Winston Churchill is quoted as saying that there is something about the outside of a horse that's good for the inside of a man.

And for years, men and women have connected with horses as a catalyst for wellness.

And a special purpose is the healing power of a horse for those who participate in equine assisted therapy for help with emotional or behavioral problems.

Many of our country's retired military personnel face such challenges.

In two 2017, the Illinois based agency Bravehearts organized military veterans and others in a 20 mile horseback ride through New York City, raising awareness of the 20 veterans that America loses every day to suicide.

That ride, known as Trail two zero, had its debut in Allen County in 2021, and the county is now preparing for a 2023 ride.

September 16th, we'll learn about equine therapy, its assistance for veterans and trail to zero.

All on this edition of PrimeTime.

And good evening, I'm Bruce Haines.

With us today are Allison Wheaton, executive director of Summit Equestrian Center in Fort Wayne.

Meggan Hill-McQueeney is president and CEO of Bravehearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational Center with locations in Harvard and Poplar Grove, Illinois.

And Allen County Commissioner Richard Beck is with us, too.

And to all three of you.

Welcome.

Thank you for taking time to do this.

Thank you, Bruce.

Meggan, I want to start with you and actually start with congratulations to you.

I believe Bravehearts just crossed the 20 year anniversary mark for offering therapeutic riding lessons within the organization and connecting man to animals.

So the celebration must be still continuing.

Thank you very much.

Yes, sir.

Tell me a little bit about Bravehearts.

Bravehearts is a5013 nonprofit.

As you mentioned.

We started our work over 20 years ago.

We started working with United States military veterans and really found how much of an impact the horses can have on veterans for so many reasons.

Veterans often times are looked at as having mental health needs.

But, you know, the horses actually offer us so much more from physical to cognitive to emotional to even spiritual growth that we can find in just spending time in their presence.

And that same kind of powerful therapy, Allison, is something that you've been offering at some of the equestrian center.

Tell me about your organization.

Yes, some of the equestrian center is also a 501c3 nonprofit.

And we started as a kind of a traditional therapeutic riding.

So serving kids and adults with physical disabilities and and developmental delay and have taken that and really grown it to serve the people in our community with emotional health needs.

And and growing into the veteran community and helping serve the veteran community has been a natural in a just a really enjoyable extension of our programing.

It's one of those we were doing work in the arena and doing all these fun things.

And then I realized I wanted to go out and do more stuff in bigger stuff and and then that there was this whole community that wanted to go with me and, you know, to help them develop more purpose and community and connection and and really have a place to come and belong has been a really rewarding journey.

So we hear about music therapy and the value of it equine therapy seems that share some things in spirit with the other.

But how do you describe and making I'll be asking you this as well.

But Alison, for starters, how do you describe to somebody what goes on, where they're going?

Therapy.

The wonderful thing about horses is that they see us for who we are and not for who we think.

Society thinks we are.

You know, they see our energy and they meet us and can help us to see ourselves more accurately as other people see us.

So it's yeah, it's, it's very empowering to to have a horse come up to you and greet you as an equal and then be able to team up and work together and be more together than you were as, as separate pieces.

So to to extend that to our veterans has been has been really a game changer for a lot of them.

And Meggan, what do you say to folks who may ask you, oh, I see you work in equine therapy and you work with veterans.

How do you explain what that's involved?

What are the connections that happen between veteran and horse as as the sessions go on.

Horses just offer a myriad of benefits.

Just watching the pictures while Alison was talking just, you know, floods me with the benefits that horses can provide, you know, from hope piece one of the one of the biggest when we pull and when we do research at our farms, trust is discovered.

That is one of the most common benefits that veterans reflect on that they can discover with horses.

You know, horses are a species that unless you offer trust first, they're not going to reciprocate.

Horses give veterans we're talking about today, you know, purpose getting individuals out of their homes or maybe areas where they feel comfort.

And as Alison mentioned, finding a community that they can really get connected with.

Horses are just brilliant at reading intention.

And as Allison mentions, they're such a powerful bio feedback loop, meaning that however, whatever I'm thinking about or whatever I'm feeling, horses are going to display that they are just really fantastic as far as showing us who we are and really helping us find a perfect spot with with how horses think.

They're constantly in the moment and and even even offering us an opportunity to discover mindfulness is really another important benefit that horses can offer it do.

