THE 7TH ANNUAL JOCKEYS & JULEPS DERBY PARTY CELEBRATES THE 148th KENTUCKY DERBY AND RAISES FUNDS FOR EQUINE-ASSISTED SERVICES BENEFITING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
What a derby! What a day! Nearly 1,000 guests from across the Mid-South community gathered at the 7th Annual Jockeys & Juleps Derby Party benefiting Southern Reins Center for Equine Therapy on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Presented by First Horizon Advisors for the seventh year in a row, the event featured big hats, bourbon, bluegrass, and a live broadcast of the 148th annual Kentucky Derby.
Jockeys & Juleps was hosted at Southern Reins’ farm in the heart of Memphis horse country. Honorary Event Chairs Marley and Matt Slutz welcomed guests to celebrate the organization’s largest annual fundraiser in support of its mission to provide equine-assisted services to children and adults with disabilities throughout the Mid-South.
With live bluegrass music by The River Bluff Clan, guests enjoyed the party of the year with live and silent auctions, as well as delightful derby fare and Southern-style cuisine served up by Off the Square Catering, Galler Foods, Central BBQ, Napa Café, and more. FOX-13 News anchors Valerie Calhoun and Darcy Thomas served as the event emcees, and honorary auctioneer Hal Stansbury raised an impressive $60,000 in the live auction and paddle raise. “We are thrilled to be celebrating Jockeys & Juleps together in person again for the first time since 2019,” stated Board Chairman, Courtney Smith. “It was amazing to see the community come together and be part of what our program is all about.”
Celebrating the Run for the Roses . . . Memphis Style, guests donned their derby best to watch the greatest two minutes in sports as the incredible eighty-to-one odd longshot Rich Strike surprised everyone by pulling out the win. Signature mint juleps provided by Spirits Sponsor Athens Distributing and Woodford Reserve were served in celebration of another wonderful event that raised much-needed funding for Southern Reins to continue to grow its programming to serve as many people as can benefit from the services it provides. The event was also attended by Southern Reins’ participants and their families who shared how the organization has made a difference in their lives.
2022 Event Sponsors Include:
First Horizon Advisors, Lexus, Kim and Bryan Jordan, Judy and Charles Burkett, FedEx Freight, Barbara and Stefan Smith, Kelly Jo and Mitch Graves Anne and Mike Keeney, Kimery Wealth Management, Angie and Will Deupree, Barbara and Vernon Stafford, Billie’s Pecans and More, Inc., Grinder Taber Grinder, Tammy and Kent Kring, Margaret and Lee Alexander, nexAir, International Paper, Deborah Dunklin Tipton, Donna and Mike Glenn, Hollywood Feed, Louise and Cliff Hunt, The Gates Family, Becky and Wally Fields, Blue Pencil Home, Cathy and Craig Weiss, Friend of Southern Reins, Gill Properties, Harris Shelton, Jim Keras Automotive Group, Katherine and John Dobbs, The Brigance Family, Mimi and Jim Taylor, Valerie Morris-Bearup & Scot Bearup, Nadia Fares Realtor, Sedgwick, Kelly & Paul Peek, Social, Friends of Basie, Jim Dilley, Kelly Klenk, Lipscomb & Pitts, Mid-South Endodontics, Randy Flatt, RKA Construction, SEACAP Financial, The Belz Foundation, Valerie Calhoun & John Elkington, Watkins Uiberall, Youth Villages, Full Circle Equine, Live Love Memphis, Athens Distributing, Buster’s, DirectFx Solutions, FOX-13, Galler Foods, Germantown Performing Arts Center, Hollis and Burns, Greenview Landscape Services, LSI, Oak Hall, Off the Square Catering, The Dabney Nursery, White Door Events, Twigs-n-Things, and LeFLEUR.
About Southern Reins Center for Equine Therapy - Southern Reins was founded in July of 2015 to provide equine-assisted services to help individuals with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities and hardship. We serve children and adults with disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, amputation, cognitive and physical disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and more. This unique program provides one-of-a-kind experiences where participants throughout the Mid-South become more confident, communicative, physically capable, and emotionally re-connected. Southern Reins is a nonprofit organization, EIN 47-4647784, and a PATH Intl. Member Center. To learn more, visit www.southernreins.org or call 901-290-1011.
