Special Olympic County Show Results

On April 11th, 23 students from Ivy Hill competed at the Special Olympic Equestrian County Show held in Pineville, PA. Forty Special Olympic Athletes spent a minimum of ten weeks training at Ivy Hill and One Step At a Time (OSAT) from January through April as part of the Bucks County Special Olympics Equestrian Program. On the 11th, they competed in trail, equitation and dressage classes.

In June, 26 altheles from Ivy Hill & OSAT will represent Bucks County at The Pennsylvania Special Olympic Summer Games held at Penn State University. This is an amazing event lasting three days. Athletes participate in open & closing ceremonies, various equestrian competitions and many fun activities throughout the weekend. Athletes get the chance to stay in the dorms, eat the cafeteria food and get a little taste of college life as they "take over" Penn State's campus.

Ivy Hill staff and Board of Directors would like to congratulate our Special Olympic athletes for their hard work and dedication - they do an amazing job representing Bucks County each year. We would also like to wish them the Best of Luck as they prepare to travel to Penn State in a little over a month's time.

Ivy Hill In Action

You can see Ivy Hill in action at the following upcoming events:

Today, April 28th - The 3rd Annual Non-Profit Volunteer Fair, sponsored by First Savings, 4 to 7p.m. at the Plumsteadville Fire House. Ivy Hill is always looking for additional volunteers to help with lessons and barn work as well as special events throughout the year.

May 1 & 2nd - Ivy Hill home show. This is a great opportunity to see our clients show off the skills they practice each week during their lessons. Classes will include dressage, equitation, jumping and trail. The classes begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and on Sunday.

May 29th & 30th - The Handicapped Division of the Devon Horse Show - held at Thorncroft, Inc., Malvern, PA - this horse show is a favorite for our riders. Held in picturesque Malvern, this is an all day show with dressage, trail, equitation and jumping classes. Riders who win trophies & perpetual awards are invited to compete on Sunday Morning at Devon in the Dixon Oval - truly a high honor. Last year Ivy Hill's Crystal & Sean both received trophies and competed on Sunday in the Dixon Oval. And let's not forget Ivy Hill's horses. They are competing as well. Ivy Hill's Blue and Bean were awarded the prestigious Therapeutic Horse of the Year Award in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

May 31st - The barn will be closed in celebration of Memorial Day.

June 8-14th - Barn Closed for Special Olympic State Competition.

June 10-13th - Special Olympics @ Penn State University - join 12 of Ivy Hill's students at the compete at Special Olympic State Games!! This is a fun weekend of competition with athletes from all over Pennsylvania. Students stay in the dorms at Penn State and enjoy all the activities of Special Olympic competition including opening & closing ceremonies.

June 15th - Regularly scheduled lessons resume today.

July 4th - Barn Closed in Observation of July 4th Holiday

July 31st - Trenton Thunder Baseball Fundraiser - Ivy Hill will again host a night of Trenton Thunder Baseball on July 31st. Ivy Hill has 100 seats reserved for us. This Saturday night game has a 7:05 pm start time and includes fireworks. Tickets are $11.00 each and are on sale now! Those who went last year had a great time.

For tickets, please see any instructor or contact Megan Strychowski at (215) 822-2515ext. 1. Deadline for ticket purchase is June 25th.

Please help support Ivy Hill while enjoying a great baseball game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Thank you Volunteers!!!

On Saturday, April 24th, a group of 10 volunteers from the South Eastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) Synod's annual youth "Helping Hands Day" spent the day at Ivy Hill. They cleaned up our flower beds for the summer. The volunteers were from two local Lutheran congregations. More than forty social service organizations in the five county area were helped by several hundred youth on Saturday. Our flower beds look great - thank you volunteers for all your help and hard work!!

The SEPA Synod is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Their mission is to lead youth into a closer relationship with Christ by offering opportunities to explore their faith through worship, expanded Christian relationships and through life-transforming experiences. For more information about their program, please visit their website: http://www.ministrylink.org/ministries/youth/

Local Strangles Outbreak - Please Read

Dear Parents, Staff, Volunteers;


A local barn has had several recent cases of Strangles. Strangles is an extremely contagious disease for horses. For more information on Strangles, please click the link below:
http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0196stran.shtml

If any volunteers, staff or clients visit other barns, please take the following steps to help prevent a Strangles outbreak here at Ivy Hill: If you are coming to Ivy Hill directly from another barn, please make sure you change your clothing and shoes. Please wash hands with antibacterial soap or shower first when possible.

Thank you for helping to prevent Ivy Hill horses from getting Strangles.

Please feel free to ask questions or for more information.

Thank you,
Megan

April 29th Free Parenting & Family Workshop

No Child Left Inside is a free parenting & family workshop presented by the Lenape Valley Foundation. Held at the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce (Suite 23, 252 W. Swamp Road, Doylestown), this wokshop will give you ideas on why & how to get your child outside for unstructured outdoor time. Time is 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. Space is limited - please call 215-348-3913 or email info@centralbuckschamber.com

Trenton Thunder Baseball Fundraiser

Ivy Hill will again host a night of Trenton Thunder Baseball on July 31st. Ivy Hill has 100 seats reserved for us. This Saturday night game has a 7:05 pm start time and includes fireworks. Tickets are $11.00 each and are on sale now! Those who went last year had a great time.

For tickets, please see any instructor or contact Megan Strychowski at (215) 822-2515ext. 1. Deadline for ticket purchase is June 25th.

Please help support Ivy Hill while enjoying a great baseball game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Congratulations to Instructor Julia MacMinn

Julia MacMinn, one of our Ivy Hill's instructors, successfully completed the registered level instructor certification process through NARHA. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, NARHA’s mission is to “change and enrich lives by promoting excellence in equine assisted activities.” To accomplish this mission, NARHA fosters safe, professional, ethical and therapeutic equine activities through education, communication, research and standards. The association ensures its standards are met through an accreditation process for centers and a certification process for instructors. Ivy Hill is in the process of center certification & part of that process is helping all instructors achieve instructor certification. Julia is our 4th instructor to achieve certification through NARHA.

Julia started volunteering with Ivy Hill in 2005 after seeing a flyer about Ivy Hill at the Indian Valley Public Library. She has been teaching for one year.

Julia will be graduating from Lansdale Catholic this spring and in the fall is heading to Penn State University's main campus where she will pursue a duel major in Pre-Vet and Bio Medical Science.

Please offer congratulations to Julia when you see her at the barn or at upcoming horse shows. Becoming a NARHA registered level instructor is a great accomplishment!! Congratulations Julia!!!!