Forever

I have not updated this blog in forever....so many things have happened in the last year.....good, bad, indifferent. My mother died in December of 2011. A very rough time for me. I still miss her...still sometimes want to pick up the phone and call her to tell her about my day. A wound so deep you cannot bear to touch it but touch it you do...everyday. My mom left me some money to buy a new farm for our growing population of horses......and so I did. She would be very proud and honored to see what we have accomplished. In January of 2012 I purchased an old farm not far from our little farm. It needed a lot of work but was twice the size and mostly pasture. It had an old farm house, an older barn and a lot of junk! We have worked diligently on it since that January. Here we are a year later and we have most of the Pony Up horses in residence. We have made so much progress in spite of what life hands you. We have cleaned up all the junk, built two four stall shed rows, one two stall shed row, fenced the lower pastures, fixed the septic system, built an outdoor arena, painted the outside and inside of the house,put gutters on the house, replaced some siding, fixed some windows, built two new decks on the house, put electricity in the barn, updated the electrical system on the house, rebuilt the chicken coop, moved boulders, put new flooring in the house, landscaped the house, put lighting in the shedrows, put new water supply lines in, graveled the driveway, put up short paddocks off of the shedrows.....and yet, we still have a lot of work to do. In February of last year I lost my horse Ollie....I had had him for 17 years and it was the next big loss after my mom. Too much too soon. In August of last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had surgery in September, followed by three months of radiation therapy. A very dark and dismal time. So very lucky to have real friends see me through......folks who took care of horses and farm when I couldn't. We took a brief respite from taking in horses while I was recovering, but we have since resumed. Our newest additions are Violette and Valentine. Violette is a pony mare and Valentine is an old Appendix gelding. Valentine was in rough shape but is coming along. He needs to gain about 200 lbs and to get his feet back in shape. Just an old man horse who deserves better than he had. We elected new officers this January.......we are pleased to announce Katherine LaPierre as Vice President/Secretary, Andrea Gergen as Director of Fundraising/special events and Ryan Boley as Director of Farm Maintenance Operations. We are also pleased to have several committees in place to help with day to day support of Pony Up. Times are tough.....and even tougher for unwanted horses. Thank you to our supporters for helping see us through and for believing in what we do. We have a great group of volunteers and friends. Here is to a better 2013! Fortune for the day.......the thing is this......sooner or later you will see for yourself.