On Friday, November 26th, Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Huron Bruce MPP, joined representatives from the Pegasus Riding Association Nurturing Challenged Equestrians (PRANCE) for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new facility at Miramichi Farms in Port Elgin.
Thompson attended the ceremony and learned more about the impact that two grants totalling $117,300 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and the Provincial Government are having on PRANCE’s programs and operations.
In March of this year (2021), PRANCE received a one-year, $70,000 grant from OTF’s Resilient Communities Fund program, an initiative that was created to help non-profit organizations to rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Then this summer, PRANCE learned it was also receiving a six-month, $47,300 Community Building Fund grant from the Government of Ontario and delivered by OTF. This grant is designed to help with operating costs for non-profit groups that have struggled through the lockdowns due to COVID-19.
“PRANCE is certainly a special and unique facility that we are fortunate to have here in Bruce County,” said Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson. “I know that these funds have been very well spent and the great work that PRANCE has done for almost 30 years will continue. Thank you to all the volunteers who are so dedicated to helping others.”
PRANCE’s one-year Resilient Communities Fund grant helped with the construction of a newly completed outdoor, covered arena (to be known as the PRANCE pavilion) for its equine-assisted mental health programming. This will give people improved access to programs and events at PRANCE for years to come. Thanks to the Community Building Fund grant, there will also be assistance with staffing costs, including a therapeutical riding instructor, as well as help with the cost for boarding horses.
“The boost that this OTF grant provided to us as we struggled through the pandemic cannot be over-stated,” said Ann Marie Johnston, Executive Director of PRANCE. “It will allow us to offer programming outdoors in a well-ventilated, covered space that will serve as the backdrop to much-needed programs that pair horses with a mental health practitioner. This grant helped us to realize a long-held dream of expanding our facility and enables us to help more children and adults with various challenges through the power of horses!”
PRANCE is committed to expanding their mental health services or EFW (Equine facilitated wellness) and sharing with the community how horses can help. The new structure will also allow for additional therapeutic riding opportunities and will be an excellent venue for other activities, such as for campers participating in the fully integrated summer horse camp program.
The new structure is both beautiful and practical thanks to designer and builder, System Equine, and the assistance of local builder, Brian Snyder of Snyder Development.
Minister Thompson, whose background is in agriculture and farming and who was past-Chair of the Ontario 4-H Foundation, said that she saw several possible uses for the facility in the future. “Having shown cattle as a student, I can see this facility being used for other possibilities such as 4-H training. Who knows what the future will bring.”
Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Minister Thompson had the opportunity to tour the PRANCE facility.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, almost $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
For more information contact: PRANCE
