WNC booklet

December 2024

Copyright BIC R Media LLC 2024

Proudly offering these top horse feed brands:

Equine Sandhills

Monthly

Publisher BIC R Media, LLC

.

Editor: Cassidy Oeltjen Layout and Design: Ines Ritter Contributors: Mary Kate Murphy Cassidy Oeltjen Veronica Green-Gott Lisa Miyamoto Jason Jackson Ines Ritter Pam Jensen Daryl Kinney Advertising & Subscriptions info@sandhillseqm.com General Inquiries info@sandhillseqm.com Cover: Adobe Stock

SIgn up for a feed consultation using the QR code and be entered to win 5 FREE bags of feed from Carthage Farm Supply

3710 US Hwy 15-501 Carthage, NC 28327 (910) 947-2213 CarthageFarmSupply.com

Join us on Nov. 14th at 5:30 PM for an equine discussion with Dr. Marty Adams, PHD at the Ag Extension office.

RSVP To Carthage Farm Supply

Follow us on www.sandhillseqm.com Sandhills Equine Monthly owned by BIC R Media LLC 360 Fairway Dr Southern Pines, NC 28387 No part of this publication may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the Publisher The Sandhills Equine Monthly Magazine and BIC R Media LLC do not neccessassrily endorse the views of their contributors or advertisers.

Correction to the October issue: The image on page 22 was taken by Pam Jensen Photography.

Online

Holiday Gift Guide Shop for:

• The Equestrian • The Horse • The Junior Rider

• Training & Education • Home & Lifestyle • Stocking Stuffers

www.sandhillseqm.com

Enjoy Sandhills Equines all year long!

Experience the beauty of Sandhills Equines with our stunning calendar, photographed

by Lisa Miyamoto and Jason Jackson.

Now available on our website! www.sandhillseqm.com

SEQM Special

WNC Relief

Equestrians Help Equestrians

Sandhills Equestrians help WNC Equestrians recover after Hurricane Helene.

Cassidy Oeltjen

Photo: Moore Equine

E

questrians are no strangers to helping strangers in need. There is an unspoken code of conduct that horse involvement involves, and it is when another horseman is in trouble, others step in and do whatever they can to aid in the situation.

When the projected path of the Category 4 Hurricane Helene shifted slightly west, the mid-North Carolina residents breathed a collected sigh of relief. There have been times in the past when a shift in a storm’s travel hasn’t gone our way, and this felt like a bullet dodged.

Photo:WNC Regional Livestock Center

But that meant our friends to the west were in the crosshairs, and an already bad situation was going to get worse.

The week before September 27th brought large amounts of rain to the mountain region, soaking the ground, swelling the rivers, and taxing the region’s ability to take on more water.

But more water is what they were given, with many locations recording more than two feet of precipitation from Hurricane Helene.

The relentless storm bobbed and weaved and stalled its way through the

area, creating tidal waves of mud and debris. Rivers that have spent centuries sculpting their way through valleys were rerouted in the matter of hours, and people’s lives were changed forever.

As the bad went to worse, the equestrian community of the Sandhills did what we knew how to do… help those in need. Within hours of the initial reports, people were gathering supplies, loading trucks and heading west.

As in any emergency situation, sometimes those with good intentions wind up creating a bit of havoc by

Photo: Moore Equine

Downtown Southern Pines • 910-246-3510

weddings ~ Fundraisers ~ parties

Full service event bar

Globally Inspired Southern Cuisine with a Colorful Equestrian History Visit Ashtens.com for Menu, Farm To Table Events, Wine Dinners

ponytailsgobar.com

Contact us about the

Equine Equipment Discount Program or scan here:

4809 Vass-Carthage Road, Carthage NC Authorized Dealer

hardysequipment.com

not understanding where they can be most helpful. Several individuals and organizations in the Sandhills area were quick to mobilize, making sure that everyone’s strengths were utilized in productive ways, ultimately helping the most people by their efficiency.

volunteers, deliver pallets of dog food, and round up necessary supplies.

donated supplies and rescue equipment, and set out to help bring stranded animals into safety.

Once the rescue workers and volunteers entered the western part of the state, they immediately were consumed by the vast army of those who were there to help.

Everyone became a part of the greater good and, just like those contributing to the efforts back home, their purpose became part of a collective effort. Western North Carolina was experiencing some of its darkest days, but people from around the country were bringing it light.

Quick thinking by the young members of the Sandhills Pony Club (who immediately questioned how the stranded animals would be fed), led to approximately $50,000 of funds raised. Their first caravan went out two days after the storm hit with seven truckloads of hay. The trucks were driven by volunteers who all met on social media, and the sight of them taking to the road seemed like a beacon of light among what was to be some very dark weeks.

It’s now been two months since the hurricane hit and, while the initial chaos has subsided, the aid and efforts of those in our area have not - because as equestrians, Members of the 4-Hooves Large Animals Services helping we know that there is always with the rescue of horses from Black mountain.

Photo provided by ASAR. While food and water were the work to be done. There are silent initial necessities, the need then grew to Moore Equine and Aberdeen Supply auctions and events taking place as farm supplies, necessities for the rescue (among others!) coordinated with benefits, donations are still rolling in, workers, food for the search and rescue the Pony Club and other volunteers and volunteers are still taking loads of dogs, and organization of all of these to facilitate the deliveries of equine supplies into the areas hit hardest. things so as to not overwhelm those who items, including tack, vet supplies, were already operating on a thin line of and farm necessities. Area vet clinics, As one volunteer stated, “As equestrians, stress and sadness. Equestrians stepped businesses, and individuals all donated we have the opportunity to be caretakers in to fill freezers with food to feed the time, money and supplies to of incredible animals and those animals fill multiple deliveries every teach us humanity, compassion, and a week to the WNC Livestock way forward. Here there were donors Yard in Canton and other of money, donors of time, organizers, staging areas set up to take lifters, drivers, but most importantly, supplies. caring individuals.”

Photo: Moore Equine

Those with the technical skills needed to safely navigate the treacherous conditions also loaded up their rigs with supplies and headed to the areas hit hardest. Members of the 4-Hooves Large Animals Services and those trained in veterinary care packed their emergency response trucks with

Sandhills Equine is joining this collective effort by producing its November/ December Issue and Holiday Gift Guide as an digital edition in order to contribute to the ongoing need. You can access the digital issue on our website: www.sandhillseqm.com where there is the added ease of clicking through to the direct link for your favorite gifts and advertisers.

Imperial Dream 2024 Painted Pony

by Caleigh Conlin