Thankful

Firstly, I hope this update finds you warm and cozy and DRY. The rain has definitely returned to the PNW and with it the mud – our very favorite thing in the world. The only upside to the days getting shorter and wetter is that we finally have a few minutes to reflect on this past season at the farm. This is Toni’s Ponies 4th year functioning as a nonprofit. A lot has changed in that time. I’m told that they used to go get hay from the barn with a wheel barrow and feed that way. Gosh we love our Gator! And when I started volunteering there were maybe two other regular volunteers. Now on Wednesdays we have between 15-20 volunteers feeding, scooping, washing buckets, pulling weeds, grooming horses, desensitizing horses, working with our wild ones. It’s an incredible team that we have and we are so ridiculously grateful. This has been a tough year – we’ll get into that a little more in a minute.

Where to begin friends? A lot has happened since our last update in June. I’m going to start with our most recent news and events and work backwards.

November

This morning we woke to find one of our longest residents had crossed the rainbow bridge. Our beloved Joker Man was in his 30s and had been declining since spring. We thought that he had bounced back this summer as he  had put quite a bit of weight back on and had a little spring in his step. But over the past several weeks we noticed that Joker was not walking well and had just recently become blind in one eye. He still had his appetite and absolutely loved being brushed and having his hair braided. Joker was such an amazing little guy. So many children pet their first pony upon meeting Joker. He had the best hair on the farm and his little ears were so cute you wanted to chew on them! He was very attached to his girlfriend Princess and would just make an absolute fuss if she was to be removed from her shelter next to him. He had the most elegant little prance and we will miss him so very much. All in all Joker had a beautiful life here at TP. We knew this day was coming but it doesn’t make it less difficult.

Toni’s Ponies Annual Gala, with its vibrant Pony Gras theme, was an unforgettable celebration steeped in the spirit of New Orleans. The venue shimmered in Mardi Gras colors—purple, green, and gold—(and of course we had to add our signature pink in there ) illuminating the space with a warm, inviting glow. Guests mingled, wearing their finest attire with a touch of New Orleans flair—beaded masks, feathered accessories, and dazzling jewelry that added to the glamour of the evening. It was truly a joy to see so many familiar faces, all coming together to support a wonderful cause and enjoy a night of celebration. The silent auction, featuring generous donations from our local community, was a highlight of the night. From exclusive experiences to handcrafted art, each item brought in bids and raised crucial funds. It was heartwarming to see the community come together in such a meaningful way. Thank you to all that attended and all that donated and all that helped to make this night so successful. We were able to raise $6000, all of which will go toward caring for our 28 equines. We can’t wait to party with you all again next year and are excited to announce that next year’s theme will be Disco!

October

Early October Andy’s dad passed away from cancer. This last year has been really hard for a number of reasons but one of those has been that Toni has been flying solo a lot. Over a year ago Andy’s father started declining in health and much of Andy’s time has been spend with him, caring for and making sure that he is safe and stable. There have been countless doctors visits, transfusions, late nights. Anyone that has ever been a caretaker knows that it’s not easy. It takes a physical and mental toll on a person. When you are there for the end of life care of a loved one you are never off duty and in many cases you just have to work through your grief. It is constant and in many ways your life gets put on pause. This past Saturday the memorial was held for Stephen and it was beautiful. Please keep the Prader family in your thoughts and prayers.

September

September was spent soaking in those last golden days of early fall before the rain came. We welcomed three new horses to the farm.

Wildfire is a beautifully level headed wild yearling that was rounded up on the Colville Range and destined for slaughter. No one would step up and adopt her because of a hernia that she has on her stomach and also she’s missing a little bit of the tips of her ears (probably due to frostbite.) From the moment she arrived we knew that she was special. I think she might hold the record for how quickly she moved into the large herd. She immediately attached to our dear friend and volunteer Jeanie and between Jeanie and Toni working with her she quickly acclimated to her new life and family. She’s now out in the herd and pals around with her best friend Nova. It’s rare to see the two separated and we often call them the Bobsy Twins. I wonder if Darby ever gets as confused as I do with them!

