ANDOVER, MA–Ironstone Farm and its Challenge Unlimited program bring together people and horses in a working farm environment. The farm‘s professional staff of over 20 licensed instructors and therapists‘ work with people who have a wide variety of physical, emotional, and cognitive disabilities. 35 program horses and 150 volunteers to serve 450 to 500 children and adults each week, year round.

Peter Spollett, Vice President of the Sound and Communications Division for Haverhill, MA-based Intelligent Marketing, Inc. (IMI), contacted Challenge Unlimited when he heard they were constructing a new riding arena to volunteer his company‘s services. Spollett designed PA and background music systems for the arena, enlisting the assistance of Atlas Sound along with a donation of an Atlas AH 5040 stadium horn (mounted at one end of the 200‘ x 80‘ arena) and eight of their new PM8FA-W pendant mount loudspeakers. An Atlas AA240 mixer amp drives the PA system (the AH stadium horn), using two channels of an Atlas ASP-MG24 processor. A second AA240 drives the distributed background music system (the eight PM loudspeakers), using two channels of the processor. The equipment is housed in an Atlas WMA16-23 wall cabinet.

With IMI associate Reggie Payne and Steve Brooks, Eastern Regional Sales Manager for Atlas Sound, Spollett and his volunteer crew installed a wireless sound system in mid-September. Donated product from Avlex (an MIPRO dual channel receiver, a synthesized handheld mic, and a body-pack transmitter) and a custom rack input panel from Roscor Corp. Inc. round out the system.

“The Atlas pendant mount loudspeakers are evenly hung about 23‘ off the ground and proved to be ideal for this application,” says Spollett. “There‘s not even 2dB variance anywhere in the arena. The single Atlas horn for the PA fills the arena and gives excellent intelligibility. The systems can be combined with the flick of a switch, using inputs from both wired and wireless mics, plus a CD player, FM tuner, and an iPod.”

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