The Standardbred Horse Owners Panel has donated $5,000 to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society, a gift that will allow the organization to foster and adopt more retired racehorses.
Trot Insider spoke to SHOP's executive director Scott Rowe, who said the donation was made anonymously by a director of SHOP, and that it is a cause the whole organization supports.
"I'm extremely pleased by the commitment of this generous donor and all of SHOP members in their support of OSAS," Rowe said.
"I am just overwhelmed," said OSAS program coordinator Dianne Denby of the news. "I think it's an incredible gesture from SHOP, and more important than the generous donation is the fact that they have pledged their support of our organization, which means the world to us and the horses we take care of."
After the organization announced in August that it was struggling to keep its doors open, OSAS received an outpouring of support from the harness racing industry. In addition to SHOP's financial contribution, the organization has recently received support from Great Canadian Gaming Corp., the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario, and a huge number of contributors to its 8th Annual Horse Show, which raised over $10,000 to aid in the care and placement of retired standardbreds.
"There is a renewed sense not just of a light at the end of the tunnel, but a sense of hope and a new energy that's going toward the organization. It's unlike anything I've experience since I joined the organization," said Denby.
"The phone calls that are coming in on a regular basis, the recent press that we've had with the invitation to be on CityTV's Breakfast Television and Animal House Calls, the Jack Kopas dinner, the work Joanne Colville has done for our horse show - the future is looking much brighter for the horses presently in our program and the many more we hope to be able to bring in this year," she added.
"The financial donations we've received are definitely going to allow us to increase the number of horses we can care for while we search for adoptive homes, and it has really given a boost to the members of our board of directors, who work so hard on a completely volunteer basis."
Denby noted that SHOP's financial contribution would essentially cover the organization's foster care expenses for one month.
"It allows us to have a sense of security that we now have the money in the bank to pay next month's foster care expenses, which are about $6,000," she said.