Stewart+Brown Donates to REINS of H.O.P.E.

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Stewart+Brown was proud to help raise funds for Reins of H.O.P.E. This local (to Stewart+Brown) non-profit organization, located in scenic Ojai, California serves the local community by offering an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy program to at-risk youth, families, individuals and groups. Reins of H.O.P.E. partners with horses as an experiential form of therapy, emphasizing the unique needs of each individual to promote growth and learning about themselves and how changes in their behavior, thoughts and feelings can bring change in their lives.

Local surfer, equestrian and member of Reins of H.O.P.E., Jeanette Ortiz poses for a picture with her mother, Marie Ortiz (left) and Julie Giove (right), executive director of Reins of H.O.P.E. The following story is Jeanette’s experience of the fundraiser and of the organization.

Main Street in Ventura on a Saturday night is always alive with things to do, but on this weekend in September, there was a special event going on. One hundred plus people showed up to attend a fundraiser to benefit Reins of H.O.P.E at the prestigious Sylvia White Gallery. Between a silent art auction of Sylvia White’s horse collection, an in-house DJ, food and drinks provided by El Rey Cantina, Aloha Steakhouse, and many more local restaurants, guests were highly entertained.

Reins of H.O.P.E. (Human Opportunity Partnering with Equines) team consists of a herd of horses, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Julie Giove, and a horse professional, Marie Ortiz.

The sessions offer experiential therapy and learning through specially designed activities that involve interaction with the horses. There is no riding involved.

Clients are able to explore and discover new and effective solutions to the challenges they face in life through the experiential type of learning that takes place in the arena.

The following photographs are courtesy of Photographer, David Pu’u.

Horses and humans have been intertwined throughout history. These powerful archetypal animals add the dimensions of metaphor and image to our learning about ourselves and our relationships.

They are ambassadors of the natural world with the ability to remove us from our routine and shift our perspectives.

They model how to be authentic, congruent and immerse completely in the moment. For more information about Reins of H.O.P.E, go to their website at http://www.reinsofhope-ojai.org/