Horses N Heroes in Citra, Fla., has become a safe haven for countless girls from families with extreme financial constraints, and for many of them, founder Mindy Morrow became a surrogate mother.
“The majority of the kids in my program live either at or below the poverty level,” Morrow explained. “I have kids who have come through the foster care system. I had one who came to me through hospice because her mom was dying, and others who have lost one or both parents.”
Morrow describes the non-profit, which is a USEF Community Outreach Organization, as a leadership and mentoring program with a strong emphasis on horsemanship. The girls attend Horses N Heroes after school and on weekends, with many of them staying in the program for multiple years.
Angel Antonaccio came to Horses N Heroes when she was seven years old, having recently moved to the Ocala area from New York. While both her parents were still in her life, her family lived on the poverty level and her dad was on disability for being deaf.
“I definitely had my own hardships, just in different ways than some of the other girls,” said Antonaccio, who describes Morrow as “like a second mom to me.”
Morrow said that after her initial visit to Horses N Heroes, Angel started coming out to the barn twice a week after school and on the weekends. “She was this quirky, really fun kid who always had a smile on her face,” Morrow recalled. “Angel really was a natural. She was an incredible rider. She's really good with horses and has a very calm demeanor.”
Antonaccio, now 28, confirmed that as soon as she entered the barn, despite her prior lack of experience with horses, she thought: “This is where I belong.”
“It was the energy of the barn, and everybody was best friends with everyone. It was an instant family,” she continued. “I know a lot of places say, ‘Oh, we're a family here,’ but it truly was at Horses N Heroes.”
Morrow encourages camaraderie and makes sure that no girls are left out.
“I'm super strict on the fact that they all get along with each other,” she said. “My saying is always, ‘I don't expect you to be best friends with everyone, but I expect you to be respectful and get along.’ There's no leaving somebody out of lunch or pushing someone aside.” She also stresses that the majority of their long-term friendships are going to come from the barn, telling them, “These will be long-lasting friends in your life if you invest in that relationship.”
Like many of the Horses N Heroes students, Antonaccio found an instant calm from being at the barn. “Horses are your best friend. They talk to you. You can talk to them. They won't tell your secrets to their friends,” she explained. “Horses are very emotionally smart. They know if you are having a bad day at home. When you get to the barn, the horses are going to be whatever you need them to be for that day — whether that is a calm friend who stands there and hangs out with you while you groom them, or that fun, energetic pony you need to ride.”
After a few years at Horses N Heroes, Antonaccio naturally found herself mentoring the younger girls.
“I've always been drawn to helping and teaching others. So even at eight or nine years old, I was helping teach the newcomers — I would give them a barn tour, show them how to put a halter on, or teach them to groom,” she said. “There were some younger girls who had hardships. One of the girls didn't know how to read, and she was almost 10 years old. So, at lunch, we would sit down and learn the alphabet and what numbers were. Just very simple things ... I taught her how to write her name.”
Antonaccio added that helping others taught her to mature faster and learn to be there for someone else in their time of need.
Morrow said she is strict with her girls, not just about horse care and barn chores, but also about getting good grades in school. “I've always instilled in the girls to get a really good education and go on to either college, a trade school, the military, or into law enforcement,” she said. “The graduation rate of the girls who come through my program is 100%. They've all ended up graduating high school, and the majority of my girls have graduated at the top of their class. I had one local girl come through here who is now a Marion County Sheriff, I have a dozen who are now nurses, two that are vets, and one who is in her last year of vet school.”
Antonaccio took Morrow’s advice about getting an education, and after graduating high school, she attended Midway University in Midway, Ky. After two semesters she decided that school wasn’t for her, however. “I knew I wanted to be in a barn, and no barn is going to be looking at what degree I got,” she said.
Instead of continuing college, she got a job in the Breeds Barn at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., which represents different breeds from around the world. From there, a job opportunity opened up in the Mounted Police Barn, where she worked as the barn manager/trainer.
“I helped train a 3-year-old horse to become a Mounted Police horse,” Antonaccio recalled. “I also helped train some of the incoming police officers who had literally no horse experience.”
Antonaccio went on to progress to the Kentucky Horse Park’s education department, working with the Mustang Troop. When she joined, there were only a few retired horses who were introduced to inner city youth, but it has since expanded exponentially.
“Now, we have the Mustang Troop program, but also have added a youth riding summer camp, and an emerging equine professional program, plus we do community outreach programs with groups such as Big Brother, Big Sister, and the Kentucky Center for Grieving Children and Families," she said.
The summer camp welcomes inner city at-risk youth from Central Kentucky, who are then taught all aspects of horsemanship, such as how to groom, how to lead a horse, how to ride, different breeds, different colors, and different careers that they could potentially achieve through the equine community. “We ride English. We ride western. We do bareback. We've done vaulting. I'm hoping this year we're going to do some driving,” Antonaccio explained. “We try to throw a little bit of everything at them to show there’s a huge world of opportunity with horses.”
As for her future career aspirations, Antonaccio said her only goal is to help as many people as she can.
“When we first started up our program about four years ago, me and my coworker sat down and we asked ourselves, ‘What is our goal?’ We decided we want to open up the world of horses to as many people as we can. Horses are such good therapy in so many different ways, and we want to give that opportunity to people who wouldn’t normally have it,” she pledged.
“Horses are still Angel’s life,” said Morrow, adding that Antonaccio often tells her, “If it wasn't for you, I would not be where I'm at now.” The pair still have a strong relationship and Antonaccio calls Morrow every Sunday on her way home from work.
For more information on Horses N Heroes, please visit horsesnheroes.org.