by VALERIE JACKSON
For the Sequim Gazette
In the midst of all the holiday lights and carols, as people scurry to finish preparing meals and shopping, there should be a moment in time taken to recognize those who work all year long in a giving spirit to help others in our community.
On Saturday, Dec. 19, the Co-op Farm & Garden in Sequim took just such a moment to recognize the work of the Olympic Peninsula Equine Network (OPEN) and their supporters from the Silver Spurs 4-H Club.
The boys and girls of Silver Spurs chose OPEN, the nonprofit horse rescue organization of Clallam County, to be one of the beneficiaries for their 2015 Community Outreach projects. The kids worked hard, fundraising for most of the year to raise the money needed to purchase “a pallet of grain” to help the horses of OPEN with the cold wet winters of the North Olympic Peninsula.
OPEN was founded in 2005 by myself and Diane Royall, who have both loved and owned horses for most of our lives. When we began, there were just no resources available for neglected horses in Clallam County or any real help for horse owners in need of assistance. So Diane and I began taking them in and helping where we could as our personal funds, supplies, properties and time would allow. Over the past 10 years OPEN has continued to grow and is now a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, with a dedicated and visionary board of directors. Together they have made a huge difference to ease the suffering of literally thousands of horses through rescue, rehabilitation, networking and, when possible, re-homing abused, neglected and unwanted horses from Clallam County as well as locations all around over the country.
In addition to saving horses, OPEN also offers education and hosts low-cost vet clinics intended to help horse owners with the rising costs of routine vet care. OPEN has been operating from donated and private properties all this time. This past year however, OPEN leased a few acres on Roupe Road in Sequim. The volunteers have been putting up fences, raising funds, gathering materials (both new and used) and just recently have begun building shelters and paddocks to house their rescued horses until they are ready for new homes. There also are plans to build a small arena for clinics and training. This property will be the home base of OPEN until a larger equine facility can be either purchased or donated. OPEN is run by volunteers and depends entirely on their fundraising efforts, adoption fees and donations from private individuals in order to continue the year-round work.
The Silver Spurs 4-H Club has been active for 32 years and provides a center for young people in the area to enjoy projects as diverse as horsemanship, home arts, raising animals and leadership preparation. Parents and families have supported community service that includes support for OPEN, sponsorship of a child in Africa and support for the communities and firefighters in Eastern Washington who endured the fires of this past summer.
It is good to know that the giving spirit of the holidays doesn’t disappear with the New Year, but continues throughout the year with these organizations. Support them both to make your own holiday brighter.
To contact OPEN, find it on Facebook at Olympic Peninsula Equine Network-OPEN, visit www.olypenequinenet.org or leave a message at 360-207-1688. Information about Silver Spurs can be found at the 4-H office at 417-2398 or by calling Judy Richmond at 683-4837.
