An Interview with Robin's Nest Foundation
July begins the second month that Stacie Joy Yoga and Robin’s Nest Foundation have partnered together for Yoga on the Farm. Each Thursday morning at 7:15 am, I take a short drive to Sky View Farm where our yoga class is hosted. I’m usually welcomed by Wendy who is warm and always happy to host each one of us at her place. As I walk from the parking lot to our outdoor yoga studio I take in the nearby sheep, dogs, and horses. I catch a big breath and smile at how life-giving this partnership has been for me and each person who shows up. The farm gifts a stunning experience in nature, a connection with animals, and stress-relief through yoga. You get the sense that you're not in 2020 alone as we build a small community... all while social distancing. I love watching each student leave class feeling refreshed, calmer, and yet energized for their day. I thought I would share an interview with Wendy the founder of Robin’s Nest Foundation so you could get to know who your class donations support!
Let me introduce you to
Quibli who’s in the center, Axle on the left, and Scarlett on the right. When you experience a class with Yoga on the Farm, these cuties can be guaranteed to show up. Wendy, could you tell us about how these sheep came to your farm?
Wendy: Well….they came through the fence! Our neighbor has sheep, and my daughter and I fell in love with them. They are so cute. So we decided to add 3 lambs to the farm. Their personalities range from sweet, hilarious, and curious within a 15-minute span.
Q: What is your favorite time of day on the farm?
Wendy: That is a difficult question to answer. I have 2 favorite times, sunrise and night check. I am here 6 days a week for sunrise. When the sun is rising, it is so tranquil. I get to wake up all the animals, and just say good morning to them.
As soon as the sheep are out, the tranquility dissolves into hilarious antics between all the animals. I also am here 6 days a week for a night check around 9 pm. I get to give all the horses a flake of hay and a carrot. To me, it’s kinda like tucking my kids into bed, except it’s a hug and a carrot.
Q: What began your journey to open this non-profit organization? When did your organization begin?
Wendy: About 6 years ago, I lost three very close friends to depression within a year. I saw that there was so much pain in the world and felt it was my mission to help others find peace and feel like life is worth living.
Communicating, grooming, and training horses can be a very empowering experience. Not to mention with today’s open spaces disappearing, I want to create a farm-life community relatively accessible to Castle Rock and surrounding communities. So, Robin’s Nest Foundation, LLC (Robin’s Nest) was formed. We received our 501 (c)(3) recognition in January 2019.
Q: I see that one of your passions is to address the social and mental health of our community. I love this. Could you tell us of a few projects on the farm that help fulfill your passion?
Wendy: There are many levels to Sky View Farm. We have our hunter-jumper program run in coordination with Wild Ranch and Andrea Van Meenan in our upper barn. The lower barn is where we have our rescue horses who participate in Robin’s Nest. The vision of Robin’s Nest is to empower people through proven equine interactions. Our program utilizes five rescue horse boarded at Sky View Farm in Castle Rock, CO. Services are provided at little or no cost to our participants. Last summer, these rescue horses aided in a camp for kids with dyslexia. The tri-demential rhythmic movement of a horse helps those with sensory processing difficulties, and concentration limits become more aware and focused on tasks. So basically, the kids rode the horse in an arena, picked up a large magnetic letter along the way, and put it on the magnetic board to spell words. Their progress in a 1-week session was incredible.
Q: Can you share one or two stories of individuals your organization has been able to support?
Wendy: Sure! A perfect example is Stormy and Emily.
First, let me tell you about Stormy’s story. Stormy was a show horse, who was basically stolen from his owner in the middle of the night. The person that took him, wasn’t mentally sound, and just dropped him off to pasture in an unsupervised location. A random farmer found Stormy tangled in barbed wire. No one really knows how long he was there, but his condition was bad. Stormy went from a beautiful show horse to lame with a broken leg and many stitches in a matter of a couple of weeks. Thanks to Robin’s Nest, Stormy was rescued and brought to Sky View Farm. Stormy was extremely lucky to get Emily into his life. Emily was severely struggling with anxiety. She saw a few doctors, who put her on a sequence of 10 anti-anxiety drugs. Turns out Emily was allergic to everyone. She needed an alternative and a healthy one at that, ie Robin’s Nest. Emily had experience with horses in the past, and she dedicated herself to retraining Stormy. She has tirelessly retrained Stormy, even with injuries and other setbacks. Her goal is to get him into a show again. She has been working with him for 2 years, and her anxiety is under control.
Q: Do you have any goals for your organization this year? I’m imagining that covid-19 has altered some of your goals so how have you been able to adapt?
Wendy: Yes! Covid-19 altered our plans, along with everyone else’s in the world. This was supposed to be our big spring/summer of programs for veterans, teens, kids’ cross-fit, and yoga. The good thing is that at the Farm, social distancing is just a couple extra steps away. For example, we have to clean brushes between use, disinfect the upper and lower barns every day, and limit the number of riders, but it’s all worth it. We currently have:
Yoga on the Farm (thanks to Stacie!!),
Training of our miniature horse, Fabio, so that he can visit veterans’ homes,
Re-training of our rescue horses,
Working on a relationship with a veterans program to open a chapter at Sky View Farm,
A new program with Mustard Seed Ranch. We have some exciting news. We just signed a contract to host Mustard Seed Ranch, a 501(c)(3) out of California/Colorado. They specifically work with children who have experienced trauma, and many are orphaned. The cornerstone of Mustard Seed Ranch is L.E.A.P. (Life Experience Animal-assisted Program). L.E.A.P. was developed by leading professionals in the psychiatry, equestrian, and ministry fields as a faith-based program to address more than twenty-five core relationship issues faced by children suffering from abuse and neglect. This joint program will start in July.
Q: Where can donors contribute to help you meet your goals?
We have an operating budget of about $5000/month. Robin’s Nest has mainly been supported by Wendy’s personal donations. For example, it costs $600 every 7 weeks for horseshoes. We are also $3000 away from having our therapy offices constructed. Imagine, looking out at the open space and horses as you work with a tutor or talk to a therapist. The best place to donate is with our GoFund me page here.
Q: Are there other ways besides financial contribution that people could come alongside your organization to support you?
Sure! The biggest thing we need is positive comments on our FaceBook and Instagram accounts. We would love it if people can help spread the word. If you are looking for a place to hold an outdoor event, we are willing to discuss options.
We would love to have building materials donated for our offices. We need:
12 boards measuring 2”x4”x10’
97 boards measuring 2”x4”x16’
4 boards measuring 2”x10”x8’
6 pressure treated boards measuring 2”x4”x16’
55 pieces of ½” 4’x8’ drywall
Nails, drywall screws, tape, mud, etc.
We also are looking for someone to donate concrete and an electrician to donate his/her time.
For those that would like to spend time at the Farm, there is painting, building out the cross country course, and weeding.
Thank you Wendy, for taking the time to share your passion with us! For those reading and local to Colorado, I hope to see you at the farm soon!
