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Angelica Gregory talks it out with Multiple Choice, great-grandson of Secretariat, as part of the James River Horse Foundation program where inmates train former racehorses.
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(From left) Sarah Fink, the program manager, and Debby Dunham, president of the James River Horse Foundation, say the program can be transformational for horses and inmates.
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Danielle Covell feeds her horse under the supervision of Officer W. Robinson.
As she stared out the window of the prison van at the razor wire and armed officers on arriving at the State Farm Work Center in Goochland, Danielle Covell suddenly broke into a smile. On a nearby hillside at the facility, horses were grazing in a pasture. “I saw the horses and realized why I had been sent here,” she says. “Not too many people can come to prison and say, ‘This is my career.’”
Covell, who has been around horses most of her life, knew a door had opened for her. Since being released from prison, she hopes to pursue her assistant trainer’s license.
In partnership with the Virginia Department of Corrections, the James River Horse Foundation places up to 28 retired racehorses in the Work Center pastures and trains nonviolent female felons to care for them. At the end of the intensive training, which includes everything from anatomy and health to handling and care, “[the women] are qualified to work in the equine industry,” says Debby Dunham, president of the foundation. “They have the training for a horse management or horse handling position. For example, they can go into a groom position.”
But that’s not the only career the James River Horse Foundation has helped foster. There are the horses to consider. After all, it’s their second act, too.
“These horses are incredible athletes, but, like most athletes, they have very short careers and very long lives,” Dunham says. “This program offers them a second career — teaching these ladies how to bond with them and care for them. The ladies help the horses launch a third career. Thoroughbreds are very competitive. Some compete in polo or dressage. Others may be trained for hunter jumper events. Still others become pasture mates because horses are herd animals.”
Since the program began with 2007 with just seven horses, the James River Horse Foundation, accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, has worked with more than 80 racehorses, moving most on to less competitive pastures.
Before the horses enter the program, they are carefully screened by foundation board members, a veterinarian and Sarah Fink, the program manager. “Every horse is valuable, but not every horse fits into this program,” Dunham says. Those that do are guaranteed a sanctuary for life, although the goal is to find the horses greener pastures around the state. “The agreement is that if you adopt a horse from us, you can always bring it back,” Dunham adds.
Making horses happy is only half the story; for the women who take care of them, it’s also the chance for a new life. Prior to 2019, when the DOC switched the Goochland prison to a female population, the program was focused on male inmates. The recidivism rate for incarcerated people who participate in career and technical educational programs is 12%, compared to Virginia’s overall rate of 20.6%, according to the DOC.
“The therapeutic aspect of working with horses is essential for the ladies in the program,” Fink says. Many come into the program with no experience. “They can be very scared. They are slowly introduced into a safe environment that empowers them to hold boundaries, even with big animals. It’s transformative. You can see the confidence they get in themselves by working with the horses and with the other ladies, building those relationships.”
“[Horses] offer so much in return,” says inmate Sherry Shortt, who was previously an advocate for the ethical treatment of animals but had never been around horses and admits their size intimidated her. “They were bigger than the dogs and cats I was used to. They may be bigger, but they are just as gentle. They can read you. They know your moods. It amazes me every day what they are capable of understanding. They take my mind off anything negative.”
The horses, and their caretakers, will be greeting the public at the annual Open Barn, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the James River Work Center on River Road West in Goochland. The event is free and open to all ages. Parking is available, and vans will shuttle visitors to and from the site.
