Volume 2, Issue 3
September 2006
ST. FRANCIS
RANGERS
Teaching young people compassion and care through equine education
A Program of the
Hogan Family Foundation
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Ranger News
1
(Continued on page 8)
Ranch Update
2
Herd News
2
Horse Shows
3
Field Trips
4-6
Volunteer News
7
Donations
7
ST. FRANCIS
RANGERS
MANAGEMENT
EDWARD J. HOGAN
Founder and Chairman
MARILYN J. HOGAN
Co-Founder and
Vice Chairman
MIGUEL VEGA
Ranch Manager/
Operations Director
MEAGHAN SHAFFER
Program Manager
RANGER NEWS
There are currently 11 children in the St.
Francis Rangers program. They are coming
to ride twice a week throughout the summer,
and have been able to go on a few fieldtrips.
The older Rangers are able to assist as volunteers for our Casa Pacifica program during
the week. It has been a natural progression
for the older kids to now pass on some of the
knowledge to another group as well as continue their own education by learning how to
instruct. One of the best ways to learn
something well is to have to teach it to
someone else.
VOLUNTEERS
NEEDED
We are in need of
volunteers to help
during lessons on
Monday, Wednesday and
Friday from 4-6
and on Weekends
from 11:30-1
Please contact Meaghan if
you are interested or would
like more
information.
In addition to the original group, the Hogan
Family Foundation began lessons for 20
children from Casa
Pacifica. The children came in four groups: two groups came once a
week for two months and two groups came twice a
week for a month. The twice a week groups came
more frequently because these children are in temporary shelters as opposed to the ones in a longer term
residential situation. Meaghan and Courtney, along
with volunteers Diane and Deb, and Rangers Mari and
Manny, have been braving the 100 degree heat and running alongside the
horses during the lessons. This should be
known as the Hogan Fitness Plan! Now,
if we could just quit eating Deb’s brownies…
Casa Pacifica staff member
Ana on Cody
It has been very rewarding for the staff to
work with these children. The children
really seem to enjoy coming to the barn
and have worked hard to overcome their fears. Most of the kids
have never been around a horse, much less ridden on one! They
Program
Manager
Meaghan
(continued on page 8)
HERD NEWS
A
nnie and Hobo have fallen in love. They are inseparable in the
paddock. In their stalls at night, Annie would pace and Hobo
wouldn’t eat, so we gave in and kept them together. Now, they both
happily live in the paddock overnight and share their meals.
The Minis spent the summer at the Tesoro’s ranch in Goleta, by the sea, and have
now returned from their vacation with two new babies in tow. The Miniature babies
Annie and Hobo
are a hit with the kids. We were in a heated debate over what to name Mimi’s filly. But thanks to Kylie’s
mom in Australia, it was decided that the new Mini filly will be named
La Petite Bella.
Kathy and Karen Macleay of Sylmar, CA have loaned us their Welsh
pony mare named Prize. Prize has created a stir in the barn and the entire
group squabbles about whose turn it is to ride her.
Manny on Prize
Precocious, also known as Coco, has gone back to her home with the
Reichmans. Although we didn’t have a chance to show her, she was fun
to have in the barn and the children learned to ride a saddleseat horse that
has lots of “go.”
RANCH UPDATE
The ranch is under continual improvement by Miguel and his crew:
Osvaldo, Gerardo, and Pancho along with part-time help from Ranger,
Agustin. The arena is finished and is being used daily. Benches have
been constructed around half of the arena and sprinklers have been
installed to keep the dust down.
Other enhancements include an automatic fly spray system in the barn.
A few of the horses have fly bite allergies, so this will improve their
quality of living dramatically. A water misting system is also going to
be installed. The misters will help keep the temperatures down inside
the barn during the hot summers as well as help in the efforts to combat smoke and flying embers in case of a brush fire. The ranch staff
have met with the local firefighters twice and have actually performed
Captain Sauer and crew
a fire drill with an evacuaFrom Station #32
tion. We all feel very
strongly that preparedness is the key to a safe exit in case of an
emergency.
