Dear Friends of the Farm,

I’d like to start this year’s letter with a short story that kind of sums up 2020. As you can imagine, we had to cancel all of our fundraisers…that is, all but one. Through the creative genius of one of our volunteers, we were able to adapt our Halloween Hayrides to a spectacular Halloween Drive-through. We had record crowds this year. I was dressed in a giant bumblebee costume and spent most of my time wandering through the woods, making sure that everything was running smoothly, the animals were safe, and that our numerous characters had adequate candy supplies (all donated, thank you!). People driving through would roll down their windows and we’d have short, distant conversations. It was so good to see so many people…and safely. In addition to our local residents, people came all over New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey just to drive through our happily decorated woods.

There was one car in particular that gave the message loud and clear about humanity’s need for connection. It had Massachusetts plates and carried 4 adults. I found that odd for an event geared toward kids. One line said it all, “It’s my parents 50th Anniversary and we brought them here to celebrate!”

3160 people rode through our event over the 5 nights!

Ray of Light is a 501©3 Horse and Donkey Rescue and animal assisted learning center. We pair animals in need with people in need to foster relaxation, reduce stress, and build a better quality of life for both. Now more than ever people need a way to have contact with other life. Out of these times, Ray of Light Farm has been forced to let go of the old and morph into a new way of meeting both human and animal needs. Since March, we have created new programs that benefit both the animals and the many people who are having a hard time finding joy. They are called “Wellness Walkabouts”, and our Winter menu is enclosed. We have realized even more profoundly that we are not here because of our needs, but remain here because of the needs of our community. In times of risking anxiety and depression, our little farm is doing its part for being a healing presence. Never before has our mission been so strongly felt and deeply held.

Since 2005, we have rescued over 140 horses, donkeys, mules and foals, and successfully rehomed almost all of them, with 10 adoptions in this past year. In spite of these challenging times, we managed to rescue, rehabilitate and adopt 5 miniature donkeys to forever homes. What we can’t measure as easily is the thousands of lives that have been touched and made better by our animals and programs. If you are one of those people who have found a smidgen of healing or peace from visiting our farm please, if you can, lend some support to help us continue our mission through the winter months. No amount is too small.

In anticipation of a better year to come, I wish you all peace and good health.

Gratefully yours,

Bonnie Buongiorne, Founder

Welcome to 2021 everyone!

We hope you had a wonderful, safe and a happy holiday. We have been very busy working on new programs in hopes of being able to offer something to everyone in this time of need. Below, please read more about our new fun opportunities, involving everyone's favorites; the Guinea Pig Girls! And of course our Goats & Sheep!

We also had a Party Boy at the very beginning of this year; Dancer himself.

Our Walkabouts have now been taken indoors during our cold months. Come join us for a nice Winter Indoor Walkabout. Great, safe fun for all ages!

Oh, and there's Skijoring!! What?! 

01

Dancer started the year in party mode! He had his 23rd birthday on January 5th. He's looking mighty spiffy for a guy in his senior years. Don't tell him, though! He still thinks he's young, wild and free at times. But nothing wrong with that. A good attitude will take you a long way in life.

Dancer was born at the farm, and Sassy is his mother. Many of you may remember Sassy, a stunningly beautiful black & white pony, now 31 years old herself. She did many, many, many years of pony rides for us. Sassy was always a favorite of many. She still is. But she is now enjoying well deserved retirement years. You can still visit her and all her friends here at the farm!

We hope this Mother & Son duo will have many more good years ahead of them.

04

  You know it’s winter at Ray of Light Farm when the skijoring starts! But what’s skijoring?  According to the dictionary, it is “a winter sport in which a person wearing skis is drawn over snow or ice (as by a horse or vehicle)”. We just call it big fun! As you might know, although the Horse Feathers Veterans Program is suspended at present because of COVID, the HF volunteers have been coming several times a week to help get the horses out for some exercise. So they thought that Gopher might want to try something different. He agreed. After the last snowfall, Candi, Jackie and Carol got together and got Gopher ready to skijor. It takes a special harness, which was custom made for him by a woman in Canada. (If you’re planning on trying this with your horse, please be aware that special equipment is necessary.)

After outfitting Gopher and getting the human participants ready, we took to the parking areas at the farm and away we went. Carol and Candi used a small plastic sled and Jackie used her skis. Fun was had by all and Gopher was so cooperative. He seemed to truly enjoy doing something different. 

Stay safe with your winter horse activities this year. If you want to learn more about skijoring, visit the Facebook page entitled “Patty’s Pony Place Winter Fun Page”.    

Visit our Website & Facebook page for all the latest updates!

http://www.rayoflightfarm.org