USA: A pioneering prison rehabilitation program that created a retirement farm for racehorses marks 30 years of providing 'second chances' for inmates and thoroughbreds

Record ID: 645096

  • Title: USA: A pioneering prison rehabilitation program that created a retirement farm for racehorses marks 30 years of providing 'second chances' for inmates and thoroughbreds
  • Date: 18th June 2014
  • Summary: WALLKILL, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 16, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PRISON GUARD LOCKING GATE TO WALLKILL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY HORSE FARM INMATE DRIVING TRACTOR DEER RUNNING ACROSS FARM LAND VARIOUS OF INMATE GROOMING RETIRED RACEHORSE UNARMED PRISON GUARD WITH CLIPBOARD PULL OUT FROM NEW YORK STATE CORRECTION SERVICES BADGE TO HORSES PROGRAM DIRECTOR JIM TEMPER WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM TEMPER, SECOND CHANCES PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SAYING: "For me it's just unbelievable to watch the changes in the guys. What the horses do for them or to them. The horses read body language better than any other animal and they see these guys, these hardened guys, that are all in to themselves and they think that they're all either important or the world owes them a living and the horses change all of that. Horses are much needier than they are, so the guys come out here and start caring for them. They start seeing that the horses aren't going to survive or do well without the help from the inmates and the transformation is a great thing to see." VARIOUS OF TEMPER WITH HORSES AND INMATES PRISON GUARD WITH INMATES (SOUNDBITE) (English) SCOTT COYLE, WALLKILL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY INMATE, SAYING: "It's shown me a lot about myself and how my not being patient, being compulsive, having that type of behavior. Working with these guys, you learn patience. You learn to slow things down and to appreciate. And the main thing is the unconditional love for them. You know, I do this for these guys cause we don't get paid that much for doing it, but I do it, I come out here every day and I do it for these guys." COYLE CLEANING HOOVES OF HORSE PRISON TOWER AT NEARBY SHAWANGUNK MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON VARIOUS OF INMATES UNLOADING HAY HORSE EATING HAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN COOK, WALLKILL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY INMATE, SAYING: "It's been a treat to me. In other words, being inside dealing with different types of attitudes and coming out here and able to relax and not able to be intense, or anything else like that." COOK WITH HORSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JIM TEMPER, SECOND CHANCES PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SAYING: "No, I'm not. And knowing horses, I just expect that they're going to be good for people. I guess it was Teddy Roosevelt that said that the outside of the horse if good for the inside of the man. So, no surprise at all there for what it does. The surprising thing to me was how the horses were treated before they got here. Some of the abuse and neglect is just incomprehensible to me." COYLE AND COOK WITH HORSES COYLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIMOTHY LAFFIN, WALLKILL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SUPERINTENDENT, SAYING: "No, not at all [imagine a program for horses in prison system]. And I think it's a great program. Anything that has to do with animals it seems like, whether it's the puppy program or the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, it's always been a positive aspect for corrections. Something that's so outside that people wouldn't even think about in corrections, so yeah, I think it turned out to be great. No, I would not have expected that, but being involved with it for so long, I fully see what happens and I think it's a great program." WALLKILL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SIGN
  • Embargoed: 3rd July 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA90RE1UXSVRB0VVOSR6LNYOOTS
  • Story Text: A pioneering prison rehabilitation program in upstate New York on Thursday (June 19) will mark 30 years of helping inmates and retired thoroughbred racehorses with creating a 'second chance' in their lives.
    Originally an effort to create a rescue facility for abused and neglected horses following their racing careers and to keep them out of the cannery, the Second Chances program at the Wallkill Correctional Facility has become a model of public-private partnership.
    In early 1980s, the newly created Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation struck a milestone agreement with the State of New York Department of Correctional Services. In exchange for land use and labor at the state's, at the time, minimum security prison in Wallkill a scenic town west of the Hudson River about two hours north of New York City, the foundation designed, staffed and maintain a vocational training program in equine care and management for inmates.
    Originally called Promised Road for the first horse in their care, the facility opened in 1984 and has since helped over 400 inmates and retired racehorses enjoy a second chance, which the program is now called.

    "Knowing horses, I just expect that they're going to be good for people," explained Jim Temper, who has been the program director and vocational trainer at Second Chances since the beginning.

    "I guess it was Teddy Roosevelt that said that the outside of the horse if good for the inside of the man. So, no surprise at all there for what it does."
    About 15 inmates work and train at the horse farm at any one time, where they earn about 15 cents an hour performing duties from straightforward manual labor to caring for the horses.

    "It's just unbelievable to watch the changes in the guys. What the horses do for them or to them," said Temper.

    "The horses read body language better than any other animal and they see these guys, these hardened guys, that are all in to themselves and they think that they're all either important or the world owes them a living and the horses change all of that. Horses are much needier than they are, so the guys come out here and start caring for them. They start seeing that the horses aren't going to survive or do well without the help from the inmates and the transformation is a great thing to see," he added.
    Some horses are trained to be gentle enough to be adopted out, while others spend their lives at the prison farm.
    The inmates care for them within sight of a guard tower that marks a sharp contrast with the rustic stables, gentle neighing and barn cats sleeping in the sun.

    "It's been a treat to me. In other words, being inside dealing with different types of attitudes and coming out here and able to relax and not able to be intense, or anything else like that," said John Cook, an inmate serving a sentence for burglary -- a crime he committed frequently to pay for his addiction to crack cocaine.
    The therapeutic nature of working with the animals is a theme frequently mentioned by the participants in the program.

    "Working with these guys, you learn patience. You learn to slow things down and to appreciate. And the main thing is the unconditional love for them. You know, I do this for these guys cause we don't get paid that much for doing it, but I do it, I come out here every day and I do it for these guys," said Scott Coyle, who is serving a five-year sentence for narcotics possession.
    But it's not just the prisoners who benefit at the Wallkill horse farm. The retired racehorses also find solace in the company and care of the inmates.

    "The surprising thing to me was how the horses were treated before they got here. Some of the abuse and neglect is just incomprehensible to me," said Temper.
    The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has since expanded to facilities in ten states following the success of the Wallkill operation.

    "I think it's a great program," said Timothy Laffin, the Superintendent of the Wallkill Correctional Facility.

    "Anything that has to do with animals it seems like, whether it's the puppy program or the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, it's always been a positive aspect for corrections. Something that's so outside that people wouldn't even think about in corrections, so yeah, I think it turned out to be great. No, I would not have expected that, but being involved with it for so long, I fully see what happens and I think it's a great program."
    Studies show educational programs in prison reduce recidivism rates, but specific figures on the success of horse programs or other animal programs are hard to come by.
    The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not have any figures immediately available, and the Pew Charitable Trusts' project that studies prison systems does not track animal programs in particular.
    Wallkill and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation will hold a special ceremony on Thursday to mark the 30-year anniversary.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register