Volunteer Talk
Piglet & the Christmas Parade
 What
a day it was yesterday! We arrived at the parade with 12 girls (I'm a
Girl Scout leader) and 2 ponies. I got the blankets I had made for the
ponies, PIGLET and NIKI BOY in place, including their signs announcing
PPL. They looked so cute! Put a pretty bow at the top of both tails,
and put a couple braids in each mane. My Co-leader even brought
reindeer antlers for them. They looked perfect to me! :)
We were the last entry of the parade, right behind
Santa. It was perfect, since the ponies were to "pull" the tree (the
girls walking in tree formation carrying banners on both sides)
depicting taking the tree out to the woods after Christmas Day. The
song O' Christmas Tree would be playing as we walked the
parade route, approximately 2 miles. Show time! And what a "show" it
was until the fire trucks rang their sirens, and a vehicle not parade
related,decided to go the WRONG WAY and VERY FAST past us with police
car, lights and sirens right behind it! What a mess! NIKI BOY, my
stallion, got spooked and when he began to run, so did Mardi Gras, aka
PIGLET (my daughter's name for her PPL pony). They took off in such a
quick, unexpected manner that it was hard for the little girls to keep
up, and as a result tearing the banners they had worked so hard to
decorate in half. The commotion also dislodged the plug in for our
lights and music from the converter. While running with the ponies, I
had an asthma attack of all things! Luckily my husband was driving the
truck and trailer right behind us and was able to get the ponies under
control while I got myself under control. Hubby took NIKI BOY back to
the trailer with him. Whew, finally got things situated again. The
girls held together their banners and PIGLET was very cooperative. The
only problem was that Santa was so far ahead of us we had to hurry to
catch up. That wasn't a problem for PIGLET! Everytime she heard "HO HO
HO" she would try to go faster to reach him. It was so precious!
We finally all caught up to the rest of the parade
and were able to walk at a normal pace just before the Grand Stand and
judges. As we approached the Grand Stand, Santa came back to pet PIGLET
as HE kept neighing at him. The commentator said:
Awww look! Santa missed his reindeer! The
reindeer is actually a beautiful Shetland pony showing off her best
manners and kindness for Personal Ponies Ltd. I've heard PPL is a
wonderful organization which brings MAGIC to children with different
abilities, and they are now here in Central Arkansas.
 Well, from then on
almost
everyone came to talk. Some even asked if their child could pet the
pony (which I did allow, and also told them if they wanted to talk
further to see me at the end of the parade.) By the time we crossed the
"finish line" all the girls were complaining they were cold, so we
located all the parents while my husband and son held on to PIGLET and
NIKI BOY. When I got back to them, you wouldn't believe the crowd! That
is when the "BEST" part of the evening began!
Although it was confusing with all the questions
thrown at me at once (I'm deaf in one ear so it is hard to understand
people when several are talking at once), I handed out over 150 PPL
brochures and business cards as I tried to answer everyone's question
that I heard. Then, I noticed a little girl in a wheel chair stuck way
in the back of this crowd. I excused myself and led Piglet over to her.
She was a quadriplegic and couldn't actually reach out and pet PIGLET,
and PIGLET "knew" it. PIGLET laid her head literally in the girl's lap!
It was awesome! The mother thanked me for bringing the pony over to
Christine. She also said that "Christine had always wanted a pony, but
that there was just no way for her to ride. But seeing PIGLET with
Christine and the interaction between them is just amazing! If only we
could afford a pony for her." Well, I told her I would see what I could
do. However, in the meantime I told her to bring Christine to my house
anytime she wanted.
As PIGLET and I were turning around to leave I
gave Christine a hug. She had a tear in her eye, and so did both her
parents. PIGLET licked her cheek, and then whinnied as if to tell her
everything would work out. It was simply amazing!
Although we were outside, in 35 degree weather for
over 4 hours, I was warm inside. Now my work begins...I will do my best
to find Christine her own MAGIC!!
UPDATE: 1/7/01-This is Truffles,
Christine's new pony! After a few weeks of training and orientation
with Kim, she will be delivered to Christine in time for Valentine's
Day!
At PERSONAL PONIES, we really DO make magic in
children's lives!
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