STARZ Equestrian Center

01/13/2025

Thank you Kern Mechanical!

01/13/2025

Getting new Christmas gifts settled in their spot!!! We love it!
Thank you Abby Bass!

01/12/2025

Tomorrow (Sunday, January 12) from 12-2pm, we have our new volunteer orientation! All volunteers who wish to assist in therapeutic riding classes must first attend orientation!

To fill out our volunteer application and register for this or other upcoming trainings, please click here!

https://bttr.im/8b3w4

We can’t keep smiles in saddles without you!

1. Criteria for Class Volunteers: You are over age 10, willing to work with children and adults with special needs, and able to walk for 3 hours (and occasionally jog) on uneven footing. If you do not meet these criteria, please consider helping our organization in other ways!

12/28/2024

Blizzard and Monty enjoying their afternoon on the farm.

12/25/2024

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the barn, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse (because our barn cats do a good job). The stockings were hung by the tack room with care, in hopes that St. Nicolas soon would be there….

12/23/2024

12/14/2024

More sheds!

12/14/2024

Follow us along on our 12 days of Christmas with each day featuring one of our amazing equine partners as well as a way to support our program!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Superstarz Gave To Me…….A Donation to our Veterinary Fund!

Day 6-
Did you know that one of our largest expenses that is the toughest to budget is our veterinary fees? We don’t limit any of our horses need for care due to funding because our equine partners deserve it all. Without them, we have nothing. And with most of our horses being older and donated, they usually come with some type of maintenance!
Beyond regular vaccinations, dentals, and check ups, our herd has some unique needs! Chief has a $5000 surgery coming up for his recurring sinusitis. Boots requires $1000 injections every 3 months for his arthritis. Remi is in need of a $1500 gastric scope treat her hind ulcers. Spencer requires weight gain medication at $150 per month. Our herd in general is on medications and supplements that total over $500 per month! We also treat them to massage and chiropractic when needed to keep them balanced and ready to work! How fitting seeing as today is national day of the horse!

Boots
Boots is a newer member of our team but Miss Charlotte has known him for years! Boots loves to whinny and knicker and make funny faces to entertain the kids and instill confidence in those who haven’t spent much time around horses.

Boots is an 18 year old dark bay quarter horse that looks very similar to our other horse, Shocky. He’s about 15.2 hands tall but with his really bad arthritis, Boots can only handle smaller riders and mostly at the walk.

Boots spent most of his life Buffalo Soldiers - Michigan in Detroit helping to educate and honor those in the Civil War’s all black cavalry unit called the Buffalo Soldiers. When he wasn’t working with them, he was visiting kiddos with Camp Casey as part of their horsey house call program! He spent many weekends visiting metro Detroit visiting children with cancer or other terminal illnesses. He loved to whinny up and down the streets letting everyone know that a horse was in their “neigh”borhood!

Boots gets along with everyone in our herd but loves hanging out with Lenny the cow too! He’s very happy to be outside all the time and roaming free!

12/10/2024

Follow us along on our 12 days of Christmas with each day featuring one of our amazing equine partners as well as a way to support our program!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, My Superstarz Gave To Me……A Order From The Apparel Store!

Day 5-
We’ve partnered with local business, Broadway Embroidery & Screen Printing, to offer a fully customizable experience for your Starz Equestrian apparel and merchandise! We have several T-shirt, long sleeve, and sweatshirt options available on our website, https://www.broadway-embroidery.com/collections/starz-equestrian-center , but they can also make almost anything you choose! For every item, Starz receives $5 from your purchase as well as having you represent our brand out in the community! Make sure you’re look stylish this holiday season!

Shocky
Shocky is hands down one of the most valuable members of our team. His quiet nature and built in safety feature (likes to walk) makes him the perfect option for those learning to be more independent off the lead line! You’ll also find him walking side by side his buddy Chief, during a lot of semi private lessons!

Shocky is a 24 year old, dark bay quarter horse! He’s around 15.1 hands but being more stout than Chief makes him a little sturdier for some of our riders! He looks a lot like one of our other horses, Boots, but Shocky has 2 little white dots on his nose!

Shocky was generously donated by Beth Rohder and her daughters who loved Shocky for years! He was trained in mostly western discipline but competed with his girls doing 4H and other shows over the years. He shocked up by trying to run home after walking the barrel pattern because he remembers his competitive days!!!

Shocky’s most favorite thing to do is roll around! While he would much rather roll in the soft arena dirt, he will often roll outside all well meaning he comes in covered in mud! It’s a good thing he’s cute!!! When he’s not working in lessons, you’ll find him in the pasture attached to his girlfriend, Remi!

