By Dan Roark
The cold weather finally broke and the sun came out. February 1st was a pleasant morning at New Hope, weather-wise. But there was also a touch of sadness. Daisy Mae was retiring. And, since Libby is Daisy’s support animal, she is retiring as well. Fortunately, their retirement home is in the area so they are not going far.
I was there to get pictures of their last day. So I was dwelling on the very thing that some of the staff and volunteers were trying to not dwell on. Most importantly, I was thinking about the riders. Several of them have been very close to Daisy Mae and Libby.
TJ was the last New Hope rider to ride Daisy Mae in a lesson. He hasn’t been riding at New Hope long. 
The only horse he knows is Daisy Mae. She – and Libby as well – were very gentle with riders. Particularly those they perceived as nervous, or unsettled. TJ is going to miss Daisy Mae, whether he realizes it conceptually or not. I think, on some level, Libby and Daisy will miss the riders and the atmosphere at Chisholm Challenge and competition.
Yet to be free to hang out together in peace will be nice, too. And they earned it. They have had long productive careers that ended with helping special needs folks. What could be better than that? And they are still loved and will be missed by everyone at New Hope.
TJ was dismounted, after which Daisy Mae was put in the crossties to cool down while Sean took the saddle and tack off. Then she was put back in the paddock with Libby, who had been a little antsy waiting for Daisy.
I walked up to take pictures of Libby and Daisy Mae in their paddock and say my good-byes. As Cyndy said after I took the first picture of the post and Daisy saw my camera and headed for me: “Yes, that’s a camera. No, you can’t go over there. Half blind, but she can still see a camera!”
When I approached the paddock, sure enough she turned and posed for me. Libby was busy getting water now that she was calm. Then they both came to the fence, we said our good-byes, and they posed for me one last time.
Ride on and ride for hope.
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