HAY DAY was a fabulous event! We had a gorgeous day and plenty of people took advantage of the beautiful weather to join in on the fun. Volunteers started early in the morning taking care of the horses and assorted petting zoo residents, making sure they were fed and settled for the big day. Tents were raised, grills were started, and lunch tables and chairs were set up. By 12:30 pm, we were ready for our first visitors.
We saw over four hundred people on HAY DAY. The children were having a wonderful time getting their faces painted and visiting with the goats, pigs and sheep in our petting zoo. Tank, our mini horse in the petting area, had lots of petting and shared attention with his best friend, Peanut, the mini donkey. Dickie, our little dwarf mini also enjoyed the gentle stroking of small hands. Ducky, our lovely duck, spent the day in the water trough, allowing the kids to pet her downy feathers. The chickens raced around the area, attempting to elude little hands trying to catch them. Everyone in the petting zoo had a great time!
Tours of the barn were also a big success. Roy and Sapphire shared a stall to keep Roy safe, and everyone who walked through was treated to a visit to Roy, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy all the attention.
Some of our volunteers brought their own horses to help provide pony rides, so a few of our stalls had new personalities spending the day with us, while regular residents spent the day in the pasture watching the scene. All of the horses had visitors offering special attention.
The food line remained steady throughout the day and volunteers did a great job of getting the food cooked and served. Pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, chips, and cookies were available to feed the hungry crowd. On this hot day, lemonade was a big hit along with iced tea and coffee.
Veggie burgers were available for the vegetarians among the group.
Of course, the lines for pony rides were long: the children absolutely loved riding the ring on one of our beautiful horses. The smiles on the riders' faces were huge!
Tater, Doodlebug, Maizie, Flash, Hashbrown, Sassy, Bella, Gypsy, Frye, Bender, Buster, Star, Steward, and Pepperoni all took turns letting little cowboys and cowgirls ride them around the ring all afternoon. Volunteers walked alongside the horses and their riders to ensure a safe and enjoyable ride.
The hay rides were lots of fun for everyone and, while I didn't get a ride myself, I'm told they had some fun thrills on their travels across the pastures. There was plenty of laughing and holding on to each other!
Many of our volunteers manned tables where art work, t-shirts, Bravo blend coffee, posters, and lots of gift items were available for sale. Other tables provided face-painting, raffle prizes, and acceptance of donations for hay, which was the big purpose of this day.
All in all, the day was a wonderful one. You could see by the smiles on faces that everyone was having a great time. Folks visited the horses and made new equine friends wherever they turned. People were generous, which was wonderful to see in these tough economic times. This annual event is a lot of work for our volunteers, but they all look forward to it each year. What a great day!!!
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