INTRODUCTION

My personal journey up to now, this 60^th year on the planet, has been punctuated by my passion for all things HORSE. Yes, I was that 8-year-old, wide-eyed, horse-crazy girl, full of awe & wonder, and I expect to continue so beyond my 80^th year, God willing. The 2021 Foundations Horsemanship Pilot Program was the culmination of my intermittent, yet relentless equestrian pursuits of the last 50 years. As a life-long horse enthusiast, my personal experience with horses has proven significant in teaching me life lessons that nothing, nor no one else could or would. (Only the horse could subdue the willful pride of my youth. No other created being, not even my most loving parents, could crack through that wall. I was a rebel, and “stubborn” was my middle name. My Dad, in his wisdom, built me a little yellow barn and together with my mom, bought me my first pony when I was eight. What a truly God-led move on their part!) Jesus used horses to help me through the inevitable pitfalls of life and gave me a sense of “sure-footedness” - the security of knowing that I could (and would) be “carried” through the hard times.

In 1998, after a devastating family crisis, I sought solace in the way that my parents originally pointed me, so many years prior – through the grace, truth and mercy of Jesus, accentuated by His gift of horses in my life. This ultimately led to my pursuit and acquisition of a certification and part-time vocation as a therapeutic riding instructor. I worked for a therapeutic riding center in Erie County, PA for several years, which helped fuel the fire and prepare me for my dream of creating a Christ-centered, equine-assisted learning and therapeutic activities community of healing & hope at my little farm in Crawford County, PA.

In 2009, my husband, Mike and I had a party! We gathered family & friends at our little homestead, that we affectionately call, Too Far Out Farm. At that first "open house," we dedicated all our resources to the service of the Lord. Since then, the Lord has been faithful to bring the lost, the hurting and the broken to our doorstep. Many people in transition found the love of Jesus at Too Far Out Farm, as expressed through the ofttimes lost, hurting and broken, yet regenerated hearts of Mike & I. We sought to share what we had, whether it be a horse back trail ride or riding lesson, a job cleaning the sheep shed, a word of truth or a bedroom in our home - whatever was needed at the time. We remain committed to following Jesus as we tend to the mission & ministry set before us. We call the ministry, TFO Family Ministries. “We build on Truth, walk in Faith and serve with Obedience...” This is more than a “tagline.” We have found it to be the key to a prosperous marriage and healthy family life.

As I pursued my dream, it seemed to also pursue me.

Through the trials and tribulations of navigating the way through my own character flaws, I miraculously stumbled upon discovering the value of surrender. The dream was put there by the “Dream-Giver,” and any path, divergent to the one of following Him, proved fruitless. This epiphany was pivotal and proved to be the catalyst that moved me from a dreamy state into a real-life adventure with Jesus.

Fast-forward to 2019. I spent the year setting up my personal circumstances to make room for the intentional creation of a formal therapeutic horsemanship program. I down-sized my graphic design business to make time for next steps towards a deeper fulfillment of TFO Family Ministries. The subsequent onset of the 2020 pandemic and personal challenges related to mine and my husband's health, suspended activities for a year, but by the end of 2020, we were back on track to launching the Foundations Horsemanship Programs.

To say that the 2021 pilot program was a success by worldly standards, would be at best, a stretch of the truth. Community participation and support seemed wanting and attendance by students was near non-existent. It would be convenient to blame the pandemic, however that stance will certainly not accomplish the goals that we seek to achieve. This program should have been part of the answer to the fear and doubt caused by the reaction to a world-wide novel virus outbreak, and given the involvement of key players, I believe it will yet be that, and much more.

Please read this report and judge for yourself the efficacy of the ministry, thus far. More importantly though, consider these humble beginnings as a mere spring-board for the transformation of our entire region.

PILOT PROGRAM SUMMARY:

GOALS: Participants will gain practical life skills and receive opportunities for positive character development through a series of six weekly, 2-hour sessions of Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) activities, Bible teaching, creative expression and focus group discussion. Each weekly session will build on the one prior to help prepare and empower youth and adults to plan and attain educational, professional and personal achievement, emotional maturity and spiritual growth. For a more complete overview of the Foundations Programs, you may download and review the complete statement of the 2021 pilot program Goals & Objectives Document by clicking here --> 2021 FHP Goals & Objectives.

The program was offered at no cost to the participants and we asked only that all applicants who were accepted to the program attend all six sessions.

