This year’s summer Barnyard Bash was held Saturday, July 13th at Windy Acres Farm, and welcomed nearly 180 guests!
Highlights included Mallard Ice Cream, talented face painters, interactive horse demonstrations, rabbit play pen, and a rousing game of tug-o-war in the round pen!
For this year’s Barnyard Bash, we decided to offer guests an opportunity to experience what an equine session is like at ANT! We featured two of our senior therapy horses, Sir & Patriot, who are excellent teachers, and offered mini therapy sessions for a donation. Guests signed up for time slots and experienced brief private sessions with a horse and ANT instructor or counselor, getting to see what it’s like for a youth or veteran to meet their therapy horse for the first time.
We also offered guests an opportunity to experience a round pen session, which involves leading a horse and working with an instructor on a certain goal, challenge, or obstacle in their life. Casino (horse) and a guest confronted the man’s anxieties about being a better father, and Casino helped him identify things in his life that were getting in the way of time with his son. Thank you to all those who were brave enough to share your stories with our horses.
Face painting was as popular as ever, with many requests for animals (naturally), and brightly-colored faces of all ages dashed around the barnyard. The rabbit pen attracted a steady stream of visitors eager to cuddle with the bunnies, who darted and jumped and skittered across the grassy pen to the delight of onlookers. Meanwhile, in the goat & llama pen, Casper and Mocha (goats) amused visitors with their playfulness, and Esquell (llama) stood stately as people admired his fur coat.
Thanks to all who made this beloved event possible, including our dedicated staff, hardworking volunteers & interns, generous sponsors, and guests! We could not do our work without you.
Scroll through to see a few of our favorite moments:
