from Starting Gaits Standardbred Adoption Program

Xenia, OH — Starting Gaits Standardbred Transition Program, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has received its 501(c)3 tax exempt status.

Starting Gaits had been waiting for this great news since early 2013 as the organization works solely off of donations to transition Standardbreds into a second career.

Racehorse owners can donate their retired Standardbreds to Starting Gaits at no charge. After evaluation and time under saddle, the horses are adopted to approved homes. The Starting Gaits farm is located just south of Xenia, Ohio, at 1599 Ireland Road.

Starting Gaits Standardbred Transition Program, Inc. was founded in March 2013 by Executive Director Mandi Cool after increasing requests to help provide an alternative option for retired Standardbreds once their racing career was finished and a passionate desire to grow an awareness for the versatility of the breed beyond racing.

With a background in business/project management and IT, Mandi runs the day-to-day operations for the program and is personally involved with every horse that comes through the program.

In addition, Starting Gaits could not operate without the support of program director Paula Walls, farm manager/trainer Chuck Flickenger and trainers Amy Buchert and Jason Park.

Paula has been involved in the racing industry as an owner/trainer/vet tech for more than 18 years and assists with making contacts for shipping horses to the farm, advising on the care and rehabilitation, and everything else that falls in between.

Chuck and Mandi are both on-site full-time at the farm. Chuck manages all the horses at the farm and overseas all the daily care of the animals through the week. Additionally, he specializes in the training aspects of showing and dressage and prepares horses for the show ring.

Amy and Jason donate their time training and transitioning the horses into their next career as an athlete under saddle. Jason spends time with the horse who will excel on the trail and as a competitive racking horse. Amy works on the all-around fundamentals that the program wishes to teach each horse.

Each horse that is donated goes through an evaluation period to determine the best fit for the horse as a riding and/or pleasure driving candidate and continues their training accordingly.

Starting Gaits strives to work with the racing industry to support the Standardbred horse through its entire life — from racing to retirement. The program focuses on transitioning the horse from the familiar routine of training and racing into a relaxed environment of a pleasure horse. Our team has been formed to ensure experts in all areas are available to support our efforts and provide the best option for each individual horse, depending on their individual abilities and needs.

We have chosen to base our program from a private-farm setting.

In addition to the adoption horses, Mandi’s personal horses also reside at the farm, including four retired Standardbreds and one Thoroughbred.

Starting Gaits believes that the other horses on the farm teach the horses just as much as any training program could about how to just be a horse. They learn how to be turned out without running the fence lines and enjoy extended time in the pasture, and gain confidence under saddle by pairing up with an experienced horse while learning new skills under saddle and on the trails. The farm atmosphere has proven to be a critical piece of the Starting Gaits transition process.

Since March 2013, Starting Gaits has adopted 42 horses through their program and assisted in the placement of an additional 10 horses directly from their owner’s facility, for a total of 52 horses.

Starting Gaits has been fortunate to have such great racehorses as Lanson (1:51.3, earnings of more than $750,000) and Warning Zone (p,1:48.3, earnings of more than $725,000) donated to the program by their owners.

Lanson has become the Starting Gaits ambassador and debuted at The Great Darke County Fair, leading the post parade for the Gene Riegle Pace.

He has been leased by high school senior Kamryn Coppock of Greenville, Ohio, as her 4H project for the 2014-2015 season where he will compete in pleasure riding and driving classes at the local and state fair levels.

Lanson has also competed at the 2014 Standardbred National Show and participated in numerous breed demonstrations and parades.

Warning Zone is currently up for adoption.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to Starting Gaits or gather more information you may contact us at our website, www.startinggaits.com, or via our Facebook page www.facebook.com/startinggaits.

Tax-exempt donations can be made to Starting Gaits, 1599 Ireland Road, Xenia, OH 45385.

There is no charge to donate your Standardbred to the program.

Starting Gaits is dedicated to the Standardbred breed only and is not a rescue organization but a transition program for horses coming directly off the track.

For more information, contact Mandi Cool at 937.417.5271 or startinggaits@gmail.com.