Through great sadness came great generosity, as well as the final bit of inspiration needed to build this charitable organization.

Are you familiar with the story of Shamrock Kid? You can click here to learn about Shamrock Kid and the amazing community at Wasabi Ventures Stables. The very short story is that the untimely loss of this horse inspired a large portion of the community at WVS to make generous donations to aftercare. Building on this sense of community and charity, we have found a special way to honor Shamrock Kid.

Rather than just feeling sad on the anniversary of Shamrock Kid’s passing, we have decided to turn this date into an annual day of celebration. To commemorate this horse and WVS’s commitment to aftercare, we are now marking March 17th as Shamrock Kid Day. Starting this year, we will be collecting funds to help secure the safe retirement of other WVS thoroughbreds. Although we will still miss Shamrock, we are hoping to turn sadness into generosity once again.

To add some fun into this day of fundraising, we have created a commemorative shot glass. Those who donate fifty dollars or more to The Horse Fund will receive one of these specially created glasses. Donations will be accepted prior to March 17th, especially if you would like to have the glass in time to celebrate the day.

We will forever hold Shamrock Kid in a special place in our hearts. Let’s make his memory burn even brighter by continuing to turn our grief into generosity.

To make a donation, please click here. Please add “Shamrock Kid” in the message box.

In many ways, the formation of The Horse Fund was an obvious project for me. My work with Wasabi Ventures Stables, my love of animals, and my previous experience building small businesses all made the creation of The Horse Fund seem like the perfect venture. However, like any project, there were underlying factors that motivated and inspired.

Our club

The first outside influence that encouraged me to build The Horse Fund was our club. When I introduced voluntary aftercare donations to our members in 2019, there was a general atmosphere of excitement and commitment. While my request was small, only a five dollar donation per co-owner on a positive exit of a horse, the reaction was fully supportive.

With the backing of our club members, I began researching the requirements of building a non-profit. Although I have started other small businesses, this was my first foray into the non-profit world. Building a non-profit wouldn’t be difficult, the application for 501c3 status would be more onerous.

Our horse

The second outside factor is what sealed my commitment. In March of 2021, our horse, Shamrock Kid, broke down during morning training. The outpouring of support and donations from our club provided the final inspiration I needed. I knew that I would have a group fully supportive my initiative. It was time to bring this non-profit to reality.

I have told the story of Shamrock Kid and our club many times. Rather than retelling this amazing story of generosity and love, I am sharing a link to an article published in Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.

Building this non-profit was not created by my enthusiasm alone. The generosity of our club and the memory of Shamrock Kid provided the extra nudges I needed. Now that this dream has become a reality, I look forward to seeing how much I can accomplish with The Horse Fund. I want to make our club proud and continue to honor the memory of Shamrock Kid.