"The greatest strength a man can achieve is gentleness.” This quote from renowned horseman Monty Roberts quietly echoes the message Paul Kelly, manager of Horses of Hope at Castlerea Prison, shares with inmates on a daily basis.
Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon is a closed, medium-security prison for adult males. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) places a strong emphasis on the provision of vocational training activities for prisoners. I first heard of their training activity through my mother-in-law, well-known sculptor Cathy Carman, who delivered art workshops to Castlerea and Portlaoise prison inmates on a number of occasions.
Since 2022, rescue thoroughbreds have also been invited to the quiet corner of Roscommon to help rehabilitate men in custody.
A first in Europe, the equine unit at Castlerea was the brainchild of the late Jonathan Irwin, a philanthropist who had witnessed an equine correctional programme in the USA and who wanted to share the same positive impact on inmates in Ireland. Working hand-in-hand with the Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) and with funding from organisations including Horse Racing Ireland, the equine unit was opened in 2022.
The Horses of Hope facility (named by inmates) is located directly outside the prison walls and includes stabling for 10 horses and an exercise arena.
All the horses in the Castlerea project come direct from IHWT and are almost all thoroughbred horses, many from a racing background.
There are six horses in at the moment, all thoroughbreds except a friendly cob and a 30-year-old Shetland pony called Buddy who is there as a gentle introduction to anyone who may be nervous. Three-quarters of a ton of horse can be intimidating to even the burliest of men.
30-year-old Shetland pony Buddy steadies nerves at the Castlerea Prison project. \ Helen Sharp
Each rescue horse is selected by the experienced team at IHWT for their temperament and suitability. ‘Students’ as manager Kelly prefers to call the inmates, tend to be prisoners who are at the end of their sentence or who are on a life sentence.
The course itself is accredited by Lantra and is an IHWT-devised course covering essentials including feeding, nutrition, rugs, grooming, handling, pasture management and first aid.
The aim of the programme is for students to have a better understanding and knowledge of horses while also developing handling skills, with the intent that they will be in a position to pursue a career in the racing or equine industry on release.
There is currently a well-documented staff shortage in the equine industry. Having said that, life is often complex for inmates on release.
Therefore, it could be suggested that there needs to be an industry-supported ‘next step’ to help the prisoner programme in the form of paid work placements which could lead to full-time employment.
Egalitarian attitude
Manager Paul Kelly began his career as a jockey, riding both Flat and National Hunt. After his high-speed start, he enlisted in the Irish Army, serving in both Lebanon and Bosnia during his 26-year career.
After retiring from the army, Paul spent eight years as a student supervisor at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) in Co Kildare.
RACE was established in 1973 as a social project to offer support to young racing apprentices and has gradually evolved to become the national training academy for the Irish horseracing industry. He is a horseman through and through and it’s clear when you see him around the horses that he cares for them greatly. What is also abundantly clear is his connection with the inmates.
There are up to eight students on each 12-week course and there are four programmes a year. Kelly is kind and clear, he takes time to explain the dos and don’ts of horse care. He has a natural rapport with the men and an egalitarian attitude to working with them.
Manager Paul Kelly and a rescue thoroughbred stretch their legs in the Horses of Hope arena below the walls of Castlerea Prison. \ Helen Sharp
The animals provide a long list of positives for the inmates who engage with them and there is a waiting list to get on the course.
Other than the obvious change of scenery from the day-to-day of prison life, the horses also offer an opportunity for personal growth through skills-based learning and the discipline of equine husbandry.
Perhaps less obviously, the students also learn to exercise gentleness and compassion, how to be slow around horses and to understand that these horses have backgrounds of injury, abandonment or abuse, often reflected in the men they support.
The very act of grooming horses provides a soft tactility that many prisoners may not have experienced in years. It doesn’t often pay to have a soft approach on a prison wing, compassion isn’t on show too often either.
Direction in life
“The men won’t show weakness inside the walls,” Paul explains. “But when they are here they are so good with the horses.”
He also notes that the course is proving to be a successful pathway for inmates who are refusing formal clinical psychological support within the system and that some, after completing the course, become more open to talk therapy.
“There are some tough characters that come through the course,” Paul admits. “But I just explain why student shouldn’t shout around the horses. They might let out a whoop when they send them off into the field but, if I explain that the horse might be carrying an injury and it could hurt itself, they do listen.
“When I started, I wasn’t sure what to expect but they’re students, that’s it, I find the inmates very easy to work with. They’re all keen. They’re happy to be down here, and they actually make my life easy.
“The course has helped them to develop their mindset and to change their direction in life. Prison staff report real personal growth in a lot of the inmates.”
When I started, I wasn’t sure what to expect but they’re students, that’s it, I find the inmates very easy to work with. They’re all keen. They’re happy to be down here
One student says of the course: “It’s a very positive thing from the jail, they let you out here every morning to work with a horse. It shows that they are trusting you. It changed a lot of young fellas coming out here, they get a CV out of it.”
Through Horses of Hope, thoroughbreds and other horses have an important second career and have a purpose to fulfil, which they seem to be doing beautifully so far.
Projects such as these always need support and funding. For those in a position to support, there is great reward.
To offer education through rescue horses not only changes a horse’s life, it can change a man’s life too: it could also change the lives of that man’s partner, children and grandchildren.
