Kristy & Lacey Reunited

Lacey arrived safe and sound on Friday Night all because of this fine man here, Mr. Kevin Holland.

Kevin took excellent care of transporting Lacey along with this mare and foal just before heading to Utah that afternoon. He is the most kind, caring person we are proud to call our friend. If you are looking for professional service to transport your horses, Kevin is your man - just contact us and we will put you in touch with him!

Lacey having breakfast just before ma'ma arrives to see her.

Kristy was nervous Lacey wouldn't remember her, but her mind was put at ease when Lacey bowed her head to accept a kiss like she always had, while Kristy's grandchildren look on.

Here Kristy is signing Lacey's name to her grandson who attends Santa Fe School for the Deaf...



"Comrades in arms" ~ Rick and Kristy as they take some time to walk Lacey up to say goodbye to her traveling partners.





Today we transported Lacey to her new home on the Rio Grande...

Lacey having a good roll while she awaits her ma'ma...

Reunited once again, the end to a wonderful beginning!

Welcome home!

Kristy & Lacey

In between all the time preparing for the parade and rodeo these last couple of weeks, we have had something big going on in the background...

Ten days ago we received a call from one of our program partners, U.S. Army Wounded Warriors. Christin Barden with AW2 called us to tell us she had another Veteran ready to participate in our Cowboy UP! program and that she even had her own horse! There was one small detail though, "Lacey", a beautiful Appaloosa was in Indiana, and that because of her owners injuries Kristy herself was unable to make the drive to pick her up. Although Lacey's home here is all ready set up, The transport costs were just out of reach to get Lacey to NM, so Christin called Rick stating, "I knew if there is anyone who has a resource it would be you." Well, Rick worked straight away with putting a call out to the horse owner community. A former Team Roper, Kevin Holland responded. Rick briefed Kevin on the situation and he said he would be coming our way and agreed to haul Lacey.

Back up a month or so... While at the Red Cross Breakfast where Rick was awarded his Real Heroes Award, we met Charlotte Lane of Brycon Construction and in charge of their good deed program. Brycon wanted to help out some way with our program. Well one thing lead to another and Rick thought it would be a good deed to bring Lacey home, so he contacted Charlotte and asked her that with the money they would have donated to our program to see if they would be interested in an even better deed - Brycon agreed, and with their support we booked Kevin to bring Lacey home!

Kevin picked up Lacey on Tuesday and have been making their way across country. At a rest stop along the way Kevin took the above picture with his cell phone and sent it last night - have another look, ain't she pretty?

We are excited for Kristy to be reunited soon with Lacey. Kristy credits Lacey as being her therapy - her face just lights up talking about her!

NOTE: Staff Sgt. Kristy La France was wounded when an Improvised Explosive Device blew up her convoy while serving in Iraq in 2004-5.

Stay tuned!

Rodeo de Santa Fe Opening Ceremony & Parade

For the 2nd year in a row we were honored to ride as a group for the opening ceremonies for the Rodeo de Santa Fe where they dedicated the night to our combat warriors. The crowd was wowed and gave us a standing ovation when they announced our group including Cowboy Up! instructor and film actor Wes Studi. Riding "Moon" one of our donated program horses, Wes was a crowd favorite waving his hat in the air and riding at the lead of the wagon and outriders.


A very special thanks to Harry Toulimas and his Rio Grand Carriage Works Team of Belgian Drafts that carried our precious cargo.



Thank you to Kyle Mascarenas for taking the following three pictures.

Rodeo de Santa FeTomorrow Night!

Wednesday June 23rd, 2010 7p.m.

We are raffling off the trophy buckle made by the Great Clint Mortenson of Mortenson Silver & Saddles. So please come to the Opening Night of Rodeo de Santa Fe!

We will be riding in with our Wagon of Veterans, our 4-H Outriders and Cowboy Up! Instructors as we did in this past Saturday's Parade in downtown Santa Fe - we took home a trophy like last year - Congrats to our 4-H kids! and many thanks to John Sharp and his team of American Cream Draft horses (the breed of draft horse that can claim to be native to the United States).

Instructor Trish putting on the final touches!

Run 4 Vets ~ Neal Riley Up and Running!

Our Horses For Heroes, Cowboy Up! medic Neal Riley runs in the "Water is Life Run" on Sept 11, 2010. This 30-mile ultramarathon is hosted by the Hopi Nation on their ancient running trails. All sponsorship funds go to: "Horses For Heroes-New Mexico, Inc. Cowboy Up!"

Please check out his blog at: Run 4 Vets and follow him as he trains for this run - Many thanks Neal - Go For It!!!

Run4Vets from John Arnold on Vimeo.

Sunset from the Crossed Arrows Ranch ~ Home of Horses For Heroes - NM, Inc.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." ~Author unknown

Fallen Warrior Ramon Montes

Ramon was raised by his father, Roberto, who was a horse trainer - thus one of Ramon's first loves was horses.

A WWII Veteran, who saw heavy combat, he recalled the experiences of the war throughout his life. In his last days, our father saw the magic of horses in his dreams to give him comfort. As his own father would say to him as a child, "Montate!": "Mount!"; and, so he did.

In lieu of flowers, the family would ask that you send donations to:
Horses for Heroes - New Mexico, Inc.
P.O. BOX 1882, Santa Fe, NM 87504.

e-mail for info: ramonsdream@horsesforheroes.org or visit: http://www.horsesforheroes.blogspot.com

Horses for Heroes - New Mexico, Cowboy Up! is a non- profit horse therapy wellness program run by cowboy veterans based in Santa Fe free to Veterans and active military who have sustained physical injuries or combat trauma during their time serving our country. They are proudly endorsed and partnered with the Military Order of the Purple Heart NM.

"When you can hear a horses heart you can hear the universe and you know where you belong and your place in it!"
~Rick Iannucci Executive Director Horses for Heroes-New Mexico, Inc.