The older I get, the more I realize life is all about making connections and maintaing them. This past weekend, T3 was fortunate enough to spend some time with an amazing group of people in Rochester, New York.

Several years ago, my husband participated in an event at the Midtown Tennis Club in Rochester. Luckily hewas partnered with Mary Maida, an amazing individual, great player and one of the most generous humans you will ever meet.

Mary took it upon herself to contact friends and business associates, bring them together and for two days we played tennis, ate, drank and brain-stormed about how to raise funds for T3. Both Dickie and I were overwhelmed by the outpouring of ideas and donations. Somehow, “thank you” doesn’t quite cover it.

The weekend started with a meeting at the Equinecenter, at the William and Mildred Levine Ranch with Jonathan Friedlander, President and CEO and Susan Taylor- Brown, PhD, MPH and Director of Operations. The Equicenter provides therapeutic equestrian programs for people with disabilites, at risk youth and their families. Their Horses for Heroes program offers therapeutic horseback riding as a tool for improving muscle stimulation, strengthening, coordination, flexibility, posture and balance for wounded veteran’s physical injuries. The lessons also help veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).

PTSD, or Post traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the common disorders we are now seeing in retuning veterans. Programs such as Horses for Heroes are oftentimes the one link that keeps these vets from giving up hope, and in fact, help them reintegrate back into society and their lives.

“The multi-dimensional movement of the horse recreates the human gait more effectively than any other means of physical therapy. Horses are dynamic, sensitive animals that communicate through the subtle use of body language. They respond to situations giving immediate, honest feedback without judgement. Horses are large and powerful animals, which naturally create an opportunity for individuals to overcome fear and develop greater self-confidence. Horses have their own unique personalities, attitudes, moods and backgrounds, which provide endless experiences and situations for growth, healing, learning and relationship building.” (Equicenter website).

Dick and I live in the middle of horse country here in Wellington, and yet we have so much to learn about these magnificent animals and the life changing work being done by Jonathan and Susan and the Equicenter. We cannot thank them both enough for sharing with us their ideas, their time and encouragement. Please visit their website to get the full picture of what they do and perhaps consider helping them continue their mission (www.equicenterny.org). The work they do is made possible in part by grants from the Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation, as well as the Bob Woodruff Foundation. We are both honored and humbled by their contributions to veterans, and look forward to the possibility of future collaborative efforts between T3 and the Equicenter. We stand together to conquer!

Friday afternoon found us at the Midtown Athletic Club. Midtown is a beautiful tennis, paddle, squash, spa, gym and restaurant all rolled into one. Glen William is the general manager and part-owner of the club. His vision has turned this club into one of the most comprehensive and beautiful clubs I’ve ever seen. Glenn generously donated court time, along with three pros to work with us. Dina, Larame and Greg helped with our clinic and for that we are grateful.

The clinics consisted of three courts with about four-five participants on each. After about an hour of drilling and running everyone into the ground, we took to court one and played a Challenger. After holding the lead the whole game, my team fell to Team Dickie 21-19 on an amazing drop shot, framer volley by Tamra.

All participants retired poolside for drinks and appetizers, where we relived the Challenger and talked about connections with military personnel. It’s safe to stay that everyone was in bed early Friday night. Thanks to Mary and her husband David’s kindness, we spent the night at their beautiful home on Lake Canandaigua. When we went to bed it was about 85 degrees.

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was about 65 degrees and overcast. The afternoon tennis was once again moved to the Midtown Athletic Club. After three and a half hours of really intense tennis, we piled into cars and made the drive across town to Mario’s. Mario’s is an Italian restaurant in Rochester….now, I am an Italian food snob. As far as I’m concerned, once you leave a 25 mile radius of NYC, Italian food consists of bland, chain food places. Mario’s changed my opinion. The food was delicious. And once again, ideas and plans were tossed around for helping T3 raise the necessary funds to reach as many bases as we possibly can.

The big surprise of the weekend was bumping into two legends of baseball, Del Crandall and John Antonelli, catcher and pitcher in the 1950’s. Mr. Antonelli overheard Dick say that his first love growing up was actually not tennis, but rather baseball. Thankfully, Mr. Antonelli made it a point of stopping by our table and introducing himself and his teammate and life-long friend, Mr. Crandall.

Just to emphasis how small the world really is, and to further illustrate how connected we really all are, I discovered that Mr. Antonelli’s brother was a professor and retired Colonel at the Norwich Military Academy in Vermont…..my brother went to school there! This won’t surprise anyone who knows me, but the rest of conversation was all about baseball. Mr. Antonelli pitched Game Two of the World Series between the Giants and the Cleveland Indians (W) and saved Game Four. Mr. Crandall was an All Star catcher and was known for his uncanny pitch-calling skills. Both men are Korean War Veterans. Can you say IDOL WORSHIP!

Once again, we cannot thank everyone enough for the hospitality, friendship and generosity that was shown to us. David S., David F., Joe, Tamra, Susan, Jonathan, Matt, Harold, Frank, Rich, Beth, Kathy, Ann, Jim, Ali, Rob, Fred, Kate, Martha and Brad. None of this would have happened had it not been for Mary, a GIANT thank you and xoxoxo to her. And last but not least, Caesar. Woof!