"The greatest strength a man can achieve is gentleness.” This quote from renowned horseman Monty Roberts quietly echoes the message Paul Kelly, manager of Horses of Hope at Castlerea Prison, shares with inmates on a daily basis.
Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon is a closed, medium-security prison for adult males. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) places a strong emphasis on the provision of vocational training activities for prisoners. I first heard of their training activity through my mother-in-law, well-known sculptor Cathy Carman, who delivered art workshops to Castlerea and Portlaoise prison inmates on a number of occasions.
Since 2022, rescue thoroughbreds have also been invited to the quiet corner of Roscommon to help rehabilitate men in custody.
A first in Europe, the equine unit at Castlerea was the brainchild of the late Jonathan Irwin, a philanthropist who had witnessed an equine correctional programme in the USA and who wanted to share the same positive impact on inmates in Ireland. Working hand-in-hand with the Irish Horse Welfare Trust (IHWT) and with funding from organisations including Horse Racing Ireland, the equine unit was opened in 2022.
The Horses of Hope facility (named by inmates) is located directly outside the prison walls and includes stabling for 10 horses and an exercise arena.
All the horses in the Castlerea project come direct from IHWT and are almost all thoroughbred horses, many from a racing background.
There are six horses in at the moment, all thoroughbreds except a friendly cob and a 30-year-old Shetland pony called Buddy who is there as a gentle introduction to anyone who may be nervous. Three-quarters of a ton of horse can be intimidating to even the burliest of men.
30-year-old Shetland pony Buddy steadies nerves at the Castlerea Prison project. \ Helen Sharp
Each rescue horse is selected by the experienced team at IHWT for their temperament and suitability. ‘Students’ as manager Kelly prefers to call the inmates, tend to be prisoners who are at the end of their sentence or who are on a life sentence.
The course itself is accredited by Lantra and is an IHWT-devised course covering essentials including feeding, nutrition, rugs, grooming, handling, pasture management and first aid.
The aim of the programme is for students to have a better understanding and knowledge of horses while also developing handling skills, with the intent that they will be in a position to pursue a career in the racing or equine industry on release.
There is currently a well-documented staff shortage in the equine industry. Having said that, life is often complex for inmates on release.
Therefore, it could be suggested that there needs to be an industry-supported ‘next step’ to help the prisoner programme in the form of paid work placements which could lead to full-time employment.
Egalitarian attitude
Manager Paul Kelly began his career as a jockey, riding both Flat and National Hunt. After his high-speed start, he enlisted in the Irish Army, serving in both Lebanon and Bosnia during his 26-year career.
After retiring from the army, Paul spent eight years as a student supervisor at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) in Co Kildare.
RACE was established in 1973 as a social project to offer support to young racing apprentices and has gradually evolved to become the national training academy for the Irish horseracing industry. He is a horseman through and through and it’s clear when you see him around the horses that he cares for them greatly. What is also abundantly clear is his connection with the inmates.
There are up to eight students on each 12-week course and there are four programmes a year. Kelly is kind and clear, he takes time to explain the dos and don’ts of horse care. He has a natural rapport with the men and an egalitarian attitude to working with them.
Manager Paul Kelly and a rescue thoroughbred stretch their legs in the Horses of Hope arena below the walls of Castlerea Prison. \ Helen Sharp
The animals provide a long list of positives for the inmates who engage with them and there is a waiting list to get on the course.
Other than the obvious change of scenery from the day-to-day of prison life, the horses also offer an opportunity for personal growth through skills-based learning and the discipline of equine husbandry.
Perhaps less obviously, the students also learn to exercise gentleness and compassion, how to be slow around horses and to understand that these horses have backgrounds of injury, abandonment or abuse, often reflected in the men they support.
The very act of grooming horses provides a soft tactility that many prisoners may not have experienced in years. It doesn’t often pay to have a soft approach on a prison wing, compassion isn’t on show too often either.
Direction in life
“The men won’t show weakness inside the walls,” Paul explains. “But when they are here they are so good with the horses.”
He also notes that the course is proving to be a successful pathway for inmates who are refusing formal clinical psychological support within the system and that some, after completing the course, become more open to talk therapy.
“There are some tough characters that come through the course,” Paul admits. “But I just explain why student shouldn’t shout around the horses. They might let out a whoop when they send them off into the field but, if I explain that the horse might be carrying an injury and it could hurt itself, they do listen.
“When I started, I wasn’t sure what to expect but they’re students, that’s it, I find the inmates very easy to work with. They’re all keen. They’re happy to be down here, and they actually make my life easy.
“The course has helped them to develop their mindset and to change their direction in life. Prison staff report real personal growth in a lot of the inmates.”
When I started, I wasn’t sure what to expect but they’re students, that’s it, I find the inmates very easy to work with. They’re all keen. They’re happy to be down here
One student says of the course: “It’s a very positive thing from the jail, they let you out here every morning to work with a horse. It shows that they are trusting you. It changed a lot of young fellas coming out here, they get a CV out of it.”
Through Horses of Hope, thoroughbreds and other horses have an important second career and have a purpose to fulfil, which they seem to be doing beautifully so far.
Projects such as these always need support and funding. For those in a position to support, there is great reward.
To offer education through rescue horses not only changes a horse’s life, it can change a man’s life too: it could also change the lives of that man’s partner, children and grandchildren.
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