessons to both the physically and mentally disabled, as well as military veterans injured in battle through its Back in the Saddle program.
Many of the riders have mental health conditions ranging from autism to cerebral palsy, down syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder, to name a few, and they all benefit greatly from renewed balance, coordination and confidence from riding with Lift Me Up!’s therapy horses.
Georgia Bay, Director of Programs for Lift Me Up! notes that while its 13 therapy horses may not be championship-winning thoroughbreds, they do make a difference in riders’ lives every day.
“We see these wonderful little victories – the child who develops the ability to sit balanced, when before he could just lean to the side; the rider who decides to talk after months of riding in silence,” said Bay, adding fondly, “Of course that first comment is always about the horse.”
The nonprofit receives help from community donors and volunteers as well as student interns, equestrian students from the Madeira School, who work with riders each week.
“If Penny were attending there now, I imagine she would likely volunteer too,” said Laura Smith, Director of Donor Relations.
Smith also noted that Penny’s father, Christopher Chennery, helped to train military veterans in horseback riding here in Northern Virginia. “Penny has long been a champion for horses and people with disadvantages.”
ONE OF THE PROGRAM’S HORSES is actually a former racing thoroughbred named Radar, who, after a short-lived racing career, has taken home awards with young riders at the Therapeutic Riding Association of Virginia’s statewide horse show in Lexington, Va. Radar’s former owner Donna Zimmerman, a Great Falls resident, donated him to Lift Me Up! after her daughter Jenna, now a volunteer with the organization, outgrew the former competition racing horse.
“He was the most gentle, caring soul that I had ever seen in a horse, and for me at the time, I knew that this horse was going to be safe with my daughter to learn on,” said Zimmerman of Radar.
When her daughter moved on to higher competition levels, Zimmerman saw that Radar would make a great training horse and notified Program Director Georgia Bay.
“He’s not a high-strung thoroughbred at all,” added Zimmerman. “We knew that he would be a perfect horse for the riders to learn on at Lift Me Up! It’s great to see him bring so much joy to so many people.”
Lift Me Up!’s major fundraising program for 2014 is called Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. The organization is collecting donations from the community in order to fund the building of new fences surrounding the nonprofit’s property in Great Falls.
“We need to reinforce our fences to protect both our horses and the properties of our neighbors,” said Lift Me Up! President Bob Best about the fundraiser.
In addition to the organization’s upcoming fundraising events in January and February, The Saddlery, located at 731 Walker Road in Great Falls, is also selling copies of Secretariat’s Meadow for $35 to contribute to the fundraiser.