BY MEGHAN MACKEY, INTERNET MANAGER
Ashley Barnhart thinks she’s pretty lucky.
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| Ashley Barnhart has been lucky to have horses all her life and enjoys helping homeless kids connect with horses. |
The 22-year-old from Delanson, New York, has had horses all her life. She got her first American Quarter Horse when she was 14 and she’s been burning up the pen in AQHA speed events since 2001.
This year, she’s making her first appearance at the AQHA World Championship Show in amateur pole bending.
But Ashley isn’t one to keep all the good fortune to herself. For the past five years, she and her mom, Joy, have been taking their horses and sharing them with the children at the Marillac Family Shelter in Albany, New York.
“I’ve always been lucky to have horses in my life,” Ashley said. “It’s nice to be able to share it with people who aren’t as fortunate as I am.”
The mother-daughter duo became involved with the shelter through Joy’s employer, Capital Communications Federal Credit Union.
“They have a foundation that they sponsor,” Ashley explained.
“They give Thanksgiving baskets to families, they make sure the kids have presents at Christmas. They do a lot of really great things,” Joy added. “But the homeless shelter is like the highlight of our riding season.”
Joy said each child gets a cowboy hat and a photo of them on a horse. Ashley gives them ribbons she has won at shows so they feel like they’ve won a prize.
Ashley talks a lot about how fortunate she’s been, which makes it hard to believe that things haven’t always been so shiny.
In 2003, her first Quarter Horse, Heart Track, with whom she had a special bond, had to be euthanized after a battle with EPM. Her mother quickly purchased her another seasoned speed event horse to help her move on, but three weeks later, he went down around the third barrel and broke a leg.
“It was tough, but you can never give up,” she said.
Friends she had made at AQHA shows, her “family on the road,” helped her through the hard times, always keeping a watch for the next special horse for her.
That special horse turned out to be Flashy Son Of A Zip, whom she purchased on her way home from the 2004 All American Quarter Horse Congress. She didn’t even have to ride the sorrel gelding with personality to spare before she knew she wanted him.
Since then, Ashley and Sonny have been hauling to shows nearly every weekend during the busy season.
Ashley said Sonny hasn’t been to the Marrilac Shelter yet.
“He doesn’t go just because he’s not as calm as some of the other horses,” she said.
“But probably when he gets a little older and calmer he’ll be going.”