WHO WAS IT OFFERED TO? We offered four tracks of the program, as follows:

1. A Crawford County youth program with room for 6 students.
2. A Crawford County adult Program with room for 6 students.
3. A Mercer County youth program with room for 6 students.
4. A Mercer County adult program with room for 6 students.

WHO WE ACTUALLY REACHED?

Although, we attempted to reach 12 Adults & 12 youth affected by substance use disorder - six each from Mercer County & six each from Crawford County, we missed the mark by a long shot. However, the ones that started and completed the program report that the program provided a profound betterment of their lives. Two youth affected by substance use disorder attended every session and successfully completed the program. Parents' participation in the class “circle-up” discussions was an unplanned, yet welcome and spontaneous amendment of the lesson plans. Various family members watched the classes, added their insights to the “circle-up” class discussions or waited on our deck while their child attended the class; as such, they were very inspired by the program. They report that their faith was encouraged during the “circle-up” discussions, before and after each class. I was pleasantly surprised by the families' stated benefits gleaned by simply observing what their kids were learning. I helped facilitate spontaneous family discussions about life, love and Jesus during these impromptu “porch-sitting,” gab sessions. The significant adults in these youth's lives enthusiastically stated that they want their kids to continue to participate in future programs. As a matter of fact, one of the parents has asked to serve on the board of directors when we transition the horsemanship program into 501c3 corporate status as a Christian ministry in 2022!

One youth was from Crawford County & one was from Mercer County. Since there were so few students that followed through after registration for the program, I opted to hold classes at Too Far Out Farm LLC in Crawford County, rather than utilizing the second, additional Mercer County location, as originally planned. The youth's families provided transportation to TFO Farm at their own expense. Although there was only one student in each class, I decided to keep the classes separate and I conducted private lessons for each of the two students.

The students became so enamored with the horses that they asked to continue in the program. Since I did not have plans for another horsemanship program for this year, I invited them to participate in the Wooden Nickel Volunteer Reward Program. They gleefully agreed and are three weeks into volunteering as stable management assistants for two hours per week. See this link for details about this volunteer opportunity open to anyone over the age of ten. WOODEN NICKEL VOLUNTEER REWARD PROGRAM

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Foundations Program that was originally developed for each age group were identical. Since the adults who registered failed to attend any scheduled classes, I was able to focus on refining and tweaking the program as I went and gear it towards youth, exclusively.

The program participants that actually showed up for classes every week were youth girls, age 10 & 14. They each received private lessons for the six weeks of the program.

The program morphed over the course of the six weeks from the original plan of six unique lessons into each lesson consisting of new instructional material and content for each of the first three weeks, then focusing on review, testing and demonstration, respectively during the last three weeks of the course. These were the themes of the six lessons and below each theme listed below, I have listed the specific topics/goals supporting the themes:

