Sep 24, 2022 3 min read

Memories in the Makin’, a local, family-owned nonprofit, will host its first community gathering Saturday, Oct. 1, at Sugar Run Stables in Avella.

Fun in the form of food trucks, vendors, a Chinese auction, 50/50 and basket raffles begins at 11 a.m. Folks are invited to relax, tap their toes to live music, tour the facility and meet Memories in the Makin’ staff until 4 p.m.

“We’re going to make it an open house to get the public to come in, see what we do, what we’re about, what we offer, what the kids … have accomplished,” said Kennedy Hamilton, founder and vice president of the organization. “We just want to get the community out, and we also want to do this for them, so they have something to look forward to.”

Memories in the Makin’ is something Hamilton has looked forward to her entire life. Last year, she founded the therapeutic riding nonprofit with her stepfather and Memories in the Makin’ president Jody Georgetti (owner of Sugar Runs Stables, where therapy riding lessons are held) and her mother, Juanita Hamilton, who serves as treasurer.

“My dream has always been to do this,” said Hamilton, who as an infant suffered a head injury that left her unable to speak. “The doctors told my mom, your daughter will never talk again. My mom got me my first pony when I was 5. She said that is when (I) started talking.”

Hamilton considers her first pony, Bobo, her healer. Her experiences with horse therapy inspired Hamilton to earn a bachelor’s degree in equine facilitated therapeutics from Wilson College and to become PATH International certified, so she can teach anywhere in the world.

When therapeutic riding classes, led by Hamilton, began last June in Sugar Run Stables’ renovated barn, it was everything the Avella native dreamed and more.

“I think it’s a great therapy, and it’s just amazing to watch these horses connect with these kids,” she said.

Currently, Memories in the Makin’ has 16 students on the roster, a number Hamilton hopes to double. She’s also working to bring an occupational therapist on board to expand the nonprofit’s offerings, and is seeking sponsors.

“Programs like this can’t run on just lesson money. Horses … are a lot of maintenance,” she said, noting minerals, feed, and stable upkeep is pricey. “We’re trying to raise money and trying to get sponsors to help with operation costs. Regular lessons … summer camps – that is what has kept the doors open so far, but we want to get to the point where we just do therapy.”

For more information on Memories in the Makin’, visit https://www.sugarrunstables.com/.