From Mint Moose Lodge, to various locations throughout Sierra Highway, participants of the Blue Star Ranch Poker Run supported the nonprofit in an effort to raise funds for free equine-assisted therapy for veterans and first responders.
With an entry fee of $40, and an additional $35 for a passenger, attendees spent hours participating in a poker run by riding their motorcycles, with the opportunity to also show support through a silent auction.
“This is our third year. Our friends at the Moose are letting us do it here. So far, so good. It’s been a beautiful day. They’re going down Sierra Highway, all the way down to Barrel Springs Road, then cutting back up to Angeles Forest, going through Acton, a little bit of Agua Dulce, and if they get done early, they’re over at River’s End RV Park before they finish here,” said John Zhe, volunteer with Blue Star. “Like any charity, we live and die on fundraisers.”
While the services provided for the veterans are free, expenses include the demands of five horses.
“We supply equine therapy for mostly post-traumatic stress disorder veterans, and we don’t charge the veterans a cent. The only one that makes any money is the therapist, but we have five hungry horses. So we always need volunteers and donations, and we have a few grants going. We’re doing OK,” Zhe said. “PTSD is treated by Veterans Affairs, psychiatrists, pharmaceuticals, and a lot of times the guys get to the point where it doesn’t work, or they just won’t do it anymore.”
According to Zhe, equine-assisted therapy is an old practice that was used as early as World War I.
“Before psychiatry, equine therapy was done with World War I soldiers, and it basically teaches you patience that most soldiers don’t have when they get out. That’s always the problem with PTSD, and the therapist has you do things with a 1,000-pound horse. You’re not going to coerce them. You’re not going to yell at them and make them do something. You have to be very patient and be calm,” Zhe said. “There’s usually a 30 to 70% reduction in tensions, and all the symptoms they had is a marked improvement, and quite a few of our veterans have turned out to be volunteers.”
Amelia Hakonsson is among the volunteers who has been immersed in the nonprofit for nearly a year.
“I started a year ago, and I’ve been coming every Saturday. We’ve had a really faithful group that has come, and we’ve just become really, really close. We’ve got to watch the horses interact with the humans and see the magic that is equine rehabilitation for veterans — it’s the best. I feel like the more people know about it, and the more people know about its benefits and successes, they get so attached to the horses and they have this special, spiritual experience that they never experienced before,” Hakonsson said.
Moving from Alabama to California less than two years ago, Hakonsson comes to help despite not having any military experience. Hakonsson previously had a horse for 13 years, but after he died, she took a break from horses for years.
“The therapy can help with a lot of things — I think a lot of people are struggling these days, and I think that the answer could be very much right in front of us, which is getting in touch with nature and interacting with more pure souls on the Earth, like horses and other animals,” Hakonsson said. “I don’t have anyone in the military, my family doesn’treally know anyone in the military. I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity and to work with these people because it is magical. It’s one of those things that can make life really beautiful when everything else seems really crazy.”
For more information, visit bluestarranch.org.
