First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin Announce Fifth 2025 Spirit of Virginia Award Recipient

First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin present the fifth 2025 Spirit of Virginia Award to the James River Horse Foundation on July 31, 2025. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.

GOOCHLAND, VA — Thursday, Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin presented the fifth Spirit of Virginia Award of 2025 to the James River Horse Foundation at the State Farm Correctional Facility in Goochland, Virginia. The foundation was recognized for its program that rehabilitates retired racehorses while providing valuable training and life skills to incarcerated women preparing for re-entry into society.

Since 2007, the James River Horse Foundation has operated an accredited program that partners with the Virginia Department of Corrections to care for and retrain retired Thoroughbred racehorses. The program currently maintains a herd of 24 off-track thoroughbreds and has successfully worked with more than 80 horses throughout its history. The initiative provides nonviolent female felons with hands-on training in equine care and management, teaching them valuable skills such as compassion, problem-solving, work ethic, and teamwork that support successful community re-entry.

"At the heart of the James River Horse Foundation is a belief in dignity, purpose, and the power of second chances," said First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin. "This program nurtures both horse and human, offering healing, skill-building, and hope for a brighter path forward. It is an honor to recognize a Virginia-based initiative that so meaningfully invests in restoration and renewal - for women, for animals, and for our communities."

"The James River Horse Foundations represents the very best of Virginia’s spirit of innovation and compassion," said Governor Glenn Youngkin. "This remarkable program demonstrates how we can address multiple challenges simultaneously, providing sanctuary for retired racehorses while offering incarcerated women meaningful opportunities to develop job skills and rebuild their lives."

The program has proven to be highly effective in supporting successful re-entry, with participants in career and technical education programs showing a recidivism rate of just 12%, compared to Virginia’s overall rate of 20.6%. Upon completing the training, participants are qualified to work in the equine industry and carry forward the confidence, responsibility, and skills they have developed through their work with the horses.

"I acquired a unique set of management skills that will productively impact my life forever," said former participant in the James River Horse Foundation program Rebecca Owens. "We were not just working on the farm, we were working on ourselves and took just as much care of each other, as we did of the horses. This experience ignited a passion for peer work which I now pursue as my career at Radford University working in the collegiate recovery community."

"The James River Horse Foundation is so very proud and grateful to receive this wonderful 2025 Spirit of Virginia Award from Governor and First Lady Youngkin," said President of the James River Horse Foundation Janis Paiva. "Their invaluable recognition and support of our public-private partnership with the Virginia Department of Corrections enables us to continually expand our mission of rescuing off-the-track Thoroughbreds to be rehabilitated and either retrained for new careers or provided lifetime sanctuary in a safe and caring environment.  The key to accomplishing this mission is the equine educational program which trains female participants from the State Farm Work Center to care, not only for the horses in the program, but for each other.  Our program teaches them to pull together respectfully as a team and develop leadership and other skills that will contribute to their future success as they move forward to rejoin their families and their communities as compassionate and hardworking citizens.  We are so appreciative of the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our horses and the women who care for them."

"The James River Horse Foundation was honored to welcome Governor and First Lady Youngkin to our barn at the State Farm Work Center in Goochland County today," said Past President of the James River Horse Foundation Debby Dunham. "Through our partnership with the VA DOC, we are able to rescue former racehorses and use them in an equine education program for selected inmates. While the program curriculum focuses on equine care and stable management, it also helps participants build valuable life skills such as teamwork, time management, responsibility and problem solving that the women will carry with them when they return to their families and communities. "This unique public-private partnership allows us to make a difference in the lives of both the horses and the women in our program. We were proud to share our story with the Governor and First Lady and grateful to the many guests who joined us to celebrate the momentous occasion. We are deeply honored to receive the Spirit of Virginia Award in recognition of our mission."

The James River Horse Foundation is a non-profit organization accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. The Foundation’s mission is to provide humane care, safe sanctuary, and appropriate second careers for Thoroughbred horses no longer able to race, while simultaneously offering valuable training opportunities that prepare women for successful community reintegration.

The highlights unique contributions and achievements across the Commonwealth and honors those who make extraordinary impacts in various sectors, from private industry and education to culture, the arts, and philanthropy.

 

First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin, with participants of the James River Horse Foundation on July 31, 2025. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.	First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin during the fifth 2025 Spirit of Virginia Award honoring the James River Horse Foundation on July 31, 2025. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.
First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin with a replica of the James River Horse Foundation barn before the award ceremony on July 31, 2025. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.	First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin before the fifth 2025 Spirit of Virginia Award ceremony honoring the James River Horse Foundation on July 31, 2025. Official photo by Shealah Craighead.

  

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