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©2000-2010 Personal Ponies Ltd. All rights
reserved. Content and Design.
National Director:
Denise Chasen
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Meet
Alex 2005
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Meet Mallory
2004
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Meet Jared 2003
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Meet Taisha
2002
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Meet Sammy 2006
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Meet Kayleigh
2007
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Meet Austin 2008
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Meet Natalie 2008
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Meet Michael 2009
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2007
Kayleigh's Story: As told by
her Mother, Joy.
When Kayleigh was 3 years old, she went
thru a trial that set her back drastically, both emotionally and
physically. Once a bubbly little socialite, she became sullen and
withdrawn. Every night I would hold her tight as she screamed in her
sleep. Her preschool teachers were constantly sending home notes
telling me that she had had yet another bad day at school. When asked
to participate in certain games, she would “black out” as her teacher
put it, I don’t know where she went during those times, perhaps her
safe place
 Late
one night, while surfing the internet, trying to find a way to help my
precious little girl, I stumbled across a website that spoke of ponies,
and children who had been thru different traumas, children who were
“specially abled”, who had illnesses, and the special bond that they
formed. I was amazed that there were people out there who believed so
much in this magic, that they would lease their ponies free of charge
to these children. I had to know more. I read thru the entire website,
tears streaming down my face as I read story after story of children
whose lives had been touched by this special magical bond that exists
between pony and child. I knew then and there that I had to
be a part of this magic, I
knew I had to be a part of them, I had found my niche, my mission in
life, and that I had to pursue this opportunity for my daughter, this
was my chance to get her back.
I joined the PPL yahoo chat group,
and lurked for a while, reading the interactions between what seemed to
be a very close knit "family" of volunteers. I watched and
waited, to see if these people were for real, if they truly lived
up to their claims. After a few months, I finally started
participating in conversations, and started to really get to know
people. Before long I was filling out the necessary paperwork to
receive ponies for my daughter. I had purchased a small pony for her
while I was still trying to decide if this organization was legitimate,
however she was terrified of the little guy, and after several failed
attempts to see if they would bond or at least form a friendship, she
asked me to please sell him, because she was afraid of him. I could
only hope that a Personal Pony was going to be different
for her.
Within a few months, our very own Personal Ponies were on their way to
our small 2 acre mini farm. I had shown Kayleigh pictures of
them, and she asked me if she could give one of them a new name. She
finally decided on Snickerdoodles, which later was shortened to
Snickers. She could hardly wait for them to arrive. Unfortunately we
ended up having to wait a little longer than planned because I had
emergency surgery and was unable to travel
for extended periods, and a 12 hour trip was out of the question.
Every day while we waited for me to heal, Kayleigh would ask me to show
her their pictures; finally the day came for us to go and get them.
We were all thrilled that Kayleigh had found “her pony” after just
minutes. She and Snickerdoodles formed an incredible bond almost
instantly, and I was thrilled. Kayleigh would help take care
of her pony, and the love and trust they shared just got stronger
with every day. She blossomed out of her shell in just a few
weeks time. Gone was the sullen scared little girl, here was my
Kayleigh, happy, energetic, and in love with life. Soon Kayleigh
started doing better in school, and my little girl was making
her way back to me. I watched her laugh with Snickers, watched
her confidence grow as she rode her pony “all by herself”, watched how
proud she was of herself.
On April 4th, 2007, due to uncontrollable circumstances, Snickers had
to move on to a new position in California. Kayleigh missed her friend
so much, and she started once again to withdraw. Tammy Juncker and
Annie Norvelle quickly sought out a new match for Kayleigh. And they
were quite successful. In May, Windmere Lady MacKenzie came to join our
family. Kayleigh still tells me how much she loves Snickers, and
how much she misses her, however she readily opened her
heart up to love Mackenzie, and now they are inseparable. Kayleigh
loves to share her pony with our community, she delights in watching
other children smile as they get to spend time with her pony. We fondly
call them the "K" Team, Kayleigh and Kenzie are perfect for each other,
and together they are spreading pony magic in Illinois.
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