Tomorrow we get ready to open the gates to the public. We’re open for volunteering twice a week pretty much every week but this is a little different. Mostly in that we aren’t asking anyone to scoop poop tomorrow between the hours of 10am and 2pm. If you show up early – you’ll be handed a scoop! But seriously, we are so excited to see some new and familiar faces.
With the addition of the Thrift Shop in Kingston we are meeting new people every day! If you haven’t popped in to check it out, I cannot recommend it enough. I (Alex) don’t personally volunteer at the shop but I’m in almost every week shopping and there’s new stuff all the time. We're open Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10am-5pm. We are so grateful for the support and the excitement that everyone has been sharing with us. All proceeds support the ponies. What we would like tomorrow to be is an opportunity for folks to put a face and story to the horses they have been supporting. Volunteers will be there to give tours, answer questions, and let you love on the ponies in a safe way. We’ll have stories posted around the farm about each horse – if you would rather read.
Tonight, we were working on some last-minute things and were going over some print outs of the horses and their stories and Toni said “hmm how come there aren’t any pictures of me on here?”
She was totally joking but that was a really good question and I have been thinking about it since I got home. And here’s what I’ve come up with. She doesn’t stand still long enough to get in the pictures… or she’s behind the lens. Toni Houck really doesn’t stop. She runs the rescue, makes sure her volunteers are taken care of, works at the thrift shop, does all the shopping for the rescue, feeds mornings and evenings and has her hand, if not both hands in every event we put on. And at the end of the day, she’s still on call in case something goes awry in the night. But when you do find her in pictures – she has the biggest smile of anyone I know. I just wanted to take a minute to point that out. She loves her horses and she loves her volunteers and she works hard to make sure they all feel it.
So, when you come tomorrow and put a face to the name of each horse, take a minute and put a face to the name of Toni as well. We are super excited to host you. We’re curious about your stories too. What made you come by? How did you hear about Toni’s Ponies? Is your favorite color pink too? And now I’m going to search for some of those illusive Toni Ponies photos! See you at the farm! (July 29 · 10am - 2pm 23473 Seatter Rd. NE Kingston, WA 98346)
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