James River's Unique Approach to Aftercare and Inmates

What used to be a branch of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's Second Chances program—James River Horse Foundation—has evolved to become a thriving stand-alone pillar of aftercare within the community of Goochland County, Va. Established in 2007 as an all-male section of the TRF's Second Chances (a vocational training program for inmates with retired racehorses) located within Virginia's State Farm Work Center, the program's executive board of directors decided to realign the focus to a local level in the summer of 2019. "The premise was that we really wanted to be our own non-profit and keep our funds here. Anything that we fundraise, we wanted to keep it here and keep it small. We have a great community," said president Debby Dunham. "The executive committee at that time made the decision that they no longer wanted to be part of a national organization." Dunham had just become part of James River when the change was made. Shortly after separating from the TRF, the Virginia Department of Corrections made additional updates to the program and switched the inmates from males to females. "It was pretty scary for us because we had these really experienced men working down at the barn and working in the program," Dunham said. "We had interviewed the women for the first class, but none of the women who were applying for it—while they were all capable and smart—none of them had farm or equine experience." Despite the adjustments, the mission pressed on and continued to offer lessons such as grooming and caring for horses, similar to the previous instruction. Dunham emphasized not only the importance of horse skills but also how working around the animals teaches inmates additional life skills. "We have now designed our own curriculum. It is a little bit different than TRF's Second Chances but the overall goal is still the same," she said. "Give them the equine skills, give them the stable management skills, horse health, and then get the other softer skills—the teamwork, responsibility, communication, those skills that you just don't get in a prison." Dunham recalled a time when two "naughty" horses escaped from the pasture and inmates were faced with the challenge of capturing them safely and returning them to the field. She says it was a good example of how inmates are able to strengthen their abilities in various areas such as crisis management while working at the farm. Without direct funding from the TRF, James River has found other ways to keep the operation afloat, including community fundraising, sponsors, and applying for grants. Dunham says that twice a year the facility opens to the public and people are welcome to come and spend time with the horses and the inmates. However, not long after James River became independent from the TRF, COVID-19 took a direct hit on the prison system, with most facilities across the United States going into extended lockdowns. Dunham says it has been difficult for people to gain access to the prison. It has also been difficult to attain inmates for the program because, while many jails are near full capacity, prisons are fairly empty in comparison. "Normally we have eight women in the program and right now we have five. We don't want to take in any more horses until we have more women," Dunham said. "We started with a herd of six horses and we still have three of those at the facility... Now we have a herd of 25." Dunham says that James River offers the same promise as TRF programs in that if a horse finds its way to the program and is adopted out, it can always be returned with no questions asked if the new situation does not work out. "Our commitment is, we only take a horse that we can commit to sanctuary for life," she said. "There's never going to be a guarantee that a horse will be the right fit in a second career or to be a pasture mate somewhere." Some horses at James River have sponsors who help pay for their feed and care and are allowed monthly visits, although many sponsors simply help to fund the program. One of the ways the facility brings new people is through the 'open barn' days. Due to COVID, the farm closed its doors from the public for the past 2 1/2 years and only recently removed masking and testing mandates. The facility is hoping to hold its next open house in the spring of 2023. Interestingly, it was an open house three years ago (before the separation from TRF) which introduced Dunham to James River. Curious of what the program offered, what it looked like, and how it all worked, she found the individual stories mattered most. "(I met) this elderly man who had been incarcerated for a very long time, and I asked him why he was in the horse program and I will never forget this," Dunham said. "He said 'I can come down here every day and I can talk to these horses and they listen to me and they never judge me. But when I talk up in the dorm, everybody judges me. These horses give me peace.'" "I said, 'Do you not have anyone to talk to in here?'" "He said, 'You don't talk to people in prison.'" "(I thought) these horses aren't teaching him just how to care for horses and how to pick out feet. It's survival." James River has graduated over 200 inmates from the start of its program in 2007, Durham said. Over 80 horses have come through the barn doors. For the 2 1/2 years the program has been comprised of women, none of them have become re-incarcerated after leaving. "The horses are the soul of this program, they really are," Dunham said. "Could we teach these skills in a classroom? Yeah, we could stand up and lecture about self respect and respecting others and showing empathy and trusting, but I don't think they would learn it...The connection between humans and animals is incredible, even when they've done some bad stuff."