>>>> I sure do know how you feel not having a horse trailer. I thank my lucky stars to have Judy and Linda taking care of Hnisa. To do that in addition to their families and animals is heroism in my book.
Gail, if history is any teacher, then Hnisa is in fine hands. I'm sure you know that, but it doesn't hurt to remind the list. Some of you will remember back in April 2004 when Cary and I bought Falki and Skjoni from Robyn in British Columbia, and the hauler we contracted to bring them home had some sort of "mental breakdown" for lack of a better phase, and took the horses into hiding. I have never felt more helpless. I was homebound with three pregnant mares that were due but seemed determined never to deliver. Not that I had a clue where to start looking, even if I could leave home with a trailer.... I THOUGHT the hauler lived in southern California, but that was all I knew for sure. I didn't know a soul in California. This went on for weeks, with the hauler returning our calls with decreasing frequency, always an excuse that she was leaving for NC "tomorrow or the next day." We called the local sheriff's department, and they frankly didn't know where to start...and I could see in the detective's eyes that he didn't think we'd ever see our horses again. We were just sick. Since the hauler was acting erratically, we didn't want to broadcast the problem to the list, in case she get really ticked and stop all communications. Long story short, I finally remembered that I thought Judy, only a vague name on some yahoo list, lived in SoCal, so I e-mailed her privately. Judy dropped everything she was doing, and devoted the next two days to us, and about two days after my first e-mail, she'd found the horses, contacted her local police department who talked with our sheriff's department. I will never forget how shocked the local detective was when I called him back and told him we'd located them! I wired her the money the hauler "extorted" from us (we paid almost the full hauling bill, even though she didn't deliver) and Judy arranged to carry cash to the crazy woman. Judy put my horses in her trailer, and drove them to safety. She was a stranger to me then, but Judy Ryder will always be a dear friend to me after that. When I first contacted Judy, all I was really hoping for was that someone could recommend a place to board the horses... IF we could locate them. I had NO IDEA that Judy Ryder was really the ultimate Pet Detective. It never occurred to me that anyone I didn't know would put their life on hold to go find my boys, but she did. Judy didn't have the room to keep the boys until I could arrange a hauler, but Linda, who has apparently lost her business and possibly her home in this horrible fire, kept the boys for me for three weeks until I get them delivered here. I still can't believe they were total strangers to me up until then. I've still never met either of them in person. When I read some of the horrible, horrible untruths that people write about Judy, I just get livid. What I never really wrote to the list is that I also e-mailed another couple of Icelandic owners in the same area, and I didn't get one morsel of help from them. Nada. Did Judy ask that I pay her for her effort? NO! Did she try to demand something of me? No! She was just a friend when we REALLY needed a friend, even though she didn't know us. Linda only asked that I pay the actual cost of the hay the boys ate while they were there - nothing more. I was at their mercy - they certainly could have asked me for the moon, and I wouldn't have thought twice about trying to get it for them then...but they didn't. I still can't get over how generous the two of them were with their time. Not only was there no charge, but Judy sent me at least 5-6 pictures of them every day while she had them. While she and Linda had them, I felt like I was able to start to get to know them. She rode them before we ever did, and I got daily updates. Whenever I read some of the horrible things that some of Judy's detractors write about Judy...well, all I can think of is that actions speak louder than words, and that Judy's actions are VERY loud. Some of her detractors...well, I honestly can't think of a single generous gesture they've ever made, to me or to the breed as a whole. But Judy? She LIVES for our horses, and she's always there for us when we need her. I sure hope she and her crew are doing well. I pray her home is unhurt, and I hope the damage to Linda's property is not as bad as it sounds. They are two special ladies. Karen Karen Thomas Wingate, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.8/1089 - Release Date: 10/23/2007 7:39 PM
