In search of greener pastures for men and horses

In a world of diminishing farms, suburban dwellers seldom have the chance to visit horse barns that are active. Fewer people ever see a correctional center where inmates are interacting with horses in ways that benefit them both.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the James River Correctional Center, and on Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation-James River’s Third Annual Barn Tour, held this year in Chesterfield and Powhatan counties, the public has an opportunity to smell the hay and hear the neighs. While the mid-week event is aimed at instructors, barn managers and others looking for a modestly priced horse for a student, the Sunday barn tour will engage the public at large. Ticket sales for the barn tour benefit the area second-chance program at JRCC, which brings together the men and the horses.

The men are inmates at JRCC, and most of those who qualify for a six-month groom-training program with ex-racehorses graduate with a Groom Elite certification. The certification originated as a racetrack certification program but has been adapted for both farm training and correctional rehabilitation. Sponsored by the TRF-James River, the program is one of eight corrections-based programs across the United States operated by the national foundation that is the oldest and largest charity devoted to equine rescue.

The TRF-James River has worked with JRCC for the first showcase of horses at the correctional center barn, located on the north side of the James River from Powhatan County, beginning at 10 a.m. on Sept. 16. Interested persons should check out www.JamesRiverHorses.org and e-mail statefarmhorses@aol.com.

The horses at the JRCC, no longer capable of racing to earn the cost of feeding and housing them, have often been neglected or abused and are usually destined for slaughter unless they can be adopted. The job of inmates, who work at rebuilding trust between man and horse in the prison program, is to care for the animals, with the objective of having the horses adopted.

The James River program, with 16 horses at present, has had seven adoptions in the past two years and 14 graduates of its Groom Elite program, with six inmates still in it. The program also offers assistance to inmates in finding jobs upon release.

Inmate William Washington, who has just gotten his work-release and is due to leave JRCC next April, is proud of moving from kitchen duty at JRCC to the TRF program in the barn. A Norfolk native convicted of breaking and entering, he speaks fondly of soaking Wild-Eyed Dreamer’s left front leg -- which was suffering a bowed tendon upon arrival -- in ice to keep the swelling down.

Craig Turner, a native of Newark, N.J., served in the U. S. Navy for four years but has been at JRCC for five years, though in prison a total of 12 years for cocaine possession with intent to distribute. He expects to get out in March 2011 but will be eligible for work release in January or February 2010; he looks forward to visiting with his son, who he says maintains good grades and is interested in pursuing engineering. “My mistakes are not his istakes,” Turner emphasizes.

Turner graduated from the Groom Elite program on May 5 and hopes to find work in either Charlotte, N.C. -- where his mother tells him there are a lot of show horses -- or Greenville, S.C. -- where his sister has said a lot of horse farms are located. Like other inmates in the program, Turner had seen a horse only on television before he became involved with the program.

“You’re learning on the fly with the other people here and all of the encouragement you get. The horses are just as timid as we are, but you can’t let it show. You have to get in the stall and start interacting with the horse,” he says. To avoid being kicked, he explains, “Stay in constant contact with the horse. If your hand is on him as you walk around him, you reassure him about where you are and what you’re doing.”

Visitors cannot help but sense the affinity between man and horse at the correctional center. The men speak freely of their own mistakes and show sympathy for the horses that they feel have done nothing to deserve ill treatment. The organizers of the TRF-James River program feel good about helping prepare horses for adoption and men for reentry into the community at large.

Click here to learn more about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation-James River’s 3rd annual Barn Tour that will be held this year in Chesterfield and Powhatan counties on Sunday, Sept. 20. The public is welcome to tour active barns, which supports a second-chance program at James River Correctional Center.