Promise Landing Farm Forges Partnership with DC Fire for Patriot’s Promise

The barn was busier than usual for a Wednesday morning at PLF. Staff and volunteers laid out the breakfast table of sweet and savory options from Black Market Bakery, and freshly brewed coffee managed to quell other morning farm scents. Horses were brought in from their fields and placed in stalls, awaiting invitation to join the events of the day. The main entry slowly filled with men of various ages and statures, greeting each other and standing close in familiarity. Coffee cups were filled and breakfast perused, as the gentlemen hung together, perhaps unsure of what the day would hold, or at least unsure of how it would start.

Promise Landing Farm proudly serves veterans, first-responders and law enforcement through its Patriot’s Promise program offering half-day clinics and weekly riding lessons. Patriots with zero horse experience or ample equine exposure are welcome and met at their skill level. Each Patriot’s Promise clinic is strategically structured to support safe and careful horse handling, while prioritizing independence and skill progression in the half-day time frame. The schedule of the day is intended to simultaneously introduce horsemanship and showmanship skills, while allowing Patriots to bond with their equine partner and experience the benefits of equine-assisted activities over the 3-hour clinic span.

Unlike our other Patriot’s Promise clinics, these men knew each other prior to the event—in fact, they knew each other quite well.  On May 14th, 2025, Promise Landing Farm humbly served an inspiring group of young men who were among the first on-scene to the American Airlines crash over the Potomac (1/29/25). For a department with impressive and vast resources available to their teams, we are grateful to their behavioral health coordinator who identified PLF’s Patriot’s Promise program as a prospective option to benefit DC Fire, and this heroic team specifically. Aware of the impactful potential of our unique program, staff and volunteers dedicated immense preparation to perfecting the clinic’s design for this event.

Led by instructor Brooke Grove, CTRI, the day kicked off in standard fashion with human introductions followed by introductions of our hooved faculty. As more is shared about humans and horses alike, Patriots often find that something in a horse’s story resonates with them, and pairings tend to occur organically. Once each Patriot has been assigned a partner, volunteers and staff disperse to assist each pair. The volunteer assistant guides tasks (such as grooming or leading) and proper execution of specific exercises as group activities commence.

In stalls or grooming bays, Patriots learn how to groom their horses and about general horse care and instructed how to properly halter the horse. The group is then directed to lead their equine to the indoor, and from that point – horse in-hand—each skill serves as a building block to the next, eventually progressing to a finale obstacle course combing the concepts

practiced.

Exercises such as hind end yielding, controlling the pace of the walk, transitioning to trot, and navigating intimidating obstacles are introduced separately, and focus on clear communication, gentle leadership, and building trust. The approaches learned through these singular maneuvers are utilized in the obstacle course, and Patriots and their equine partners contest the challenge course on their own, proving the progress made in the few preceding hours.

While each Patriot’s Promise group becomes more comfortable through the day, often meeting for the first time at coffee introductions and eventually cheering each other on as they pilot the obstacle course challenge, this group of firemen arrived with established camaraderie, and the team bond was palpable as the exercises became more challenging. As they completed the 10 obstacles of the course, teammates celebrated each successful pair as boots and hooves crossed the finish line.

The group took to the trails to wrap up the day with a horse hike through PLF’s scenic and secluded 115 acres, crossing creeks and bridges, accompanied by volunteers, staff and exuberant canines.  A lunch donated by Mission BBQ in Gambrills was a welcome sight as the crew returned to the barn aisle after the day’s active agenda. Patriots shared favorite aspects of the clinic and their four-legged counter parts, with the schedule design and extended time spent with their horse among a few positive mentions.

Horses are healers, but unlike most other therapists, they don’t require talking or puzzles or clinical settings to create very real and lasting effects. A few proven mental and physical benefits of equine-assisted services include (and are not limited to): decreased feelings of isolation, self-efficacy and self-esteem building, reductions in anxiety, increased confidence, trust development, self-acceptance, decreases in depression symptoms, and improved management of stress. In treating PTSD, equine-assisted activities have been proven through neural mapping to create many of the same physical changes to the brain as medication-assisted approaches.*

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the heroes of DC Fire and look forward to the growth of this partnership. As witnesses of the impact of equine-assisted services, and the feedback of our Patriot’s Promise program, Promise Landing Farm hopes to continue to grow this budding initiative to serve more individuals who may benefit from our unique design. We believe horses tend to do their best work when paired with nature, a positive, knowledgeable team…. And maybe a good BBQ lunch.

For more information on how to support Patriot’s Promise or for partnership opportunities, please email Executive Director, Katie Muldoon at katie@promiselandingfarm.org.

* https://jmvh.org/article/a-review-of-art-therapy-among-military-service-members-and-veterans-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/