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None realized the emotional impact the event would have on participants and program students long after the event was over. Part of that was due to touching moments that program students shared. Evelyn Spillman shared her experience with retiree Shake You Down. Before she met the horse, she had felt she had no purpose and wondered why she should even get up each day. After being with the horse a short time, Spillman realized there was someone who looked forward to seeing her every day and needed her. This alone gave her purpose. Upon her graduation this Fall, she will be working on a horse farm and she credits the program for it. The now decade-old program was the first of its kind in the country to pair female inmates with retired racehorses. The program was implemented to teach offenders of non-violent crimes vocational training and life skills while working with retired racehorses. During the program, female inmates are responsible for the grooming, feeding, vet care and therapy for each of the 42 horses that currently reside there. Ideally, the inmates work with the horses until the horses are able to be adopted into new homes and begin new careers. While working with the horses, learning horse care and growing a passion to nurture, the female inmates can graduate with an Equine Care Technology certification. The successful completion of the year-long program
FAMOUS RESIDENTS Three famous thoroughbreds reside permanently at the farm. The oldest horse on the farm is 24 year-old Carterista. He is affectionately called the “old man” by participants. He won over 50 races in 102 starts. Carterista was the 1993 Florida Champion Turf horse, he was Carterista (above) and honored at Calder’s Festival of the Sun in Shake You Down (below) 2003. The horse received a standing ovation upon his appearance at the track. Shake You Down is a 13 year old Hemingway’s Key chestnut gelding that was named the 2003 Florida Champion Sprinter and winner of nearly $1.5 million. The Grade 2 winner had 65 career starts. Hemingway’s Key is a chestnut horse that placed third in the 2006 Preakness Stakes and is ten years old. includes around 20 written tests, overseen by John Evans, the Vocational Teacher. Evans is a lifelong horseman who keeps the entire program on track while teaching students as many skills as possible during their incarceration. Evans says “It’s amazing to see the change come over the students as they go through the program. This is great rehabilitation. The students’ work ethics grow strong, and they learn all about horses and how to care for them.” Upon release, former offenders have the option to apply their polished equine skills to find employment in the
Lowell Program Director John Evans (above) Lisa Craig, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundations Annual Fund Director (inset at left), greets the crowd of over 100 visitors to the Lowell Correctional Institute Second Chances Farm, funded by the Florida Thoroughbred Charities and managed with the FTBOA.
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