HeART of the Horse—an art show and auction benefiting SAFE—was born when (then) SAFE Volunteer Coordinator Jet Parrett was contacted by local artist Maeve Harris about donating a painting for a possible fundraiser. That single donation planted a seed that grew into an art show, supported by local and nationally known artists and photographers. It was held on April 5, 2009 at Abbey Ballroom in Tacoma WA. The event featured catered hors d’ouvres, a no-host bar, live musical entertainment, and a painter on site whose portrait of Honeycutt was live-auctioned at the end of the event. HeART of the Horse raised close to $5,000 for SAFE. 

Aiden and Lola arrived at SAFE together in 2008. The two scruffy youngsters had been surrendered to SAFE by their owner who couldn’t take care of them. They were a sad looking pair at first, but as they regained their health and grew up a bit, we started to see the beautiful horses they would become. Aiden became a happy gelding in May 2009, and the pair spent blissful days out on the grass together. Both horses would be started under saddle by SAFE when they were old enough. Aiden found his forever home four years after he was rescued, while Lola stuck around a bit longer, leaving the fold after seven years as a SAFE horse.

In April 2009, Skagit County Animal Control seized a starving gelding from his owner. Later that summer, this person decided to acquire another horse, and within a short amount of time, that horse too was starving. Animal Control was again alerted, and neighbors told them that the second horse, despite being a walking skeleton, was being ridden by his owner. Both horses were signed over to SAFE in December 2009. This would not be the last time that we would have to face the ugliness of human cruelty, but thankfully for Dexter and Baxter, SAFE was there to make things right.  

Buckwheat was adopted to a family in Oregon who met him at the first SAFE Benefit Horse Show and he enjoyed a good life in his new home for two years. But due to health problems in his adoptive family, Bucky had to be returned to SAFE. Bucky was not the first horse that we took back from an adopter, and he would not be the last. While it’s always our intention to adopt horses into homes that will last forever, the reality is that sometimes a good home comes to an end. In the last twenty years, 36 horses have come back to SAFE for a second chance at finding a home. The return rate has slowed down in the past ten years as we’ve improved our adoption processes, but we always want to be able to be there when an old friend needs our help.