12/09/2024

Follow us along on our 12 days of Christmas with each day featuring one of our amazing equine partners as well as a way to support our program!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, My Superstarz Gave To Me……A Corporate Sponsored “Jean” Day!

Day 4-
Many corporations and businesses have different benefits to support their local nonprofit programs! In September, local car dealer Serra Mazda Brighton hosted a “Jeans Day” where for $5 each Friday, they got to wear jeans for the day and all proceeds went to benefit Starz! Does your work have something like this that can benefit us together? Consider Starz when choosing the recipient….every dollar counts!

Lacye
Lacye is by far the biggest but most gentle horse in our herd and is a fan favorite! Don’t let her size fool you because she’s basically a giant puppy! She is a draft breed-Belgian, like the horse’s you would see on Mackinac Island and typically known for their huge feet and feathers (long hair) on their heels! She is 16.2 hands and has a chestnut coat with flaxen mane that we love to brush and decorate!

Lacye has one of the most easy going personalities on the farm and is quicker to listen to the cues of her riders! She loves getting to tote around the little guys and spends most Sundays in the Summer visiting children with cancer and other terminal illnesses with Camp Casey! In fact, that’s how Miss Charlotte met her several years ago! She’s unflappable and has been in several parades and we hope to be able to bring her more places for mobile visits but need to purchase a horse trailer that will fit her big b***y!!!!

Lacye was generously donated by Shelley Bolbrugge who trained Lacye to do dressage and light jumping after getting her from the Amish! All of Shelley’s human children are named from their Irish heritage, so when choosing Lacye’s name she chose the Irish spelling which explains the reverse of the y and e from the traditional English spelling. Shelley hired an animal communicator for her animals and when they asked Lacye what she wanted she expressed a bigger desire to help more children and wanted to be a therapy horse…..and we could not be more thankful that she loves her job!

Lacye loves being outside and frolicking in the pasture except she’s the only horse that doesn’t love our mini cow, Leonard, and will chase him around the pasture! 😂 Her favorite things are big juicy apples and carrots to eat with her big lips and cool baths as she has a tendency to be very sweaty in the warmer months!

We love you Lacye!

12/08/2024

Follow us along on our 12 days of Christmas with each day featuring one of our amazing equine partners as well as a way to support our program!

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Superstarz Gave To Me….A Parade Full of Supporters!

Day 3-
Come support our riders and our program and enjoy the “warm” winter day by walking with us today in the Rochester Holiday Parade! All walkers are welcome and must meet at Stony Creek High School at 12:30pm (Roads Close At 1:00 Sharp!) If you’re not walking, feel free to cheer us on from the sidelines as well as at home as the parade will be Live on Channel 7!

Blizzard
Oooooh Blizzard! Blizzard is quite the character around the farm known as the spicy pony! While she truly enjoys her work as a therapy pony, because of inconsistent training she just isn’t sure how to be the best independent ride but she sure does try her best! She is a 14 year old, grey Arabian even though she appears white! She stands about 14.3 hands putting her just above pony height but it’s a little difficult to truly measure her because she sustained an injury to her neck/withers when only a baby that should’ve ended her life but instead, Blizzard persevered and became the spunky thing we know and love!

Blizzard’s shorter legs and quicker gate are perfect for our riders who need more input and are more sensory seeking. She loves to go fast when asked and I have no doubt that with all the hard work that our volunteers are putting in that Blizzard will make a great independent pony one day! She even went to 4H camp last year!

One of Blizzard’s secret moonlighting jobs to help earn her keep is by being our most majestic unicorn for our Unicorn Photoshoots that we host each Spring in collaboration with KC Photography. Blizzard always makes sure to keep the magic alive throughout the very long day of shoots!

Blizzard’s favorite game is a combination of peek-a-boo and chase where she likes to hide out in the pasture and then if you find her, she will make you chase her! She sure is good at it!

Before being in the Starz herd, Blizzard was mostly used for trail riding and she even had 2 babies! I wonder if they are anything like there mother! 😂

12/07/2024

Follow us along on our 12 days of Christmas with each day featuring one of our amazing equine partners as well as a way to support our program!

On the Second Day of Christmas, My Superstarz Gave Me….A Full Volunteer Orientation!

Day 2-
We need your help in the arena as volunteer leaders and sidewalkers for our growing therapeutic riding program as well as other duties such as barn managers, office managers, fundraising and other farm duties! In order to participate with riders and horses, volunteers must fill out a volunteer application (https://bttr.im/8b3w4) and attend an orientation! Our next orientation will be held on Sunday, January 12 from 12:00pm-2:00pm and you must register on Better Impact! We can’t wait to see you there! Bring a friend or 2 and pass along the word! No horse experience necessary!