Down in the lower barn, for the sanctuary horses, a new paddock has
been constructed. The older horses love to spend the day in turn-out
together. In addition to making the corral, one panel of a stall on the
side of the barn has been removed. This will allow access to shade,
shavings, and an automatic waterer. Our old friends have given us
years of service and it’s our duty to make sure that they’re comfortable for the rest of their days.
Page 2
New paddock with shade and
automatic waterer
HORSE SHOWS
MINI SHOW IN SANTA BARBARA
Mary Tesoro and
Meaghan drove a
group of Rangers to
Santa Barbara to see a
Miniature Horse Show.
It was a first for all of
us. Of course, there
were so many beautiful
Minis that we all found one we wanted to take home. It
was a glimpse into another facet of the horse world.
Charlie with our Mini
Dania holding new Mini
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY FAIR
The Rangers went
for their 2nd annual
presentation at the
San Fernando Valley
Fair. The Fair gives
us the opportunity to
show the public what
our Rangers have
accomplished. The
Rangers dressed in
costume for the presentation and went
afterwards to talk
with the audience
and introduce
themselves and
our horses. It’s a
great experience
for the children to
do some public
speaking and learn
Mari in native Arabian costume
how to handle
themselves with strangers. They felt proud to know the
answers to horse related questions, and gave them a little
boost of self-esteem.
Agustin and Charlie
From this presentation we even received mention in the
Manny in native Arabian costume
Equestrian News magazine. The reporter wrote: “The
proud smiles, competence, responsibility and quiet confidence exhibited by these terrific youngsters are proof
that the outside of a horse is indeed good for the inside of a child.”
Page 3
FIELD TRIPS
CAMPING IN SANTA BARBARA
We kicked off the summer for the Rangers with an overnight
stay at a campground on El Capitan State Beach in Santa
Barbara. We had a blast. Everyone wished that we could
stay for a few more days, but everything was already reserved. The Rangers are hoping that we can take another trip
in the future. It was really good to see the kids working together as a team, reading the instruction manuals for the
tents, and getting the site livable. Manny made friends with
a blue jay, and Meaghan and Lucy had an encounter with a
food stealing skunk. We brought home good memories and
a renewed sense of camaraderie.
Group on the beach
Manny with his friend the bluejay
Dania making sandwiches
Camp site morning after
Page 4
Sleepy Charlie in tent
FIELD TRIPS
POOL PARTY AT THE HOGAN’S
Mr. Hogan invited the Rangers to a BBQ and pool party.
The weather was scorching hot, and the pool felt fantastic.
Many of the children don’t know how to swim, so it was a
great chance to start learning. Mr. Hogan’s two dogs, Kit
and Cappy both showed off their swimming skills while
diving after toys. The kids were really happy to have the
invitation and were very well behaved and appreciative.
Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Hogan for having us over at your
beautiful place!
Nancy, Vicky, Lucy and Natalie in Jacuzzi
Ranch Manager Miguel Vega
with his daughter Lucy
Having lunch on the terrace
Dania diving
Nancy and Natalie splashing in the kiddies pool
Program Manager Meaghan Shaffer
with daughter Natalie in the large pool
Page 5
FIELD TRIPS
LOMPOC MISSION
Decorative Mission Altar
Mari with boar whistle
The most recent fieldtrip was up to the La
Purisima Mission in Lompoc. The Mission System of California has long been a
favorite for Mr. Hogan. He took the children on a trip to the Santa Ynez Mission
the previous year. The Lompoc mission
was having a special day in which volunteers and staff dress up and work at the
mission doing crafts as they did when it
was in full operations. The children got
to try their hand at carding wool, stirring
lard to make soap and even ate homemade bread from the horno. It was a fantastic trip and we learned so much.