There is a graphic in your most recent annual report we may have an opportunity to share that with the viewers, but it speaks to some of those key areas that seem as a natural antidote or or therapy with with veterans to counteract depression and loneliness and and to instill a sense of of purpose.

And it's amazing how it doesn't require a laptop.

It doesn't require any kind of electronic handheld device.

This is truly communication and connection on as as interactive a level as you can get, isn't it?

Absolutely.

And and as you mentioned, you know, when we're in such a, you know, society nowadays, that's, you know, getting we think we're getting faster.

We're getting more disconnected.

You know, a recent poll I read of Americans, 70% of Americans feel that they have some form of loneliness when, again, we're talking today specifically about our our veteran community and, you know, things like anxiety and depression and, you know, not being able to sleep and not being able to be able to think and process and other attributes that come from trauma and PTSD.

Horses have a very powerful way of giving us an activity that we can really discover who we are and how to find some answers in the moment.

It's very different than, you know, prescribed medicines or traditional therapies.

Horses offer a holistic approach, a nontraditional manner that, you know, we find at Bravehearts.

Hundreds, thousands of veterans tell us is working better with them, with with time, with the horses than what they've previously been able to find.

And let me bring Richard in.

This one is an experienced horseman yourself.

I was hearing, too, that horses don't care about the past.

They want to know what you're going to do for them right now.

You know, they they're in the moment with you.

Your experience with horses.

There's there's a lot of they're like, it's a bosom buddy, but it just has four legs.

That's right.

Absolutely.

Horses have been my therapy for years.

You know, come home from work and put on your jeans, go down to the barn and you get snickered at the minute you walk in the door and there's a special relationship there between me and my horses.

And it just it's just hard to explain.

And I know that Alison and Megan can speak to some of the things, but I read somewhere where the horse actually matches its heart rate to the writer's heart rate.

They're so sensitive, you know, here's a 1200 pound animal.

He knows when a fly lands on them and where that fly is, that and that sensitivity is translated to the human.

And we just have to understand that.

Yeah.

And so Meggan, from the initiation of of your work with veterans at through Bravehearts back in 2007 or so, fast forward just enough, but I assume the idea for a trail to zero, how did all of that come together?

This is a national become a national way of putting a spotlight on an important circumstance in a very memorable way.

Mm hmm.

Working spending time in the arenas and riding with veterans and really starting to see how much the horses were benefiting our community.

I had heard veterans begin to tell me, like, Hey, I might not be here had it not been for this horse, or I might not be here today if it wasn't for this farm or this program.

And and I kept hearing that over and over and over.

And it's still to this day, like even when I talk about it, it gives it gives me goose bumps just to think about how many times those words have have hit my ears.

And and so with that being said, a lot of time in the saddle and a lot of time with with veterans and really understanding and learning about the community started to to hear how many veterans were losing a day due to suicide.

And so we while we were riding, some of us started to talk about what what could we do to to bring more attention and awareness.

Because I know as a civilian, I had no idea how alarming this the suicide rate every day of how we're losing veterans every single day in the US is.

And so we began to talk about what can we do to to not only bring attention to that this serious, massive issue that our country is facing, but but how can we also spotlight forces and let the public know that horses do work and horses can help in bringing more attention?

Because so many times veterans are coming to Bravehearts because nothing else had worked.

It was their last stop, and we really wanted to bring more attention to the fact that horses can be a really powerful mechanism for for people, whatever your situation is, whatever diagnoses you, you might be struggling with, whatever challenge you might have.

Of course, is oftentimes can be an answer for that.

And we wanted to we wanted to bring more attention to that.

And so Trail to Zero was born.

Yeah.

And in fact it's the picture really reinforces the words we need to share the photo from New York City with all the horses lined up in front of the display of the American flag and some other photos from Encounters, I believe now 19 rides in eight different cities as of last year.

And they they really the whole thing strikes a pose, doesn't it?

Yes, sir.

Yeah.

This Friday will be our 20th ride going 20 miles with veterans.

And it's it's just so each ride is so remarkable in the very cities that we've gotten to do it.

You know, up until last year, I could only say around the country with cities like Washington, D.C. and Chicago and New York City and Houston and Lexington and so forth.

But we were able to earlier this year go for D-Day to Normandy, France, and take the message overseas as well.

So it's been a it's been a powerful ride.

And I feel like each time we get to do it, we get to impact America and families and veterans and friends to let them know this trail, the zero.

The concept was that we said we want to ride till we can get that number.

