NORTHERN NEW MEXICO
State awards $40K to support horseback riding, archery for Native, low-income youth
Program to serve students at Taos and Pojoaque pueblos, Taos and Rio Arriba counties
TAOS 鈥� The New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division this month announced a $40,000 Outdoor Equity Fund grant for Wumaniti Earth Native Sanctuary, a local nonprofit that will use the funds to introduce Title I and Native students to foundational horsemanship and equine archery skills.
Michelle Simon, marketing and outreach coordinator for the division, said students at Taos and Pojoaque pueblos, along with Title I students across Taos and Rio Arriba counties, will be invited to participate at low or no cost in Wumaniti鈥檚 six-month 鈥淲ar Horse Path鈥� youth leadership series.
"This program combines time outdoors with physical and emotional skill-building through horsemanship and archery, serving Indigenous youth and youth from low-income families,鈥� said Michelle Simon, marketing and outreach coordinator for the division. 鈥淚t reflects exactly what the Outdoor Equity Fund was created to do: expand equitable access and ensure all youth can experience the benefits of time outside.鈥�
Each workshop will support up to 36 students, with a goal to serve 200 students over the course of the series.
Gemma DiFerdinando, a world-champion horseback archer, founded the nonprofit on Lower Las Colonias Road in El Prado, near Taos, after moving to northern New Mexico in the 2000s.
鈥淲e鈥檙e so excited,鈥� DiFerdinando said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e ramping up the curriculum that鈥檚 going to be launching.鈥�
The workshops will take place in three phases, teaching students about animal husbandry, grooming, riding, and eventually, ground- and mounted archery 鈥� a sport for which DiFerdinando and her daughter earned accolades last October at the ninth annual Daegaya International Horseback Archery & Driving Championship in South Korea.
Taos Pueblo supported DiFerdinando鈥檚 grant application, saying the tribe sees the workshops 鈥渁s an essential component of offering our students access to powerful, trauma-informed, outdoor, and culturally relevant leadership training.鈥�
DiFerdinando is also pursuing a grant through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to support the group鈥檚 work. Next spring, she and her staff hope to host a horseback archery tournament in Taos County.
To date, the Outdoor Equity Fund has distributed $10.5 million in funding to programs across the state, according to . The agency also awarded a $500,000 Trails+ Grant to Picuris Pueblo to build a state-of-the-art bike park that opened last year.
The division鈥檚 next application cycle for the Outdoor Equity Fund and Outdoor Recreation Trails+ Grant opens on July 1.
John Miller is the 近距离内射合集鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