Agustin in hut
Group in hut
Courtney playing stick
and ring game
Soldier with shield
Lesson and game about Jesus
Page 6
Soldier in spear room
Playing on the see saw
VOLUNTEER NEWS
NEW VOLUNTEERS
We have a few new volunteers to acknowledge. Tahlia Joseph has begun to assist in the barn regularly
since spending the summer in Australia. Rachel and Melissa Swanson also have been coming each Friday
to groom and lunge horses. We also welcome back, Alicia Adams. She has begun assisting with the Casa
Pacifica lessons. Finally, Rangers Mari and Manny have worked almost full-time as volunteers the entire
summer. They have been an incredible help and have been missed now that school started again. They
both assisted with the children from Casa Pacifica and are quickly learning to be instructors. Meaghan is
hoping to convince them to come on Sundays to continue helping with the Casa Pacifica lessons.
VOLUNTEER DINNERS
In July we began
having monthly
dinners for our
volunteers. Mr.
and Mrs. Hogan
hosted the first
dinner at Claim
Jumper and the
second at Macaroni Grill. We all
had a great time
Mrs. Hogan (far right) thanks
and it was a long
volunteers for their dedicated
service to Rancho St. Francis
overdue reward
to our dedicated
volunteers. We’re looking forward to more dinners
and hearing suggestions from the volunteers about
how to improve our program.
DONATIONS
Many thanks go to the following people for their
donations:
Diane Dunford donated a large bag of new
body brushes, curries, and hair brushes.
Mary Tesoro generously donated her nearly
new 2-horse slant load trailer.
Laurie Servin donated several saddleseat show
suits and a derby along with several bridles to
match.
Sebastian Bosso donated a handcrafted storage
box with many pigeon holes to organize our
splint boots and grooming supplies.
Thank you for supporting our program. We
wouldn’t be able to serve as many children
as we do without everyone’s continued support.
VOLUNTEER HOURS SERVED
Our volunteers have logged 50 hours in June, 135 in July and 157 in August.
The following are volunteers who served this Summer:
Alex Au
Susan Yavari
Dania Contreras
Amy Utt
Diane Dunford
Matt Joseph
Rachel Swanson
Alicia Adams
Kylie Joseph
Tahlia Joseph
Melissa Swanson
Yvonne Huizer
Deborah Dimich
Sebastian Bosso
Mari Malagon
Mary Tesoro
Manny Villagomez
Tiffany Tesoro
Page 7
NON PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Thousand Oaks, CA
Permit #858
A Program of the
Hogan Family
Foundation
Website
Update
Our website has been
updated in the horse
section. Next to come
will be updates on our
Rangers. We’ve also
included a section on
Casa Pacifica. It contains a beautifully written thank-you note from
the Director of Operations and Development
at Casa Pacifica, as well
as booklets specifically
created to supplement
each lesson.
ST. FRANCIS RANGERS
Hogan Family Foundation
2834 Borchard Road
Newbury Park, CA 91320
Phone: 805-480-3030
Fax: 805-480-3040
Website
www.hoganfoundation.org
Email
[email protected]
RANGER NEWS
(Continued from page 1)
each were able to ride independently, and all even
took a ride bareback which is great for improving balance and progress. That’s pretty cool!
Casa Pacifica staff member
Tiffany grooming Fred
The first group of Casa Pacifica children graduated
the beginning of August. For graduation we gave the
children booklets with pictures of themselves riding
and grooming, and a certificate of completion signed
by the Hogan’s. On the final day, members of Casa
Pacifica staff were able to groom, tack, and ride with
the help from the kids. The second session, which
began August 21 and serves 26 children, will continue
for 8 weeks. We have expanded our program to include groups on Saturday and Sundays in order to accommodate school schedules and shorter days.
Casa Pacifica staff member
Jorge tacking Angelica
For Information Contact Meaghan Shaffer at 805-370-7211
or [email protected]
Visit Our Website at www.stfrancisrangers.org
Vaya con Dios! ( Go with God!)
Page 8