SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
    • Media Partners
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Wednesday, September 06 2017 / Published in General

JustWorld International: Making Strides To Change the World 

Morgan with children from the Los Patojos project in Guatemala in July
Photo courtesy of Morgan Dickerson

By Britney Grover

If you attend some of the largest horse shows, don’t be surprised to see children — and even the occasional adult — competing over jumps, many wearing riding gear but all lacking one thing: a horse. Don’t be afraid to get a closer look; it may change your life. Morgan Dickerson saw such a competition at a horse show when he was in middle school, and he credits it as one of the most defining moments of his youth. “I was confused at first, because though I was very experienced in jumping in my backyard with my golden retriever, Nikki, I had never seen an organized people-jumping class at a horse show. It looked like fun, so I wandered over and learned it was a JustWorld International Horseless Horse Show.”

JustWorld International Ambassador Morgan Dickerson
Photo by Bethany Unwin Photography

As Morgan soon realized, the Horseless Horse Shows are about more than just having fun; they are about helping children in need. JustWorld International was founded in 2003 after grand prix show jumper Jessica Newman decided to quit riding and focus on humanitarian work — utilizing her equestrian connections. JustWorld partnered with projects around the world with the goal of breaking the poverty cycle and improving the lives of the local children, and Jessica began recruiting other equestrians as JustWorld Ambassadors.

“I started speaking with the ambassadors in their JustWorld International riding coats and realized that there was more to this event than met the eye,” Morgan recalled. “Even as a middle schooler, I felt something important was going on here, something big. I was struck by the work they were doing and the impact they had on children all over the world. It was one of the most defining moments of my youth because I became a JustWorld International Ambassador, a title that I am so humbled and honored to have to this day.”

JustWorld International Ambassadors are equestrians who share the JustWorld values and help to make changes in the lives of children by making annual donations, donating part of their prize money, fundraising, volunteering and raising awareness by acting as JustWorld representatives at horse shows. Ambassadors come from over 40 countries comprised of juniors, amateurs and professionals, including Laura Kraut, Nick Skelton, Eric Lamaze, Eric Navet, Reed Kessler, Kevin Babington and more.

The JustWorld International partner project Los Patojos impacts over 275 children in Guatemala. 
Photo courtesy of JustWorld International

JustWorld supports partner projects that provide a well-rounded approach to helping local children, including education, nutrition, health and hygiene, and cultural development. Current partner projects are located in Cambodia, Honduras and Guatemala — where Morgan recently visited with other JustWorld Ambassadors to see the impact they are making in the lives of the children at Los Patojos.

“It’s very difficult to put into words the life-changing experience I had visiting the Los Patojos project,” Morgan said. “To me, the most powerful way to depict the trip is through sound. Los Patojos is not a quiet place. Students are constantly finding their voices through lively performance, playing sports, asking questions in the classroom, having meaningful discussions with their peers or just saying hello and giving high-fives to one another in the hallways.”

Los Patojos began in 2006 when Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes began teaching children after school in his home, but it rapidly expanded into a full program. JustWorld partnered with Juan Pablo in 2008, helping to fund teacher salaries from pre-K to 7th grade, healthy meals, a community health clinic and programs such as journalism, break dancing, art and theater at the Institute of Cultural Action. In 2014, Juan Pablo received the CNN Top 10 Hero Award.

As a JustWorld International Ambassador, Morgan donates a portion of his competition earnings to JustWorld.
Photo by McCool Photography

“My fellow ambassadors and I, though at first silent in wonder at all the joy and passion before us, soon found ourselves spending the majority of the trip laughing and crying,” Morgan shared. “We were joyfully laughing with the children as we were dancing or singing in the theatre, planting seeds in the fields, learning in the classroom and eating lunch in the courtyard. We were crying at the end of the day talking about the stories we heard from the children about the difficulties they face outside the walls of Los Patojos. We stopped crying, however, when these children would come up and hug us and thank us for all we were doing for them.”

Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes, founder and Executive Director of Los Patojos, with Morgan Dickerson
Photo courtesy of Morgan Dickerson

For Morgan, as well as many other ambassadors, being a part of JustWorld International is much more than a riding coat logo — it’s a way of life. “Every day I strive to shape change and live up to the role of a JustWorld International Ambassador,” Morgan said. “I cannot thank Jessica Newman and the incredible team behind JustWorld International enough, including Juan Pablo and his team at Los Patojos, for helping to make me into the person I one day hope to become. I strongly urge others to join me and my fellow ambassadors in the fight to break the cycle of poverty, because through helping children thrive, we can be the change we want to see in the world.”

For more information, visit JustWorldInternational.org.

 

 

Double D Trailers Info

Share this page:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Tagged under: jessica newman, just world interantional, margan dickerson

What you can read next

Dressage & Beyond with Charlotte Bredahl
Olympic Sidelines – First tour of the jumps
Getting – And Staying – Focused

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
⭐️ Rutledge Farm Sessions ⭐️ Aleco Bravo- ⭐️ Rutledge Farm Sessions ⭐️

Aleco Bravo-Greenberg of Rutledge Farm has shared with Sidelines his series of interviews with various clinicians that have stopped by!

