ABBEVILLE - Eleven-year-old Blair
Lemaire's best Christmas present this year has four legs and
shiny, black hair.
Lemaire became the proud owner of purebred quarterhorse
Rhiannon on Thursday. It was a gift from a Florida horse breeder
who wanted to help out children who lost their homes during
Hurricane Rita.
During a ceremony at the LSU AgCenter Extension barn, Lemaire
rode her new horse around a small pen, grinning from ear to ear.
Roughly 50 people, including fellow members of the 4-H club and
their parents, looked on. "She's pretty," Lemaire said
afterward. It was about all she could say - the sixth-grader was
a bit shy about being in the spotlight. But she got tearful as
she and her mother, Melinda, talked about how touched they were
by the gift.
"It's fantastic. It's a fabulous gift," Melinda Lemaire said.
"I can't stop smiling. I've tried, but I can't."
The special donation was arranged through Hopeful Haven
Equine Rescue, a Shreveport-based group that rescues and
rehabilitates horses. President Debra Barlow was contacted by
Rhiannon's owner, Sandra Young.
Young has more than 80 horses on her farm in Vernon, Fla.,
including Rhiannon's parents. She said she wanted to "make
somebody happy for Christmas."
And Blair Lemaire is happy - with her gift comes memberships
to major competitive horse show associations, and she's looking
forward to competing on a higher level.
The Lemaires' home in Mouton Cove was severely damaged during
Rita; they've been living in the second story while they try to
rebuild, they said.
Other 4-H children whose homes were damaged received a slew
of gifts Thursday thanks to Hopeful Haven, including brushes and
halters for their horses.
Blair Lemaire said the first thing she wanted to do with
Rhiannon was "put her in her stall, brush her and put my new
halter on her."
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