1. Lesson Theme One was REALITY: The students were encouraged to accept life on life's terms by discerning and choosing to believe what's true. The horses and I offered the REALITY Lesson by facilitating the TFO Farm EAL “Awareness Exercise”. (See also Session One of the Goals & Objectives document for more details.)
2. Spiritual Goal: Memorize & gain understanding of Jesus' words in Matthew 5:3
3. Horsemanship Goals: Gain horse grooming skills & learn from the herd through observation
4. Life Skills Goal: Practice acceptance of reality by being present (congruency of mind, body & soul and appropriate self-expression)
5. Lesson Theme Two was HOPE: The students were encouraged to choose HOPE, rather than despair, anxiety or resentment/bitterness when they encounter hardships in their lives. This biblical principle was illuminated by the TFO Farm “Gas Pedal/Brake Pedal” EAL exercise.(See also Session Two of the Goals & Objectives document for more details.)
6. Spiritual Goal: Memorize & gain understanding of Jesus' words in Phil. 2:13
7. Horsemanship Goals: Gain additional horse grooming skills & begin to learn to “speak horse”
8. Life Skills Goal: Learn effective communication skills & become more self-aware through body language, attitude/tone & proper energy levels
9. Lesson Theme Three was COMMITMENT: The horses and I demonstrated how the student may make a COMMITMENT to surrender to God's guidance when faced with challenges in life. We suggested this as the only path to true peace, and demonstrated this biblical principle by showing how horses (and people) can yield to (common) pressure and push into (inevitable) pain, rather than react with an unthinking, natural mind through a fight or flight response. The TFO Farm EAL exercise called, “Pressure/Pain/Release” helped demonstrate this principle. (See also Session Three of the Goals & Objectives document for more details.)
10. Spiritual Goal: Memorize & gain understanding of Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28
11. Horsemanship Goals: Learn the Pain/Pressure/Release principle of horsemanship
12. Life Skills Goal: Rest work & play, everyday! Finding and receiving balance in life
13. Lesson Theme Four was a REVIEW: The students had an opportunity to practice their newly-learned skills and principles and ask questions in preparation for the next lesson. This lesson plan totally deviated from the original lesson plan as outlined in the Goals & Objectives document, because my experience of teaching the first three lessons made me realize the need for REVIEW, during this course.
14. Lesson Five theme was TESTING: The students demonstrated to me, how well they retained the information in the previous four lessons. I evaluated them as they showed me how to apply their new skills. This lesson also deviated from the original lesson plan as outlined in the Goals & Objectives document, but proved to be a valuable experience of the students growing in self-confidence, as well as assuring me of their abilities.
15. Lesson Six theme was DEMONSTRATION: Although, also not in the original lesson plan as outlined in the Goals & Objectives document, the students were asked to invite any and all of “their people” to come to this last class of the course. The students were given opportunity to DEMONSTRATE their newly acquired skills to their most supportive family and friends. I found this helpful to me, as their mentor, to get to know the folks that the students consider “their people,” plus the students got a chance to earn some kudos from their family & peers. Each student received a Certificate of Achievement and a red or blue ribbon relative to each horsemanship skill acquired. I also gifted them with a framed photo of themselves with the horse with whom they connected most.

OUTCOMES-BASED DATA:

I had hoped to have a larger test group for collecting outcomes-based data. The initial premise was to conduct on-boarding and exit interviews relative to the participants' pre-program, verses post-program understanding of proven recovery principles & activities. These interviews were primarily geared towards adults, however no adults participated.

When I realized there would be such a small pool of participants and none were adults, I abandoned my original plan to collect, evaluate, analyze and report outcomes-based data. Instead, I decided to simply share anecdotal stories from participants and my own perceptions of how the program worked. Those stories and perceptions are weaved throughout the narrative of this report.

Perhaps, when the board of directors assembles for the first time in 2022, we will begin developing a more robust and professional system for producing and utilizing outcomes-based data.

FUNDING FOR THE PILOT PROGRAM:

We could not have conducted this pilot without the generous free-will donations of cash by certain members of the community. Most were individual private citizens, but there was also one business that contributed to the financial side of things, as well. (See the SPONSOR page of the program website.)

On September 20, 2020, I, doing business as Too Far Out Farm LLC, entered into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with Community Arts Experience, Inc. With C.A.E. acting as our fiscal sponsor, we were then able to legally solicit tax-deductible donations from organizations and individuals. Several people that were familiar with our mission and vision stepped up and gave generously.

I also conducted an online photo contest fund-raiser, which generated a small profit.

God provided and we purchased the necessary liability insurance and other program essentials, ie., marketing/advertising, curriculum/training & printed materials, and other program supplies & equipment. The program was fully funded without incurring debt.

CONCLUSION & FUTURE PLANS

Currently, TFO Family Ministries are operated by Mike and Debbie Peterson for the glory of God our Father, by the authority of His son Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a vision of teaming up with other Christian community leaders, in order to grow the ministry and transform our world by sharing the gospel of Jesus through horsemanship. At this writing, five community members have stepped up to assume officer roles on a board of directors, as we transition the ministry, currently known as TFO Family Ministries to a 501c3, non-profit corporation.

We plan to further develop the vision and support the Christian mission of:

Reaching lost (those in transition) and hurting (under-served) people with the gospel and love of Jesus Christ (empowerment), helping them grow, heal and prosper (well-being) in love toward one another (relational reconciliation) through horsemanship, equestrian arts and equine-assisted learning & therapies, as well as the musical/visual arts and other farm activities (fun).

We build on Truth, walk in Faith and serve with Obedience.

Thank you for your interest in learning about the 2021 Foundations Horsemanship Pilot Program. Feel free to call me at 814-807-7038 or email toofaroutfarm@yahoo.com if you have questions or a desire to get more involved in this amazing adventure.

Respectfully submitted, in the love of Jesus,
Deb, Co-founder & Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor

TFO Family Ministries at Too Far Out Farm LLC