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My name is Jennifer Bates. Horses were my first love as early I can remember. Every Christmas and every birthday I asked for a horse relentlessly. Years of begging finally paid off when my parents gave me my first horse on my thirteenth birthday, a beautiful Arabian mare, Rafzyn Zi Zi. She was my soul mate and my passion for horses only grew. They've always been a big part of my life.
My husband, Randy, and I met the Cross family in 2010 when we decided to adopt a donkey from Blaze's for my son, Donovan's, tenth birthday. Two donkeys were available for adoption, Louie and Pedro. Although Pedro was the donkey we went to see, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with us. He was too busy playing with a miniature donkey that had just been adopted that morning. We were disappointed we couldn't get close to him. While visiting with the Cross family we felt a presence behind us. Another donkey silently walked up behind us, patiently waiting for us to love him. He looked a little shabby, but his gentle eyes were big and bright. We decided right away we had to adopt this sweet donkey named Louie. That night, I began to worry about Pedro being a lonely little donkey knowing that the other two would both be going to they're new homes. My very sweet husband, Randy, suggested it would be best to have two donkeys. We returned the next day to pick up Louie and also adopted Pedro. Louie and Pedro are now considered part of our family. Horses have always been my first love, but you haven't really lived until you've owned a donkey. These two have taught us that donkeys are incredibly loving and intelligent creatures. Little did I know, the adoption of these two would later set something bigger into motion.
After adopting our donkeys I decided I wanted to help Blaze's as a volunteer. The more time I spent with the family, board members and crew, the more I realized their passion and mission was something I also wanted. We adopted two more rescues from Blaze's, miniature horses Lyric and Banner, which are adorable assets to our family and a great attraction for the neighbors children who visit them regularly.
Seeing all the horses, donkeys and mules at the rescue, made me realized the tremendous need to rehabilitate and place them into loving homes. Although they have suffered, they're willingness to love and trust humans again is both inspirational and heartbreaking. They definitely deserve the opportunity for a second chance and a better life. The Cross family and the Blaze's "family" are a very dedicated group of people. Many hours of work and personal sacrifice are made each day in order to continue their mission to save equines from cruelty and neglect. Recently, I was asked to be a board member and I graciously accepted. I feel very lucky and incredibly honored to be a part of this organization.
Please call or email to schedule an appointment to visit the horses currently available in our rescue program. We are generally available by appointment Monday - Thursday after 5:30 and anytime Friday - Sunday. We do maintain full time jobs, so we are not always available on weekdays. Please be patient with us and we will return your call/email as soon as possible.
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