Catch up with Sandy Ferrell at the link in our bio 👉 What's Happenin' blog!

#equestrian #clinician #horselover #horsetrainer #southcarolina #florida #equestrianlife #farmlife #horsesofinstagram #horseshow #sidelinesmagazine
Calling all eventing fans 🤩 Are you excited fo Calling all eventing fans 🤩

Are you excited for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event? 🐴

You won't want to miss the May issue of Sidelines Magazine! It'll be filled cover to cover with your favorite top eventers, meet fresh faces and catch up on everything eventing 📰

SUBSCRIBE NOW to get the May issue delivered to your mail box 📬 

Get 12 months of magazines PLUS access to our free digital app to read Sidelines everywhere you go for just $9.95 😱

Don't wait- you must subscribe before March 28th to get the May issue filled with all the latest eventing news!

Link in bio to subscribe!

#horses #magazine #eventing #lrk3de #hunterjumper #dressage #showjumping #eventer #crosscountry #xc #kentucky #rolex #rolexarena #kyhorsepark #sidelinesmagazine
A single interaction with a horse can change a lif A single interaction with a horse can change a life; being involved with horses can shape a life. That’s exactly why Ellen Healey founded the Gleneayre Equestrian Program.

 Since its beginning in 1998, the Gleneayre Equestrian Program (GEP) has proven over and over again that being involved with horses builds better lives. From the working student program to equine-assisted learning and equine-facilitated mental health, GEP is empowering individuals.

Read more about the @gleneayreequestrianprogram at the link in our bio!

#horseshows #helpothers #equestrianlife #horselover #charity #workingstudent #equine #equinephotography #mentalhealth #equineassistedtherapy #sidelinesmagazine
If you asked Daniel and Cathy Geitner, ‘Were you If you asked Daniel and Cathy Geitner, ‘Were you raised in a barn?’ They both would proudly answer, ‘Yes!’ Not only were they raised there, they have chosen to raise their two children, Wyatt, 15, and Lilly, 13, in the environment they know best, at their DFG Stables in Aiken, South Carolina.

Home to nearly 70 horses in training, DFG stables is one of the most successful hunter-jumper businesses in the Southeast. From pigtails on ponies to incredible jumping in International Hunter Derbies to galloping to the win in Grand Prix, DFG Stables does it all. 

Read more about the Geitner family at the link in our bio!

#family #farmlife #stable #showhorses #aiken #southcarolina #horselovers #equestrian #equinephotography #equestrianlife #equestrianstyle #sidelinesmagazine
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • Two Stalls Available!
    Allison Pras - Piney Glen Equine Rehabilitation Full Service Rehab Stable Heated barn, excellent footing Cameras, horse gym, Treadmill Laser, shockwave and more Colts Neck, NJ - 561-512-4022 Allison Pras - pineyglen1@aol.com Piney Glen is a full service Equine Rehabilitation stable that offers the best of care with A fully heated barn for the winter months,

    [Read more]

  • Isabel Kurek Photography
    Award-Winning Photographer Isabel J. Kurek Available for Private Shoots PUBLICATIONS & PRESS: • American Express Black Ink • Sidelines Magazine • In and Around Horse Country • Chronicle of the Horse • The Equiery People Magazine • Horse of the Delaware Valley • Virginia Gold Cup • Maryland Hunt Cup • Maryland Steeplechase • Washington International • Puissance Magazine • Equestrian Life • USEF Network • The Irish Field Magazine • Mid Atlantic Thoroughbred • Virginia Thoroughbred CATALOGUES,

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Rutledge Farm Sessions: Sandy Ferrell 2020
  • A Day in the Life of a Working Student: Meet MacKenna Moss
  • Saying Yes to the Vest – How My Quest for Safety Launched A Company

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Muzzy Family/MZ Farms Establish $100,000 National Finals Travel Grant for the Interscholastic Equestrian Association
  • A Masterclass in Kentucky Three-Day Event History from Jane Atkinson
  • From Ponies to Palm Trees, Grand Prix Horses and Grass Fields, We’ve Got it All – #ThePlaceToJump!

Category

Recent Posts

  • Gleneayre Equestrian Program: A Continuous Circle of Improving Lives

    By Britney Grover A single interaction with a h...
  • Daniel and Cathy Geitner: Building a Business and a Family

    By Laura Scaletti Portraits by Shawna Simmons I...
  • Chloe Smyth: Eventing With Hounds, Horses and Heart

    By Tafra Donberger Portraits by Kristin Lee Aft...
  • The Amayas: Forging a Family at Stonehenge Stables 

    By Emily Randolph  In 2006, Victor Amaya was at...
  • Marie Gray’s Bright & Bold Equine Masterpieces 

    By Shya Beth  Marie Gray’s paintings draw you i...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!