For the Love of Horses is an organization that was born out of tragedy. The tragedy presented the need. A couple’s response to the misfortune became the driving force that has resulted in a fledgling charity organization founded to aid equestrians that have been seriously injured, or otherwise devastated in horse related incidents. It is a network of horse-loving individuals who come together with the common goal of helping a fellow equestrian through tragic times. With the belief that “many hands make light work”, For the Love of Horses is the vehicle that helps equestrians form a caring community of volunteers and donors that surrounds individuals and their families when they need it most.
Bob and Bo Bishop founded For the Love of Horses following a devastating horse-related injury Bo sustained. In this article she shares the story of a tragedy that has been turned into the opportunity to help others.
I sat in my studio one Sunday a couple of years ago entertaining such lofty notions as the meaning of life in general and my life in particular. What is my purpose here? What am I supposed to do to make this world a better place? I love teaching people and horses. Does this make a difference in people’s lives for the better? I’ve always said “thoughts are things”. The past couple of years has provided an incredible opportunity to see how powerful thoughts truly are.
May 6, 2001 was a sunny spring day and I finally had some time off after working a straight week of 14-hour days. I was headed out to teach horse classes, the thing I lived for, loved and did on occasion. I sat having a cup of tea, watching the afternoon class warm up. They were asking their horses to walk over a bridge. One of the horses got rather upset and chose to jump it and in doing so, banged his back feet. I asked the woman working with him to stop him, but he went over it again and banged all four feet the second time. I turned to put my cup down to assist but unfortunately I was too close. A leaping, bucking 16-hand horse flew through the air and hit me. I saw the post, my cup, and then BLACK.
Amazingly, there was a gentleman watching that day who had been a medic in the service. He held me down on the ground until the paramedics arrived to transport me to the hospital. It was two hours before they were able to locate my husband Bob who then joined me. During that span of time that seemed like an eternity in this accident-induced darkness, any reassurance that I was thinking straight had been lost. What a relief when he arrived. I felt safe even though I couldn’t see him.
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle’s trauma center, via helicopter was the next stop. After hours of tests I was whisked away to surgery. They said they would try to save my right eye if they could but that they wouldn’t know the extent of damage to the other for a while. On waking I was faced with the reality that they had removed one eye. However, the overpowering feeling was that I was lucky to be alive, even though no one had told me how serious the accident was. For the next two days everything was dark. I was left to savor the reality of life in a dark, and what seemed like an amazingly noisy world.
My nose had been shattered into more that 40 pieces. These pieces had been pushed behind the bridge of my nose, my right eye socket was crushed and the left eye socket needed some restorative work. I have a racing stripe across my head where they took bone from my skull to do the reconstruction. It’s unbelievable what doctors were able to do with a box of screws, some plates and some pins in the next few weeks.
On arrival home from the hospital we found our little house filled with flowers and cards from so many people I just couldn’t believe it! Our friends, family and students had created a “task force”. They decided to do some fund-raising in order to help cover the hospital bills. I had just made a decision to cancel insurance in order to divert the money for premiums to my new business.
There were so many adjustments. Relearning depth perception was the most significant. Pouring water all over the table instead of into a glass or not being able to determine how far the butter dish was away became complicated challenges. It seems that it has taken my seeing eye a long time to regain enough strength to see for two. The difficulty of these challenges can never surpass the simple pleasure and appreciation I have gained for being alive, being able to still see and play with my horses. Two months after my injury I was back on my horse, much to my husbands concern. However, with the passing of time and a great deal of patience, I am back to loving life with my horses.
I am also back to teaching natural horsemanship full-time to many wonderful students. We have regular play days and tournaments at Freewind Horse Farm where they have built a new three-acre obstacle challenge course. I am thankful to be surrounded by so many supportive colleagues.
During my recovery it became very clear what our lives may have been like had we not received the love, support and generosity of so many people across the country. My husband and I made a pact that we would do what we could to reach out to other equestrians who had sustained injury, but had not experienced the same outpouring of generosity and support we had. The idea of For The Love of Horses Foundation was born.
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Along with presenting this inspirational story of triumph over tragedy, Northwest Horse Source would like to challenge YOU to become part of the For the Love of Horses network. Here’s what you can do:
Visit the website at www.fortheloveofhorses.org, call us at 360-398-9195 or write to PO Box 29663
Bellingham WA 98228
+ Read inspirational stories about other equestrians who have experienced tragedy and learn how you can reach out to help them. Read about Maggie Shaw, who with the help of some of our supporters, has a new equestrian prosthetic leg and just took high point on her new horse, Jack at a recent gaming show. Maggie’s financial obligations have been met but there are others that need a helping hand. Lauren became a paraplegic as a result of a workplace accident at a ranch. In spite of her injuries, she has become one of Canada’s top paraplegic riders. She needs a sponsor.
+ Find out how you can advertise your horse on For the Love of Horses website and have proceeds go to help fellow equestrians in need.
+ Donate funds to one of the equestrians in need on the website and be assured that 100% of all donations are sent directly to those equestrians who have requested our help.
+ Sign up to become a volunteer in your area to host a fund-raising event, post flyers, set up a bank account or alert the network of an equestrian in need.
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"Tell everyone you love, that you love them EVERY chance you get. Don’t assume that they know how you feel. Tell them that we each make a difference and that we make the world a better place by being in it…together." -Bo Bishop
A special thanks to Nutrena for their donation of 850 lbs of Nutrena Feed for our August Photo contest. See website for details. Thanks to the NWHS and the sponsors of this article for helping to promote the foundation. Most of all, thanks to my husband for his unfaltering support in the quest of my horse dreams!
Copyright © 2008 The NW Horse Source, LLC
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