Whatever that number is down to zero.

And and that number, you know, from whatever publication you want to look at, you know, there's I think even since the last time we were on the show, we we selected 20 miles that that's what we wanted to do.

But 22 to 24 veterans a day, ages 18 to 64, commit suicide a day.

The American Warrior Partnership came out with this new research that says another 18 to 20 vets were losing every day to self-injury combined.

That's about 40 to 44 individuals a day.

The DOD reported recently that 114,000 veterans we lost in the last 21 years.

It's staggering the numbers.

And if it's one or if it's 20 or if it's 40, however many, in my opinion, it's just too much.

Yeah.

And that message came to Fort Wayne two years ago and there's got to be there are lots of cities.

It's very elite company.

Richard, how did Bravehearts Trail two zero and Northeast Indiana, specifically Allen County, come together?

Ironically enough, I was reading a magazine article and that's where I found out about them.

And I called Megan and I.

We started having conversations about four and a half years ago, and I recognized that we were not that metropolitan area that would give the impact that she was after.

But we continued with our conversations and we were fortunate enough to be selected as a county would have the replica Vietnam wall.

It's 80% of the actual wall in D.C. and it's a very impressive salt wall.

And I asked Megan if that would make a difference, and she said, yes, it would.

And so they decided to come to Fort Wayne and we've had a great outing with them two years ago.

We're going to roll some some some images from that day and sources.

Hey, that looks lik But tell me, what was I going to ask each of you?

And also let me start with you.

What was that day like?

Oh, it was a big honor.

Seven of my veterans and I got to ride with the Bravehearts riders and mounted police from Kokomo and get to hear the the hoof beats through the echo off the buildings on the streets.

And it was very moving and just it was a big honor for all of us to be able to participate, and we're excited to do it again.

And now a very important topic to talk about.

And so it's it's kind of bringing the conversation to the streets, literally, you know, try and try and sweep it under the rug.

You really can't when we're this big and moving through traffic.

So it's and it was very well received.

It was it was fun to see all the people see us and understand what we were doing and really be moved by that.

So.

Richard, how about for you?

I mean, it's neat to see the plans come to fruition, as they say.

I absolutely it was a it was a real honor for me as well.

I had no idea that I was going to ride in it until about 10 minutes before when Megan said, Are you writing or not?

And I thought, well, I guess I am so.

But it was a great experience.

And, you know, we really had no metric to measure our success other than looking at what happened locally at that time.

I think Allison had maybe three or four vets enrolled in her program, and through that awareness it took place that day.

I think she's up to almost 30, almost 30 veterans today taking advantage of programs she's offering.

So that was to me, that's a huge success.

And that was really what it was all about, is creating awareness and and putting Alison at the forefront of it here.

Locally.

Understanding there are more than 20,000 veterans in Allen County alone.

And Megan to the variety of of data points that you shared the suicide rate for veterans one and a half times higher than the general population.

The veterans suicides comprise nearly a quarter of the suicide deaths in the country.

So as as the horses make the statement, then you can follow behind with additional information and I assume help to kind of close the gap on between awareness and where do we go from here?

Megan, how about you?

Yes, sir.

For for for the Fort Wayne ride.

What?

I can tell you about it is, you know, first and foremost, obviously, it's seeing those veterans in the saddles that have so much courage and are so driven to share the message, to to help their brothers and sisters, their peers, obviously, you know, seeing the horses and and knowing how special they are in their job and how unflappable they are to travel through the cities.

Each horse, just like each rider, has a very special story.

When when we do our children zero.

And when we did it in in Indiana, in the horse's manes, we get names from around the country of families who have lost members to to suicide, veterans to suicide.

And we take those last names and we put them on a ribbon.

And those horses wear those those names for the 20 miles at the end of the rides.

Then we take those names and we frame them.

And when we tell the story of trail to zero, we share those with those families.

But but the biggest impact for me is the amount of we were able to have vice president former vice president Pence ride with us.

And the amount of media and coverage that we were able to get in Fort Wayne was very special and we were flooded with veterans and families of veterans to know more about our programs and programs like Allison's and other programs across the country.

So we have actually a database.

And so when those papers start running and when your stories start running and people start hearing about this and and those important friends and families that say, hey, I think I might know somebody and I think maybe a horse could work, can you help me out?

And so the night before child is here, I'm on my computer and reading through those emails and our staff is taking them and trying to get them plugged in with programs wherever they're at in the country that could help them.

