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Playboy and Poco with Pegasus trainer, Anthony LaSpina
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Much has happened with the Winona Herd since the last update provided in the April Pegasus e-newsletter. All told, we rescued 42 horses from their plight. To date, 5 healthy foals have been born, bringing the rescue total to 47. Of this 47, 38 are in adoptive homes, 5 former stallions are in training with Pegasus, and 2 former stallions are adoption- pending and in training with their likely adopter. Only 2 mares remain at Pegasus and available for adoption. Below, we will detail the progress made with this herd. (If any of you are new to The Pegasus Project, click this link to read all about the history of THE WINONA HERD.)
Let's start with the five 12-year-old former stallions - Playboy, Poco, Whiskey, Cool and Mucho. Playboy and Poco (pictured above) have been in training with Bruce Logan at his ranch in Loving, Texas since March 24th. Bruce will bring these boys back to Pegasus on June 26th, and we have high expectations for where they will be in their training, having spent three full months with this master horseman. They should be going well under saddle, and Anthony LaSpina will continue with their development here at our ranch.
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Whiskey, Mucho and Cool spent the last three months at WinonaLakes Ranch, the home of Larry and Sandra James. As they recovered from castration, they roamed hundreds of acres and got the chance just to be horses and learn to socialize with each other. Last week, we brought these three lovely boys to the Pegasus ranch to prepare them for saddle training. They are all good-minded and willing. Teaching them basic handling skills has been a delight. We could not be happier with their temperaments.
When Bruce returns to the Pegasus ranch for his June 27-30 clinic, he and Anthony will work with all five of these horses. The public is invited to attend and observe the process. Watching colt starting on mature former stallions is definitely a learning experience. We want to ensure that these wonderful horses get the right start and a solid foundation and are properly prepared to become lifelong partners for our adopters. Click here for details on the Bruce Logan Clinic at the Pegasus Ranch.
In other Winona Herd news, due to the former owner's failure to honor contractual agreements to relinquish two young studs, in mid-April The Pegasus Project was forced to file suit against her to recover these last two horses. Apache and Hombre were both un-handled, 3-year-old stallions that we were unwilling to leave behind. An agreed court order was entered, requiring her to turn them over. Horseman, Clint Bailey, picked the colts up and halter-broke them for us. Dr. Mike Williams castrated them. After they healed, Karla Gray, a trainer who adopted three other Winona horses from us, agreed to take Apache and Hombre and begin their training. If they fit her program, she will adopt them. Otherwise, she will return them to Pegasus for continued training and eventual placement. We are so grateful to Clint and Karla for donating their time and talents to help these beautiful young geldings get a good start.
It's raining babies!
As expected, several of the Winona Herd mares have given birth to foals over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, the gorgeous palomino, Blondie (Winona 6), gave birth to stillborn twins in March. This was such a heartbreaking event for all of us, but we are grateful that Blondie survived. Twin foals rarely survive, and often the mother dies during birth. But Blondie is fine, and her wonderful adopter, Carmon Kirkendoll, allowed Blondie to become a nurse mare for an orphaned Friesian colt, thereby making the best of a tragic situation.
Carmon's grief was eased by the arrival of a filly born to another of her adopted Winona horses, Playgirl (Winona 8). Playgirl's tobiano bay
foal was born April 14th and is absolute perfection.
On April 4th, Peppilena (Winona 18) gave birth to an adorable sorrel colt, much to the delight of her adopter, Candice Young. Candice, who adopted two pregnant mares, next welcomed a stunning black and white filly from Fancy (Winona 4) on May 21st.
On April 21st, the black Quarter Horse mare, Lena (Winona 36) gave birth to a flashy black and white filly. Their adopter, Terri, was beside herself with joy.
And finally on April 26th, Angel (Winona 10), welcomed a gorgeous tobiano bay filly into the world. Their adopter, Jan Boyd, named this precious peach, Coco Puff! It's possible that additional foals could be born to more of the adopted mares. Stay tuned!
