03/11/2026
Sunday, November 1st, 2026 was a very special day here at Mighty Oaks. My staff and volunteers are still in awe of the particular beauty of the day, and the experience is a little hard to put into words.
The Red River Harness and Saddle Club generously sponsored a Peace in the Pasture event of our choosing. We chose to invite residents from Touchmark at Harwood Groves, a retirement community in Fargo. We had little idea what to expect, but the happy, funny, kind guests who enjoyed an afternoon with us made the day very special indeed.
I told stories of my horses, and our guests gently stroked soft horse noses and listened raptly, sometimes with tears in their eyes. Our guests told stories of their horseback adventures, and we all listened happily.
I explained why most of our horses are here: the retired show horse turned ranch horse who could no longer cut and turn cows because of his age. The show jumper, whose rider left for college and had nothing to do. The reining horse, breed show champion, and glamorous parade horse who no longer had jobs. The fabulous young gaited horse with asthma, the glamorous, expensive, highly trained, and abused horses who needed saving. These horses could have missed their golden years entirely, taking one final trip on the back of a truck headed to a dog food plant in Canada or Mexico.
We teach everyone we can that every horse has something to offer. Our guests Sunday saw that we found as much value in our elderly horses as in our powerful youngsters, and it struck a chord in their hearts.
Our lesson horses were only too happy to spend a couple of hours enjoying a very different day than they had the day before — they spent four hours toting 17 loud, happy children through games and exercises for our Halloween Kids Camp. The grownups were just as happy to see and snuggle the horses, but they were a little quieter and calmer (probably less hopped up on sugar!).
Huge, healthy, excited horses entered the arena, eager to greet our new crowd. You could see the horses stop and assess the environment, and adjust their energy and body language. Gentle greetings, soft breath on weathered cheeks, a quiet lowering of the head and closing of eyes while standing as close as they could get — our horses understood the assignment and gave us all lumps in our throats as we watched fragile hands caress them.
We watched the former trail guide crawl carefully aboard Kidd's strong young back, with a smile of pure joy. We saw a beautiful woman who had just lost her husband lean into all 16 hands of our gorgeous Echo and simply hold him, breathing deeply in his soft coat. Echo's huge, expressive eyes stared quietly into hers, and woman and horse had a lovely moment together. When she rode him, you could see the fire for riding come alive in her again!
One guest had never ridden before, but that didn't stop him from making his way onto the powerful back of our gleaming sorrel mare, Rain. She stood like a statue as he tossed his walker aside, refused help, and climbed slowly onto the big mare. He rode a long time, learning to laugh at Rain making mad faces at any horses who got too close to "her" rider. Red mares. You gotta love ‘em.
My Aunt Arlys, in her red cowboy hat and boots, toodled around on monstrous Henry. She giggled as he trotted tiny circles with his neck arched and tail up, just happy to have fun with her. Arlys whooped with joy several times, and it spurred even the most timid guest to don a helmet and take a ride (or two, or four!) for themselves.
Our friend, Polly Thorsness, brought her gorgeous mule team and a wagon to give rides in the pasture. Mules Mary Anne and Wanda were completely perfect, and our guests (and every last staff member and volunteer) got to take a wagon ride in our beautiful pasture, surrounded by mature oak trees and a carpet of golden leaves under a blue sky. The mules leaned into their harness, and the only sounds were the creaking of the leather, the turning of the wheels, and the quiet exclamations of joy as the wagon crested a hill and our guests caught sight of the lake.
One of our big, friendly guests was saddled with doggy day care as I thrust tiny Paisley into his arms. Tiny dog and tough man enjoyed each other very much, and it was adorable!
As we finished the last wagon ride, one of our lovely guests lamented "I suppose now we will have to go." I said, "You can't leave yet! We made you lunch!!" She clapped her hands and asked for directions to the conference room, where a nice spread was laid out for them, topped off by a delicious dessert provided by our friends at Studio Renaissance Stained Glass Studio. Thank you, Patricia, for sweetening the day for our guests.
Volunteers drove from long distances to attend this event, to provide a safe and fun afternoon for our guests. Our interns were so happy to provide their competent, energetic help, and got to witness how our honored elderly can be celebrated, enjoyed, valued, and entertained. Almost every one of our guests gave us huge hugs of thanks, with so many kind words of heartfelt gratitude.
We are so grateful to the Red River Harness and Saddle Club for making this event possible. You are all masters of a dying art, and your dedication to using your resources and talents to make life better for the men and women who came before you touched our hearts. We are honored you chose us for this event, and cannot thank you enough.
