More than 300 Special Olympic athletes, Unified Partners and coaches from around the state were in Gainesville at the Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center on Oct. 9-11 for the Special Olympics Horse Show.

Faith Equestrian Therapeutic Center in Guyton took eight of their students to the Georgia Special Olympics. Competitors this year were Bryce Drew, Samantha Cheney, Michael Holton Jr., Angela Jackson, Cicely McNeil, Samuel Munoz, Erin Pevey, and Lauren Todd. They all worked exceptionally hard to prepare for the competition and they came home with eight gold medals, 12 silver medals, three bronze medals, as well as three fourth-place ribbons.

The competition features riders in dressage, showmanship, walking trail, English and Western style riding. The Special Olympics Georgia serves more than 26,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities in over 180 programs in 120 counties. The Special Olympics athlete oath is “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Faith Equestrian thanked their sponsors this year: Holton Plumbing Company Inc., Byrd Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc., Weimar Construction, Effingham Subway, Savannah Winnelson Wholesale Plumbing Supplies, Ferguson Enterprises, MetalQuarters, Serv-Pro of Savannah, Effingham Printing and Copy Center, Sundi Williamson of State Farm, Amy and Scott Pevey, Pam Moore, and Debbie Sykes.

Faith Equestrian Therapeutic Center’s mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals with special needs through the power of the horse.

For additional information, contact Bonnie Rachael, CEO, at 728-3728 or Equiskepr243@yahoo.com. Visit the Faith Equestrian Web site at www.faithetc.org.