Here is an inspiring, Cinderella-like story about a new horse at THF, directly quoted from Renae:

“This should be a good story for our lesson students. Back in January Mark and I went to the Amish horse sale in Kalona. We didn’t bring the trailer and had NO INTENTIONS OF BUYING ANY KIND OF HORSE.

A Saddlebred mare stood in the “loose pen” looking like a giraffe in a herd of bison. She was pretty with a long neck and a kind eye. A young girl crawled onto her back amongst the chaos of the sale, and the mare walked quietly around. The girl didn’t like riding her “because she keeps her head up so high that I can’t see around her.” Well, she got our attention.

Mark had to make the almost 2 hour trip home (one way!) to get the truck and trailer. The only bid for this mare was the kill buyer, so I made the next bid and got her. We “hoped” she would take some of the lesson load from our famous Magic Phevor horse. We called her #736 for the first weeks to not get attached in case she didn’t work out.

Just weeks after she arrived, our beloved Magic Phevor died (I still can’t say those words without tears). So now we “hope” she can even try to fill his big shoes.

#736 was very skinny, had pin firing work done to her front legs (such a gruesome archaic method!), and had the worst case of “scratches” (a nasty fungus that makes the horse really sore) on her back legs I’d ever seen.

Nadine has worked with this mare almost every day riding her and scrubbing those legs with iodine shampoo and applying treatment. This mare obviously has not cantered in years.

Meanwhile, our beloved Sharon Farnsworth sent in a hair sample to get her DNA tested. #736 is registered! Her name is actually Brookhill’s Hot Chic. She is a full sister to the famous Brookhill’s Passion Punch, who carried her rider to the Saddleseat Triple Crown title in 2018 (& a World Champion Park horse before that)!

We have nicknamed her “Hope” and look forward to when this virus thing is over so you riders can come give her a try. We have a reasonable “hope” that she’ll be a good academy horse for you!”