Elementary students save their pennies for ponies

Southern Highlands Preparatory School children raise money for horse sanctuary

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Carolyn Hoeger's second-grade class at Southern Highlands Preparatory School came back from a field trip at the Shiloh Horse Rescue wanting to do more.

"They've been raising money to donate since October," Hoeger said.

The class of 15 6- and 7-year-old children wanted to help in the process of rescuing a horse, so they began collecting pennies for what became known as Pennies for Ponies.

During the field trip the children learned about the time, finances and tools necessary to care for a horse.

"I thought that was really cool 'cause we got to brush them," second-grader Riley Flink said.

"And they let us use one brush for their mane and a different brush for the belly," classmate Addison Goldberg said.

Hoeger, who volunteers at the rescue with her twin 12-year-old daughters, decided the field trip would not only fit nicely into the children's science class, but also would fit in with their social studies curriculum.

"In social studies we were learning about people who help other people for free," said Caitlin Seznec, one of Hoeger's students. "And then we learned about the Shiloh Ranch."

Alec Springel, also a student, summed it up rather well.

"They (the Shiloh Rescue) help horses who are being kicked around, and we wanted to help," Alec said.

At press time the class had collected more than $210, but they had yet to finish rolling all of their pennies.

The school is at 11500 Southern Highlands Parkway.

"It's nice for the children to have some ownership," Hoeger said. "They should be able to rescue at least one horse."

Jill Curtis, who owns and operates the rescue, will make sure the class is aware of how their donation will be used, she said.

"They will sponsor a horse," Curtis said. "And they'll get a photo and updates."

The Shiloh Horse Rescue was opened by Curtis, wife of the legendary actor and painter Tony Curtis, in September 2003.

The horses at the facility come mainly from three sources.

Some are rescued from slaughter auctions, others are dropped off by owners who can no longer care for the animals or they no longer want them, and others come from the local animal patrol.

"At slaughters the horses can range from $28 to $700, but the average seems to be around $300," Curtis said. "They go by the pound and by the condition of the horse."

Currently the organization houses 55 rescued horses, 10 boarded horses, three goats, one llama, one burro and two dogs.

"We've rescued 132 horses and we adopted out 70 this last year," Curtis said. "We try to get our healthy horses adopted, but we also have some horses that aren't in good enough health for that and they will live out their lives here in peace."

The rescue, being a nonprofit, relies on volunteers, "and we can always use more volunteers," Curtis said.

The rescue, currently located on South Las Vegas Boulevard, will be moving to Sandy Valley within the next few months.

"We are leasing the land out here, and I don't feel very comfortable with that," Curtis said. "These horses can't be left with no place to go. So now we own 40 acres in Sandy Valley and won't have to worry about leasing."

More information on the Shiloh can be found at www.shilohlasvegas.com.