Charles Town retirees find a good home

The Equine Encore Performance at Charles Town retirement program reports it placed 54 Charles Town-based horses during its first year.

Equine Encore Performance at Charles Town (www.equineencoreperformanceatct.org) is a non-profit corporation staffed by volunteers. It receives the majority of its financial support from horse owners through a fee of $2 per starter. It also accepts donations from foundations and the public.

“We would like to thank Penn National Gaming for all their help in providing stall space for horses that are shipped out for our program,” said Mary Longerbeam, assistant director of Equine Encore Performance at Charles Town.

Equine Encore Performance at Charles Town does not have its own facility but partners with other horse retirement groups and has been working closely with Aiken Equine Rescue in South Carolina.

Aiken Equine Rescue is the winter home of the Saratoga War Horse program, an equine therapy program for returning veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and other issues.

Several former Charles Town runners have been used in the program, including Four Cross Roads, who retired as a maiden after seven starts, and Younique Cat, a winner of 6 of 83 races.

“Training the horses for the program helps the horses as much as it does the veterans,” said Caroline Mulstay, who supervises the retraining of horses at the Aiken Equine Rescue.