Oh she was a hard worker.....and she always had a group of kids and friends in tow that helped with the pony rides. At a show when Mo was trying to pull everything together which required two round trips from the Colville area, bedding and bathing and fluffing 8 ponies (she was a stickler for presentation and the ponies ALWAYS had to have a bath), setting up her ring, a quick trip to Big R for last minute items...Rick would try to give her shortcut ideas, but she would hear none of it. She had her way and there were no shortcuts. And she slept with the ponies! Mo loved her ponies, her family and friends and extended family, her Therapy work with the ponies, her other animals and her ever faithful companion “Bingo” her dog.
Mo never shared with me her struggles, her husband’s health issues, or other problems that we all seem to encounter in just living life. But one day, she sent us a letter and she told us that this nagging shoulder problem had become something quite a bit more serious. It was cancer, bone cancer...BUT...it was only a bump in the road, not to worry, she was going to lick this thing like she overcame any other obstacle that popped up in her path. We were crushed. Bad things do happen to good people, and this was the perfect case. There were doctor’s appointments, trips to the coast, medications, and all of the ugly trappings that come with this hideous disease. We always heard from Mo when it came around to our shows though... “I’ll be there...” she would say, “I don’t want to miss it.” Last May at Ride The West, Mo was moving a little slower...the ponies didn’t circle the ring for as many hours a day as they used to, and they started later than usual. But she was there.
Christmas cards, and emails exchanged between us...and then on a drizzly afternoon at the end of March while working at my computer, I got a call from her friend Ann telling us that Mo was back in the hospital and things didn’t look good. If we wanted to see her, we had better come soon. The next evening, the phone rang and it was Mo calling us from her bed in the hospital... “I’m circling the drain Susan” and she wanted to see us. “You know I would really like you to take Velvet, she’s retired and needs a really good home.” Mo knew my affinity for aging horses. Rick and I went to the Hospital in Colville that Tuesday and to say we left that day with a life-changing experience is putting it mildly.
We are now the proud owners of Story Book Farm Pony Rides, eight beautiful ponies and “Scout” the Goat! And while going through some of the bins brimming with pony ride accessories, there it was...a worn, and faded page copied from the internet of a colorful carousel top.
