Horses have always been my passion. To just be in their company has been the inner center of my soul. The people who mentored me in my early days, in so many countless ways, include the late Janet Dakin of Amherst and Robert Manchester of Leverette who tought me to drive and shared hundreds of hours with me as a teacher and a great friend. The Tally Ho 4H Club of Amherst was a wonderful influence and I had so many great experiences and learned so much from a dream team of leaders. Sawmill River Farm now of West Brookfield sponsored me in my teens and not only did they lease me a beautiful Morgan mare, Big Bends Chippewa, but they took us everywhere during show season all over New England for three seasons. They are very generous people, raising minis in West Brookfield, Ma.

After my marriage, I opened a boarding stable in the small village of Thorndike, Mass. Here I raised my family, bred and raised Cocker Spaniels, and cared for many borses over the years, cherishing each one for who they were. There were Standardbreds, Morgans, Saddlebreds, pure pleasure horses, or horses looking for a respite. I was fortunate enought to have a retired N.Y. State champion fine harness pony and a wonderful grade mare, Fancy, who I had for 30 years. After Fancy's passing I closed my stable, Spruce Hill Farm, and retired from the state. I had worked for DMR for 20 years. I then moved to Belchertown, into a retirement community, and had little to do with horses, except for an ocassional horseshow, or lessons here and there. But the emptiness of not having them around me was painful and I felt incomplete. Then a few months ago I heard about this new place in Palmer that was going to be a sanctuary for draft horses. Through Blue Star Equiculture, I am again engaged in my passion for these magestic animals, who ask nothing of me but a little time and love. It's beyond words for me--I feel whole again!