Preschool Field Trips

Our Preschool friends get to meet Billy

On a chilly March morning, the Sanctuary Horses arena came to life with the arrival of 12 preschoolers who were super excited to come and learn more about horses. Billy and Rim got to meet these sweet little munchkins and it was hard to tell who was having more fun - the horses or the kiddos! We were also honored to have many of the Sanctuary Horses board members on hand, along with some of the team from Reclaiming Hope.

Our SH team had set up stations for the kids to experience fun ways of learning about these amazing animals. President, Kate Hillen, began by explaining what we do as a nonprofit and how we make sure that our horses, who might not have homes otherwise, are well loved and cared for here at the arena, and at their summer home on The Sanctuary ranch. We talked about horse safety and the kids did a great job of paying close attention. Then we split up into groups. One of the groups headed straight to the sugar station, where they got to cut out horseshoes, cowboy boots and horses from Rice Krispsies Treats and slather them with icing. Of course we had to add sprinkles and sparkles, just to make sure there was enough sugar. Then they got to eat their beautiful creations! After that, they fashioned lassos from licorice and practiced their roping skills. We definitely saw some future ranchers and rodeo stars!

Meanwhile, the other station was set up to teach the kids about the various parts of a horse, how fuzzy and warm Rim & Billy stay in the winter, how their joints are different from ours, what they eat and so on. We all lined up to pet our two new friends and give them treats. It was all topped off with a game of Pin the Tail on the Horse, of course. The kids tricked Mr. Brent by trading out the paper horse for a real-life one, which they thought was hilarious! After all of this, we lined them up for some fun races. Mr. Brent and Mr. Kurt, also from the SH board, were great sports as they demonstrated how to ‘run’ a sack race. Although their feet were just a bit bigger than the kids and had to adapt. After hippety-hopping through the sack races, we moved on to the big event - barrel racing. The kids were all really excited to find out that Miss Katie was a real life rodeo barrel racer! And while their inflatable horses needed a little encouragement to run as fast and hard as Billy & Rim, these kids raced their little hearts out. It was so much fun to watch! The perfect ending to an amazing morning.

We are looking forward to hosting other preschools from the area for future field trips - we loved every minute of it! And a HUGE shout out to Pinedale Preschool. The teachers there are simply amazing, and the kiddos were so incredibly well-behaved! It gave us a lot of joy to share the arena and our amazing horses with these kids. We love any chance we can get to be a blessing to our community. These tiny cowboys and cowgirls multiplied our fun with their own exuberant joy.

Thank you so much, Pinedale Preschool - we’re big fans!