Friends harness funds to keep horse, rider together

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

For Kali and Comet, the events of August read like a fairy tale: There's a happy ending for both the prince and the princess. Kali is a 15-year-old girl, and Comet is her 18-year-old horse.

Their story began two years ago, when Kali Iserman started volunteering at Rancho Vista Equine Therapy Center south of Wellington. She was eager to help with handicapped riders but had to be 14 to do so. Since she was only 13 at the time, she took the volunteer training and went to work on other projects at the ranch, such as grooming and feeding the horses and cleaning the barn.

Donna Gustafson, former executive director of the equine therapy center, said "no job was too small or too big" for Kali to handle; she always did her best. When she wasn't working at the ranch, Kali started taking riding lessons on a gentle horse named Comet.

As Kali neared her 14th birthday, she called Gustafson regularly with updates such as "I'll be 14 in two weeks" or "My birthday is just a week away!" As soon as she reached that milestone, Kali began volunteering as a horse leader and a side walker in the therapeutic riding program. She also continued to ride Comet on a regular basis.

Both Kali and Comet were thriving. Kali became so experienced that she helped to train new volunteers at Rancho Vista. She also earned her level one and level two horsemanship certification on Comet. This past July, Comet was chosen at the Region 10 Horse of the Year by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.

But by late summer, it seemed that the magic connection formed between Kali and Comet would have to be severed. In August, Rancho Vista Equine Therapy Center closed its doors and auctioned off its assets, after months of financial struggles. Comet was on the list of assets.

When there's good energy, however, good things happen. Kali had been saving money to buy her own horse, and she determined to try to buy Comet with her savings of $1,200.

Other volunteers at Rancho Vista were fond of Kali, and they also wanted Comet to have a good home. These folks decided not to leave the opportunity to chance. Seven people pledged $100 each to make sure Kali would win the auction bid, and another friend offered up to $1,100 in case additional funds were needed.

Comet was sold for $1,700. "Kali had a lot of fairy godmothers and godfathers who chipped in to make sure she could buy Comet," Gustafson said with a satisfied smile.

Now, Comet is boarded at Rancho Vista LLC, which is still in operation as a teaching and boarding stable. Kali comes to ride several times each week and still takes riding lessons at the stable.

"I'm really excited," said a grateful Kali. "I had gotten pretty attached to Comet, and I didn't want to see him move."

Bittersweet end

The story of Kali and Comet provided some comfort to volunteers at Rancho Vista Equine Therapy Center, who hated to see the program fold. Many of the clients in the riding program have switched to a therapeutic riding program called Front Range Exceptional Equestrians, and the volunteers have followed right behind. So, although the location has changed, the work goes on and the friendships continue as well.

The August auction at the Rancho Vista facility netted $10,360, money that will be donated to the FREE program.

FREE is located at the Colorado State University Equine Center. The organization plans a fund-raiser called a Trail-A-Thon on Sept. 10 at Lory State Park. During the pledge event, participants may hike or ride different trails and distances. One trail will be designated for disabled riders. For more information about the event, call 225-2906.