Shoe Fairies Barn Bash fundraiser Sunday for Whispering Manes Therapeutic Riding Center

To raise funds for its therapeutic riding center, Whispering Manes Therapeutic Riding Center on Sunday will hold Shoe Fairies Barn Bash, a fundraiser featuring local food, artists, vendors, a silent auction, a tour of its state-of-the-art center and quality time with the center’s horses.

Whispering Manes provides therapeutic relief for people of all ages with physical, cognitive, developmental, emotional, and sensory disabilities. At present, Whispering Manes helps 43 riders ages 5 to 70 each week.

Nancy Hector, a businesswoman and philanthropist involved with children’s causes, saw the effect the interaction with horses had on her own able-bodied daughter and created a place where kids with disabilities could do the same.

“Her idea was that there should be a non-profit on the land that she owned which was in horse country,” said Erin Bauer, Whispering Manes’ executive director.

Hector donated the barn and the current facility to Whispering Manes so the organization could carry out the initial purpose she had for the land.

This fundraiser “helps bridge the gap between the fees charged by the program and the true cost of running Whispering Manes,” Bauer said.

A volunteer committee organizes and hosts the Shoe Fairies Barn Bash event every two years, first in 2012, 2014, and now in 2016. The attendees are invited to “Sip and Shop for a Cause!” The event reaches out to more than 200 women in an effort to raise funds to support the equine assisted activities provided by Whispering Manes.

Bauer describes Shoe Fairies Barn Bash as a “girls’ afternoon out,” with opportunities for shopping, a fashion show by Coco Couture, and live auction items such as a Miami Heat basketball signed by Chris Bosh, restaurant certificates, small getaways, and a signed Dolphin’s helmet.

“We are confident that with enthusiastic community participation in this event, Whispering Manes will be able to continue to provide high-quality equine assisted activities and bring the healing power of horses to many more affected members of our community,” said Helen Picard, chairwoman of Shoe Fairies Barn Bash.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Shoe Fairies Barn Bash fundraiser Sunday for Whispering Manes Therapeutic Riding Center."