Posts Tagged ‘Claire Affleck’
From the time she was a little girl with big dreams, Claire Affleck has had a strong love for horses.
“I wanted a horse so badly and asked for one every chance I got, but my parents put it off by giving me stuffed animal horses for Christmas,” she recalled with a giggle.
Claire Affleck owns a Horse Farm and Equestrian Center in Auburn, where she boards and sells horses, gives riding lessons, trains and competes in horse shows and fox hunts.
She says, “I always knew I wanted to have my own farm, but was just out of college and had no money”.
Claire moved to Skaneateles three years ago and saw a farm up for sale that was perfect. She started leasing it when she was twenty-four years old and was able to buy it by the age of twenty-six. “I amaze myself sometimes”, she laughed!
However, that is not all, Claire is an extraordinary multifaceted woman. She is extremely active in the community she loves. Claire organizes and participates in many events and fundraisers throughout the year.
“It’s really fun to give back,” she says with a genuine inflection you can feel.
One of the events Claire organizes at her farm, twice a year is a Freedom Recreation Riders Camp for local differently abled children, ages five to fifteen. She says, “The kids are amazing and we always have a great time. Besides learning to ride the horses, we finger paint them, and dress them up. The horses love it”! Claire also teaches the children about taking care of the horses, for instance they had a lesson, just yesterday in how horseshoes are put on the animals.
Next month on August 7th, she will be hosting “Dr. Rob’s 2nd Annual Fundraiser on the Farm at Claire Affleck Training”, for the Finger Lakes SPCA.
“We have a ton of fun activities going on this year, horse rides, face painting, a magician/entertainer, music provided by Dusty Pas’cal, food and
The SPCA will be bringing animals for adoption,” she added.
A worthy cause, The Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York (formerly the Cayuga County SPCA) has been in existence since 1896. The SPCA serves Cayuga County and surrounding communities by finding loving homes for rescued, abandoned and mistreated animals. In 1998 the shelter became a ‘No Kill’ SPCA and no longer euthanizes for space. The Finger Lakes SPCA Mission Statement is: Alleviate the suffering, promote the comforts, improve the conditions, and prevent cruelty to animals.
In addition to her horses, Claire has five cats and a dog. She says “They are all strays”.
I asked Claire if she compares herself to “The Horse Whisperer”, she laughed and said “I’m very good at starting young horses under saddle, and creating a real quiet, willing partnership with the horse. Which I guess in some ways can be compared to a horse whisperer”.
While reading Claire’s Facebook page, I read the following quote: “There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse.” by Robert Smith Surtees.
I believe Claire Affleck has that kind of special bond with her horses, animals in general and every person she encounters.
Fundraiser Details:
Date: Saturday, August, 7th
Time: 4:00-7:00pm
Itinerary: 4-5:30pm Food and entertainment, 5:30-7pm Horse rides, entertainment, raffles and more.
Tickets Paid at the Door: $15 person, $20 couple, $30 family
* RSVP to Chris Briel at events@robertkiltz.com Please include the number of people that will attend. Call 315.378.7317 if you have any questions.
Where: Claire Affleck Training at Skaneateles Equestrian Center
4011 Franklin Street Road, Auburn, NY, 13021
To contact Claire Affleck:
WEBSITE: http://claireafflecktraining.com/
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=508800713&ref=ts
–
Read other Up Close & Personal Stories from this Series.
Contributed by: Claire Affleck / Claire Affleck Training
The Freedom Recreational Services program brings opportunities, such as horseback riding, to disabled children in Cayuga County. The fall riding program was recently started at The Skaneateles Equestrian Center and was taught by Claire Affleck. In the slideshow below, she and mothers of her students discuss the effect this opportunity had on the students.
Contributed by Christine Briel
It’s so rewarding when the work you do has the “hoped-for” outcome, especially when it’s for a worthy effort. I recently sent out a press release for Claire Affleck Training regarding her fall session of Freedom Riders at Skaneateles Equestrian Center. The Syracuse Post Standard picked it up and one of their staff writers, Scott Rapp, did a lovely article. They also captured some great pictures.
Here is the link to the article on Syracuse.com – click here to read it.
And to the right is a snapshot of the article in the newspaper.
Great job Claire, the Freedom Riders and all of the volunteers at skaneateles Equestrian Center.
*Claire also gives horse riding lessons year-round, inside and out. Call her for more information at 315.317.2608
Contributed by Claire Affleck / Claire Affleck Training
Claire Affleck Training will be hosting a Horse Camp the week of July 14th-18th, 9am-3pm. The camp is open to all children ages 7 & up. We encourage both beginners and more experienced riders to join us.
Besides working on riding skills, students will learn proper horsemanship which includes the daily care of the horse, basic vet care, feeding, cleaning, and will be able to watch a demonstration given by a horse shoer.
We not only focus on horse skills, our hope is also that children gain life skills such as self confidence, self esteem, leadership skills, and positive communication.
For more information please contact Claire Affleck at 315.317.2608, affleck03@sbc.edu , or www.claireafflecktraining.com.
