All RVR Horse Rescue has wanted to do since it moved to Plant City in January 2020 was become a “good neighbor” in its new home. But after a year full of unexpected twists and turns brought on by the pandemic, the rescue is just now getting the chance to properly introduce itself.
There’s no better way to make good with the neighborhood than by throwing a big party, so that’s exactly what’s on deck for next week.
RVR will host the first-ever Plant City edition of its annual Forever Home event, which is typically its biggest fundraiser for any given year, all day on May 15 and everyone is welcome to join them for a day of free, family-friendly fun, food and music. The event will come two days after the rescue hosts its formal ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce.
“This is kind of an unusual circumstance because we’re not usually open to the public,” Kelly Ford, Vice President, said. “There are not enough people to give tours constantly. This is a once-a-year opportunity for the public to see the rescue and see us in action, so to speak.”
The public will be able to meet some of RVR’s horses, meet the volunteers and get a good look at a facility that rescues horses from all over Florida. You can also listen to Classix play music from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., buy goods from a bake sale catered by 3C’s Catering, enter a 50-50 and win other raffle prizes. There will be plenty of fun games on hand for the kids to play (and there are hobby horses for the little ones to ride, too).
The COVID-19 pandemic threw a big, hanging curveball at RVR barely two months after it officially started operating in its Plant City facility. The rescue had to postpone its planned Forever Home event and ribbon-cutting, switch its fundraising efforts to virtual platforms and revamp the way it worked on the property.
“The first thing we did was go down to a skeleton crew,” Ford said. “We had as few people on the property at one time as possible. Being outdoors made it easy to social distance. Everyone had a mask in case they had to work inside together. We were very careful about following advised protocols to the best of our ability. The new property made it much easier to function with a much smaller group of volunteers. It was a little tough, but our fantastic volunteers made it through.”
Fortunately, however, the move from Riverview to Plant City did help RVR adapt to these new challenges and set the rescue up for good things to come in the future.
“It’s working out very well,” Ford said. “It’s decreased our need for manpower tremendously, which helps when it gets real hot in the summer. We have a lot more grazing space and more pasture available to us once we get it fenced. A goal of ours is to get the rest of the property fenced so we can use the remaining 10 acres. The barn is perfect for events. It’s just a magnificent facility and we’re really pleased with it.”
The rescue caught some more good luck at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. In December 2020, the rescue received a $20,000 donation from the Karmagawa Foundation. In January, the rescue received a grant from the ASPCA to fund equipment purchases and training for its Large Animal Rescue (LAR) team, which is a group of volunteers that assists local law enforcement when large animals are endangered by way of accidents or natural disasters.
This will be the first time the general public can come tour the facility, and Ford said she and the rest of the RVR staff couldn’t be more excited.
Forever Home begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. The facility is located at 1710 W. State Road 60. There are no cover or parking fees. Cash and credit cards will be accepted for food and shopping. Visit facebook.com/events/1887253844758776/ or rvrhorserescue.org, or email contact@rvrhorserescue.org, for more information.