Something Really Cool

Lately, life has been incredibly weird! I find myself at odds (personally) always asking for money even though I know it's pretty much the nature of non-profits. I try to stay as positive as I can and always send blessings and thanks to everyone, everything and the Creator everyday but sometimes...

So let me tell you a really cool story - last month a lady contacted us saying her son - 8 years old at the time - was having a birthday party and in lieu of gifts, he wanted everyone to bring a donation to Horse Play. I told her that was an incredibly wonderful gesture and we are always grateful for any donations. And we arranged for her to give us a call when they wanted to stop by as he wanted to make sure he delivered them directly to us. So Saturday (Nov 19) I received a call from the mom (who is herself battling an inherited immune disease and not very well) saying that they had her son's party and he would like to stop by on Sunday and present the donations.

I said that would be fine and we'd be around all afternoon. Around 2:30 the boy,  Riley, and his dad arrived as I was finishing a lesson and getting ready to change Murphy's leg bandage. They were all smiles and Riley had his camera along with an envelope. He was a little shy and dad introduced us and Riley gave me the envelope. I thanked him, telling him how awesome he was and that most importantly, how grateful the horses are for people like him. I told them they could walk around and visit, take pictures if they like. They visited for about a half hour while I changed Murphy's wrap (doing very well I might add!). I spoke with them a bit more, inviting Riley to stop by anytime (they live fairly close) and also added that he is welcome to help out, get to know the horses and even volunteer here if he'd like, again letting him know how thankful we are for his generosity. They left with smiles still on their faces and I am hoping they will be back.


After feeding all the ponies, I picked up the envelope and counted the donations, thinking a little kid's birthday would probably be about a hundred bucks - I almost fainted - he had received $385 for us!! I had 2 of the volunteers re-count it for me - this is truly a new experience for me - what an unbelievably cool thing! and to top it off Riley and his folks have never even been here before - he just loves animals (horse in particular) and they found our website and he decided to do this for us. It is an unexpected breath of fresh air and will help buy hay for the week

I am hoping to have the press or news pick this up as this child deserves recognition for a truly humanitarian spirit.


We're not out of the woods yet but we might be seeing a hint of daylight. Thank-you Riley and all of your friends and family from EVERYONE at Horse Play! You rock, buddy!