I think that's really what's so impactful and is so powerful is, you know, those 60 some individuals that we were able to connect just from your Fort Wayne ride.

To me, I'm hopeful that, you know, we can start to to bring this number down.

Tell us a little bit more about what the area might expect for the ride coming up September 16th.

Well, we've changed the ride from 2021.

We went across the county and we decided that logistically makes a little more sense for us to make a loop.

So it's going to originate at the Veterans Memorial Shrine, O'Day Road, and we'll head towards downtown Fort Wayne, hit some of the memorials downtown, have lunch down there, and then head back out to tour the memorial for the end of the ride.

So it's going to be one big loop, a 20 mile loop.

And again, a number of participants, also about 20 or so overall.

Thing, a couple dozen probably.

Good, manageable number for all horse enthusiasts.

I'm sure this is the the worst kept secret right now because all the word is out for the desire for horse trails.

But we're coming into this September event with good news.

They came out, I believe, in June that the county will soon be the recipient of some official horse trails.

Tell us about that.

And and how did all the good news get on with it?

Absolutely.

We got together with a not for profit group here in Fort Wayne, Allen County, that was interested in horse trails.

And the county owned 200 acres at Adams that are in Paulding.

So we decided that's probably the best location for some horse trails, which was actually in the city limits.

And when it's all said and done, we'll should have close to ten miles of trails.

So for a municipal trail, that's that's pretty good.

And we're going to be are a grant from the Department of Natural Resources for a quarter $1,000,000.

And that's what's helping us build it.

Commissioners are throwing in some additional funds and we've got a volunteer group to help out.

So it looks like we'll have trails perhaps in October of this year.

And else that this would make someone who runs a center like your age, you got to feel pretty good about that.

Yeah, that's going to be a great resource.

Right now.

We call out to do our hour long trail rides are barn is in the Lockerbie Bridge subdivision off of DuPont Road.

So we're kind of landlocked for doing our long rides.

So it'd be nice to be able to go down towards New Haven and be able to tour right there and and get air conditioning in and and be able to take advantage of that.

Yeah.

We something we will all follow together and, and celebrate when it's time for a ribbon cutting or the requisite barbecue at the end of the course.

Right.

Which I understand is a thing.

So that would be important.

Make And I do want to ask one final question.

You had said that horses are angels wearing saddles.

Tell me about that.

I like that line.

Yeah.

You know, I just haven't you know, I've spent the last close to 30 years in therapeutic riding and gotten to spend about the last 14 specifically working with veterans.

I haven't seen a scenario where a horse doesn't step in and are in and really help someone out.

They are truly, I believe, God created horses specifically for helping helping us.

We we have used horses, you know, for for centuries.

They have taken us through battles and they have, you know, taken us to two great new things.

And and I just I'm just not certain that in my lifetime, we're even going to scratch the surface on what horses are capable of doing.

I've just seen it so many times as far as, you know, having the opportunity to put a horse in a situation with someone and watching what just beautifully evolves.

There's so much that transfers between a person and a horse.

And like Rich mentioned, you know, they're such sentient beings and how they can, you know, smell adrenaline and captured in their nasal cavity and sync their heart rates with ours.

It's just one of many extraordinary attributes that the horses have.

And I truly think that they are the most selfless creature, the most giving creature, the most forgiving creature, the most helping creature that that we have.

And and not to to take a chance on a horse and and give them a shot would be would be, you know, I'll just tell everybody what would would be a detriment to to your potential future and what you could you could potentially unlock in yourselves.

They just offer so much opportunity.

And I, I really see them being such a huge gateway for the future of our country and for veterans and and where they're at.

And all of that makes all of us who maybe never really had a chance to be as close to horses as you all have, but to feel good and stand up straight in our own saddles.

And we are so appreciative.

You're seeing contact information now for the event, but also for some of the questioning center and also for Bravehearts Therapeutic Riding and Education Center.

There are some of the equestrian and of course, Allen County Commissioner's Office also available to help follow all of this along.

It's very exciting.

And so our thanks indeed to Allison Wheaton to Richard Beck and also to Meggan Hill-McQueeney.

Thank you and thank you all for watching this edition of PrimeTime.

A pleasure to have you.

Take care.

Good luck.

On the 16th.

We'll be following you along as you ride off into the sunset.

Thanks again for watching and have a wonderful evening, everyone.

Good night.