TORONTO, March 12, 2026—Woodbine Entertainment has proudly named former jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva’s Equine Experiential Connection program the first grant recipient from the new Woodbine Cares Horsepower Fund. The Woodbine Cares Horsepower Fund, first announced in November 2025, provides micro-grants of up to $5,000 to registered charities in Ontario with initiatives that help people connect with horses through education, hands-on care, or innovative programs that highlight the extraordinary role horses play in our lives and in the racing community. The Equine Experiential Connection (EEC) program supports mental health healing by teaching participants to connect emotionally and engage meaningfully with the retired racehorses at LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society. EEC uses Advanced FEEL Facilitators (Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning), who are trained to coach participants to experience the intuitive and loving nature of horses. When former jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva ended his jockey career in 2019, his own mental health struggles led him down the path to discovering how horse therapy can be a valuable tool to aid in psychological and emotional recovery. Da Silva’s journey to this new role and the impact the EEC program has had so far is documented in the new episode of the third season of Woodbine’s docu-series Free Rein titled “Healing with Horses”. “Horses have so much power to help us, more than I had ever dreamed,” shared da Silva in the episode. “We’re helping people here with addictions and athletes for performance to name a few. To simply everything, we’re working with the horses to help people with self-growth.” Woodbine’s Horsepower Fund donation to the EEC program will go toward continued training for instructors, care for the participating horses, and other resources that will grow the program. To watch the latest episode of Free Rein on YouTube, click here. Learn more about the Woodbine Cares Horsepower Fund here. -30- Share This:Share