Chief
What can we say about Chief….also known as Commander In Chief. Chief is the second horse to have joined our herd at Starz and he filled the spot of working with our smallest, most fragile, and first time riders. Every riding program needs a Chief. He is 28 years old but doesn’t hesitate to keep the young guys in line especially if they are messing with his food! He is 15.2 hands high with bay coloring like Remi, however he has a large white stripe down his nose, not to be confused with his white/gray wisdom hairs that he’s grown over the years. 😉 Chief is a quarter horse and was western trained so his soft, slow, smooth gaits make the perfect first trot and bare back ride. Chief came from a loving home (Thank you Adrienne Tompkins) with a little boy with Down Syndrome so he already took his job very seriously!

Chief was a hometown hero after disaster struck our Oxford Community when we lost 4 beautiful lives to a tragic event at Oxford High School. Chief immediately braved the streets for both the Lake Orion and Oxford Community Vigils giving out horsey hugs and he even made an appearance at Legacy 925 as a therapy horse to help those affected by the incident.

Being an older horse, Chief struggles with some medical issues (Cushing’s Disease and Ongoing Chronic Sinusitis) which require daily medications and expensive procedures but he’s worth it!

When not slllllllloooooooowwwwwwllllllllyyyyy walking around the arena, you will find Chief eating hay, eating grass, eating treats, or waiting at the gate to be fed! 😂

12/06/2024

Follow us along on our 12 days of Christmas with each day featuring one of our amazing equine partners as well as a way to support our program!

On the First Day of Christmas, my Superstarz gave to me…….A bunch of Kroger Plus Accounts!

Day 1-
Did you know you can link your Kroger Plus account to automatically donate a percentage of your gas and grocery spending back to our program? Once you enroll once, that’s it! Kroger sends us a check every quarter with the contributions!
1) Go To Kroger.Com and Login to Your Account
2) Click “My Account”
3) Scroll Down To Community Rewards and Click
4) Check and make sure you are enrolled with Starz Equestrian Center (KG695)

Remi
Remi’s full name is Remarkable Remi and that she is indeed. She is the perfect horse for our riders who need a little more of a challenge and a quicker step than our old guys! Remi is part thoroughbred and part Hanoverian (very fancy!) which is part of what makes her so dainty and pretty. She is 18 years old, 15.2 hands tall and a beautiful bay color (brown body with black mane and tail) with just a kiss of white on her forehead like she brushed up against a painted fence! Remi spent time doing jumping and eventing (like what you see in the Olympics) in her past life and came to us from her previous owner Sandra Fossano, after she wanted to try showing English! Remi was our very first horse in our program and loves her job as a therapy horse! She’s worked with Camp Casey as one of their hero herd horses as well! She’s Miss Charlotte’s baby!

When she’s not taking her job seriously, she can be found with her “boyfriend” Shocky, and being a naughty girl cribbing on the fence 🙄

12/05/2024

Did you know there are actual international certifications and credentials to running a safe and legitimate therapeutic horseback riding program? PATH INTERNATIONAL (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) has hundreds of standards regarding instructor certification, volunteer standards, horse use, contraindications and precautions for different diagnoses, as well as other things.

Many people with access to horses and a big heart, decide to run “therapy” programs out of their barns without knowing any of the very intricate and specific rules of working with participants of different abilities and it can cause dangerous and liable results and can even result in unintentional negligent behavior.

Our instructor is PATH certified (among other things) and has been for 15 years! We take pride in following and consulting PATH Standards for every aspect of our program.

Please do your due diligence as a participant, volunteer, and donor when it comes to people claiming to do “horse therapy” or therapeutic riding!

12/03/2024

Do you know what you’re supporting when you donate to our small but growing nonprofit? STARZ Equestrian Center is committed to offering a fully inclusive environment where everyone can share in the love, power, and healing of horses together! Times are tough, but I know that everyone wants to be a part of a tangible change in their community….this is how you do it!

Every dollar, no matter how many, goes to supporting our horses, our facilities, our scholarships, and our future programming! We are 100% volunteer run and every single human hour on the farm is donated!

We serve 20 weekly riders, hosted 22 Girl Scout troops, partnered with 5 other local nonprofits (Camp Casey, Detroit Horsepower, Keys Grace Academy, The Friendship Circle, State of Michigan Foster Care Program), hosted 10+ specialty experience rides, and offered so many horsemanship opportunties! We hosted our first fundraiser, held our first volunteer orientation, one of our instructors became certified in equine meditation and mindfulness techniques, and we are working on a physical/occupational therapy program, reading/tutoring program and a homeschool program as well!

Supporting us helps us continue to reach for Starz!

11/30/2024

LET’S GO BLUE!
💙💛

Check out Starz Equestrian Center’s video.

11/24/2024

And you thought you were having a bad hair day…..Penny wants to know if we like her extensions!