Blackburn Correctional Complex
Once the TRF mission of horses helping people and people helping horses was established in New York at the Wallkill Correctional Facility, it was only natural that the prison farm program would spread to the place where the horse is king, the great state of Kentucky.
In 1999, the TRF opened a farm at the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington. Shortly before the first TRF horses arrived, an old dairy barn was converted to accommodate the horses. Today, it is one of our largest Second Chances Farms, with about 50 horses living out their retirement years on 100 acres of prime Kentucky bluegrass at the state’s largest minimum security prison. Just as has happened at the other farms at correctional facilities, the inmates and the horses at Blackburn have become close friends.
Media coverage of the TRF Second Chances Program at Blackburn Correctional Facility:
WVTQ: Program Gives Inmates and Horses a Second Chance
“You Still Can Be Trusted” Kirkpatrick & Co Presents: In their Care (Paulick Report, October 2020)
Kid Semoran: A Story of Promises Made and Kept
From our Supporters
“In November 2019, the TRF Second Chances Program and Blackburn Correctional Complex (BCC) celebrated the 20th anniversary of their longstanding partnership. The program is mutually beneficial to the offenders working in the program and the program’s thoroughbreds. The horses are well cared for and provided an opportunity to live their remaining years in a stable and nurturing environment. The offenders learn patience, a sense of empathy, trust, and responsibility, as well as valuable skills that may assist them in securing future employment. BCC is proud of its continued partnership with the TRF Second Chances Program and we look forward to many more years of working with an organization that gives so much to the community.”
Amy Robey, Warden
Blackburn Correctional Complex