Grant Recipients

In Their Words: Brighter Futures

These are the equestrian professionals the foundation has walked beside — through injury, illness, financial crisis, and the long road back. Their stories belong to all of us.

Raymond Francis — A Legend of the Hunter Ring, EAF grant recipient
Raymond Francis Hunter Ring Legend — Grant Recipient
Raymond - A Legend of the Hunter Ring
Grant Recipient

Raymond

A Legend of the Hunter Ring

Around the hunter ring, Raymond Francis's name is synonymous with excellence — a trainer, breeder, horse show official, inductee into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame, and a friend to many. When an aortic aneurysm changed everything in 2016, the community he had served for decades showed up for him.

A veteran whose decades in the hunter ring earned the respect of peers and students alike, Raymond's journey through crisis and recovery is a testament to the strength that runs deep in the equestrian community. With support from EAF, he found steady ground again.

Read Raymond's Story
Meribeth - Reinventing Herself with Courage
Grant Recipient

Meribeth

Reinventing Herself with the Courage to Change the Things She Can

"Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Meribeth was a successful career groom and barn manager — a familiar face among the hunter-jumper circuit's elite — until a routine back surgery went catastrophically wrong. Left with life-changing physical and neurological damage, she faced years of recovery and financial hardship.

When the ground shifted beneath her, Meribeth chose reinvention over retreat. With the quiet backing of EAF, she charted a new course — one defined not by what she lost, but by the courage it took to begin again.

Read Meribeth's Story
Alena - Hopeful for a Bright Future
Grant Recipient

Alena

Hopeful for a Bright Future

"Thank you for the leg up."

Alena began western riding at age 10, became a barrel racer and rodeo queen, and built a career working with horses in the theater industry. She got back on the horse — literally — after her first accident. The second put her on a different path entirely, when doctors diagnosed her with traumatic brain injury.

Alena's path from uncertainty to optimism mirrors the quiet work EAF does every day — meeting equestrian professionals at their most vulnerable and walking alongside them toward something brighter.

Read Alena's Story
Allison Angove — A Family's Determination, EAF grant recipient
Grant Recipient

Allison

A Family's Determination

"We're hopeful that Allison will be able to walk again someday."

Allison Angove was a straight-A student and dedicated eventer — a 16-year-old with a bright future ahead — when her horse stumbled after a warmup jump and she suffered a traumatic brain injury. She spent 14 months in a coma, endured 15 surgeries, and was given a 10% chance for recovery. Her father resigned from his job to devote round-the-clock care to her survival.

Eight years later, Allison pushes forward through a rigorous daily schedule of speech, occupational, and physical therapy. Her parents improvised their own home treadmill with a walking harness and lift system when their insurance's lifetime benefit allowance ran out. "The Foundation has really helped with Allison's therapy, and she's making progress," said Terri, her mother. EAF is thankful for donors who have been at the Angove family's side as well.

Read Allison's Story
Equestrian Aid Foundation — the community that shows up for its own

The community always shows up for its own.
Equestrian Aid Foundation — equestrian professionals supported through crisis
Video Testimonials

Hear It in Their Own Words

Some stories are best told by the people who lived them. Watch grant recipients share — in their own voices — how the equestrian community rallied around them when they needed it most.

Watch Their Stories