By Kelly Johnson
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This year Riding To The Top’s annual Triple B |
On Saturday, Oct. 18, more than 325 people attended the 17th Annual Triple B ~ Boots, Band & BBQ and raised a record-breaking amount, over $280,000, to benefit the clients, horses and programs of Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center (RTT) in Windham.
This year’s event paid homage to all who make up “The Magic of RTT” – RTT’s clients, horses, volunteers, long-time supporters, staff, and the evening’s guests and sponsors. Eric Schildroth of Schilly’s Catering created another delicious and abundant barbeque to the hungry crowd, The record-breaking mission-based auction was led by auctioneer Elizabeth Holmstrom, and the evening was capped by live music and dancing to the popular local band, Under The Covers.
Phil Smith of Abracadabra Productions added some table magic for the guests and the event emcee, Nancy Marshall of Marshall Communications, kept the program running on schedule.
The true MVPs, of course, are the courageous clients and the horses they team up with at the center. RTT client, Jack Murdoch and his mother, Rianna Keegan, teamed up to share their story and what their time at RTT means to them.
As Rianna put it, “While RTT is here to serve its riders, I cannot tell you how special this place has been to our entire family. There’s something about coming here after a stressful day that brings such peace – being at a beautiful stable with such amazing volunteers and staff, where there is a quiet and often unspoken comradery between the riders.”
Jack felt the same, saying, “We love every last bit of all of the horses. Some people might say one horse makes RTT what it is. But they couldn’t be more wrong. Every last horse, rider, volunteer (and annoying fly that sits on every horse’s face and never dies) makes RTT exactly what it is.”
As the event’s auction bidding got underway, Art Girard, of Delta Realty stepped forward with a special matching challenge of $25,000 for both the Ridership and Horse Funds, which helped to get the bidding off to a great start. An anonymous donor then added an additional $25,000 challenge to the Horse Fund, making for even more excitement in the crowd.
Sarah Bronson, RTT Executive Director, said the Triple B has become an amazing community event.
“Year after year, we bring new people to the farm to learn about the power of equine assisted services offered by RTT,” Bronson said. “And every year, our community steps up to support our work, ensuring that financial aid is available to all who need it and that our horses receive the highest quality care so that they can be our partners in this work. We are so very grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s event—our sponsors, table hosts, generous guests, volunteers, and RTT’s Board and staff, they all truly embody the Magic of RTT.”
This year IDEXX, UNUM, Bangor Savings, Martin’s Point Healthcare and Stone Coast Fund Services employees joined with RTT volunteers to help with set up and then again with post event “take-down.” During the event, the Saint Joseph’s College baseball team members returned to help with food service, the auction and recycling efforts. In total, over 100 volunteers contributed over 700 hours during various stages of the event including pre-event planning, set up, night of and cleanup days following the event.
The Triple B event is RTT’s largest and most important fundraiser of the year, funding nearly a third of the organization’s annual expenses. Since its inception, this event has raised over $2.5 million dollars, while introducing the healing power of horses to thousands of community members.
This year’s event was supported by many local business partners led by Grand Champion Sponsors, Portland Volvo and UNUM, and Reserve Champion Sponsors, Norway Savings Bank and Headlight Audio Visual.
About Riding to the Top
Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center (RTT) was founded in 1993. RTT’s mission is to enhance health and wellness through equine assisted services. It is the state’s only PATH International (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) Premier Accredited Center solely dedicated to equine- assisted services. More than 250 participants are impacted annually, assisted by certified instructors, a herd of 17 horses and more than 70 volunteers, all specially trained to assist with therapeutic riding, carriage driving and hippotherapy. Riding To The Top is a community-based nonprofit, receives no federal or state funding and provides scholarships to over 60 percent of its clients. For further information about client services, volunteering, or making a gift, please visit www.ridingtothetop.org or call 207-892-2813. <
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