The other two rescues are a Mare and Foal duo that we named Cedar (the mom) and Timber (the colt.) They are both wild and coming around slowly. We had them in the upper pasture originally but as the rain started to come we knew that we would need to move them down to the barn. There they have a little more covered space and we have plans to attach their paddock to the round pen so they can have even a little extra space for exercise. They both have pretty sweet personalities but the little boy is sometimes a bit of a stinker and we all have to stay very alert when working with them. Mom is definitely more skittish but she’s coming around! We are excited to see them progress.

August

In August the Hood Canal Brewery hosted our annual BBQ and brew! We had a great turn out. It was a super windy day but the music was amazing and the food was superb! We raised funds to support the ponies and had a good time doing it.

Later in August, when Toni was having her family over for a camp out weekend we lost one of our mini donkeys. Daisy was fairly new to TP and we adored her. She was a beautiful red colored girl who was extremely friendly. She was absolutely in love with our mini Remi and had come from a very loving home. We honestly do now know what happened with Daisy. She was shivering the day prior – we had a cold front and some rain come through that weekend – we blanketed her and brought her up into one of the stalls. She soon stopped shivering and ate her dinner and seemed fine. We kept her overnight and when we woke the next morning she was up and doing fine. When we came by to feed an hour or so later she was gone. This was a first for us. While we didn’t have Daisy long, we so loved her. She was such a neat little donkey. She traveled to the brewery with us, and was the star attraction for a group of visiting elementary school students. Rest in peace little one!

July

July saw us in downtown Kingston walking the 4th of July Parade. The downtown parade starts at noon and takes about an hour. It is commonly referred to as the longest-running 4th of July parade west of the Mississippi River.

“Nobody has been able to pinpoint the exact start,” event chairman Tony Clark said in 2022, adding that the Kingston Historical Society has photos of the celebration from the late 1890s. And we are a part of it!

The second weekend in July is our HUGE yard sale fundraiser. This takes months of collecting to put together and a solid week of set up to get it ready. We want to thank everyone who donated items, who showed up to set up and all of you who stopped by to shop! We had some really great items this year and I know everyone left with a treasure or two or twenty. This is hands down our largest fundraiser of the year and it enabled us to fill our barn with hay for the year. It is such an amazing feeling to know that we have that covered for now. We could not do this work without our community and our amazing volunteers.

Earlier that week Toni brought home the newest addition to her family. Cowboy was brought home from Eastern Washington. When he arrived, he was such a different pup than he is now. For about a week he was incredibly despondent. He ate very little and didn’t react to being pet or anything. Never aggressive, just nothing. It took him awhile to come around but when he did – boy what an awesome pup! He came with another much younger puppy that was napped Sippy. Sippy unfortunately was very sick and crossed the rainbow bridge less than a month later. Cowboy now is living his best life! He loves Toni like crazy and has learned to be such a good boy by following Stella around while she taught him the ropes and loves farm life. He gets to run and play with his BFF Cooper.

And now you are all caught up!

 

So what’s next for Toni’s Ponies?

December 13 Christmas in Big Valley will have a Toni’s Ponies night! They are so graciously donating funds to the rescue! We will also have a bake and merch sale as well! If you haven’t been to Christmas in Big Valley to see the lights, please come. It is truly beautiful and the folks that run it are the most amazing people!

They are open starting November 29 – January 5. Hours are 4:30 to 9:30 every night. Admission is $14.

Come Support Toni’s Ponies on Dec 13!

Also if you are interested in donating baked goods for our bake sale please contact Toni!

THANK YOU

You have no idea how grateful we are for each and every one of you. Without our group of volunteers and the community support that we receive we would not be able to do this work. That’s not hyperbole, it is a fact. This thanksgiving, Toni’s Ponies is thankful for you!