DNA testing is pending to ascertain which of the 12-year-old former stallions is the sire of each of these babies. Our money is on Cool for Playgirl's, Peppilena's and Angel's foals. We are almost certain that Poco is the father of Fancy's foal. Lena's foal may be out of Cool, or Poco may be the daddy. We shall share the happy news once the mystery has been unraveled!
Let us conclude by reminding everyone that we still have two Winona Herd mares in need of adoption. Lilly and Stormy are waiting at the
Pegasus
Ranch for their special person to come along. Please share with anyone who may be willing to provide these gorgeous mares a happily ever after!
We are proud of our work in saving the Winona Herd, and we are so very grateful to everyone who supported this mission along the way. Big thanks to those who donated money, and special thanks to those who adopted horses. Your kindness and generosity helped bring about this miracle.
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A Note from Allyson
WINGS OVER PEGASUS
Final Results Are In
O
n April 20th, we opened the
ranch gates for our annual
Wings Over Pegasus
aviation extravaganza! And, WOW, what a day! With more than 28 aircraft at the event, perfect weather resulted in the best turn-out we've had in the six years we have been hosting this event.
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Pegasito & the Easter Bunny
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Wings Over Pegasus provides us an opportunity to promote the work we do, raise money, heighten awareness of the plight of at-risk horses in our community, and, most importantly, promote our adoptable horses! The event also allows the public to get up-close and personal with our horses, ranch and staff.
We were blessed with amazingly beautiful weather and a crowd of more than 850 guests!
Planes and helicopters flew all day giving donation rides, and lots of kids got FREE airplane rides! The winners of Tennis Ball Toss got to fly in the skies over Pegasus in the Trinity Mother Frances Flight For Life EMS helicopter. Sky-divers jumped, flags flew, and our guests enjoyed pony rides, paint-a-horse, the art station, gourmet food, and of course Pegasito in his kissing booth. The Easter Bunny even made an appearance.
Amid all the excitement, the highlight of the day was Stephen Covington's airshow in "The Raptor." He thrilled the crowd with his breath-taking, low-altitude, high-energy performance. The audience was enthralled by his stunts!
Because of our generous sponsors and the incredible turn-out of our community, Pegasus raised $60,000 for the horses! We are so grateful to everyone who supported us, making this the most successful Wings Over Pegasus ever. See you all again next year! Bring your friends!
To view the entire photo album for Wings Over Pegasus 2019, click HERE.
Allyson DeCanio
President, The Pegasus Project
For questions or comments, email: allyson@mypegasusproject.org
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June 27, 28, 29, 30 - Bruce Logan Horsemanship Clinic
July 18 - Pegasus Partner Happy Hour
September 19 - North Texas Giving Day
(details coming soon)
November 2 - 8th Annual Ride for a Rescue
(details coming soon)
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PEGASUS PARTNERS
Thursday, June 27th
6:00 pm
The Forge
Ben Wheeler, TX
Monthly, fun,
information-packed meetings for
Pegasus supporters at various locations throughout the year. All Pegasus Partners at the $25/month level and higher are Happy Hour members. Membership includes a car decal, a Pegasus hat or t-shirt, a Pegasus logo wine glass and an open invitation
to every meeting!
Discuss the latest Pegasus news and connect with other like-minded horse fans. (Your wine glass is free, but the wine isn't! We know how much you drink!)
Click here to join:
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DO YOU LOVE
WHAT WE DO? BECOME A PEGASUS PARTNER!
Did you know Pegasus relies entirely on private donations? Our regular monthly donors, known as
Pegasus Partners
, are our most treasured assets. For as little as $10/month you can help provide us with a predictable source of income at a much lower cost than any other fundraising method.
While we are very
appreciative of
one-time donations, the monthly donations of our
Pegasus Partners allow us to plan ahead.
Our ability to save these helpless horses, donkeys and mules depends on YOUR donations!
We cannot do this without you! Please consider making a monthly donation so we may continue to rescue horses that have no future without us.
Click here to join:
Pegasus Partners
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