Summer is the time for horse
lovers in Vermont. There are big show jumping and dressage events
around the state this month, and the weather is prime for riding. We talk about
everything from trail riding and competing, to horse-assisted therapy and the
human-horse connection with our guests: Ruth Lacey, marketing director for the
Vermont Summer Festival horse show in East Dorset; Amber Broderick, the director of the National Museum of the Morgan
Horse in Middlebury; Stephanie Lockhart, the founder of the
Center for America’s First Horse in Johnson, which is committed to saving the
Colonial Spanish Horse, and longtime trainer, teacher and rider; and Sarah Seidman, owner of Pease Farm
Stable in Middlesex, and executive director of Vermont Horse Assisted Therapy.
Also on the program, the
Agency of Human Services has been struggling in recent months to keep up with
some of its assigned responsibilities.
In December, we learned about a backlog in the Department for Children
and Families in processing economic benefit applications-things like Reach Up,
Medicaid, and food stamps. And a few months ago it became clear that Adult
Protective Services was way behind in investigating cases of abuse in elderly
and vulnerable Vermonters. In both cases, Vermont Legal Aid got involved in coming up with a solution
and working with the individual departments in getting back on track. We hear
from Legal Aid attorneys Christopher Curtis and Barbara Prine about where
things stand in that process.
And as part of our weekly
Summer School series, we head out on Lake Champlain to
learn to sail.