Saddles of Joy corrals big donation from fence company

They say good fences make good neighbors, but sometimes good neighbors will help you make a good fence.

A small army of volunteers, all led by local fence company, went to the rescue this weekend of a local nonprofit in serious need of some good, strong fencing.

The recipient of the neighborly kindness was Saddles of Joy, a long-standing Yuma group that offers therapeutic horseback riding for children with special needs ranging from physical and learning to emotional and behavioral.

"This is just wonderful. It's because of people like this that programs like mine can survive," said Barbara Tomlinson, Saddles of Joy founder. "We have a wonderful community as far as giving. This community has always been very good to this program. People are always willing to help out."

The Yuma business Fence Masters not only installed new fence for Saddles of Joy, but volunteers also cleared weeds and built shade structures. All together the two-day project amounted to a contribution worth around $10,000.

"This definitely one of our bigger donations," Tomlinson said. "All the donations we get are important, but something like this is really special."

Fence Masters is owned by Jeff and Tene Miller. Fence Masters was joined at Saddles of Joy by several of their subcontrac- tors.

"Animal therapy is proven to help these children succeed and become better able to live as normal lives as possible," said Trina Lecorchick, office manager at Fence Masters. "This program is proven successful all across the United States."

Tomlinson said that some of the fence replaced over the weekend was almost 30 years old.

"This is going to make the whole place look better," she said.

Tomlinson added that getting weeds cleared and a better fence installed will help move Saddles of Joy closer to developing its own trail course. She said that many children who come to her program would love to go out on a trail ride, but the nature of their conditions prevents such an adventure.

"If we have a trail course here, kids could still be here and be safe. Getting this fence taken care of is going to help me get one step closer to my goal."

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Darin Fenger can be reached at
dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.