Long ago we established a tradition of saying good-bye to our treasured horses who have taken the journey over the rainbow bridge. We lost Jack last year during the hectic holiday schedule, and frankly procrastinated having his memorial because the grief was too palpable and raw. We are not sure that we are less emotional, and it is a very true statement that we deeply miss him every day, but we want to honor our friend. Jack was the epitome of kindness, benevolence and gratitude. He was the trusted guardian of our foals, “Pop-Pop” to Joey, and the first horse that most of our volunteers ever groomed as well as the patriarch and tenured professor of the Curry Comb Club. He had been abandoned and starved nearly to death after a long show career and later a somewhat thankless task as a school horse. We saved him, loved him and valued him…and he loved us and contributed to enriching the lives of the horses and volunteers entrusted to him. Now we will officially say good-bye. Please join us at Jack’s stall this Saturday, July 23rd, at 5:00 pm (after the Fireside Chat) to remember and toast Jack and our dear Tilley. All friends are invited and welcome. After the toast, our residents will be served carrots out of Jack and Tilley’s buckets, and the buckets will be retired to our memorial wall…we will never forget them.