When a fire broke out at Maffitt Lake Farms on the evening of Friday, Dec. 2, 29 horses were in the barn. It was every horse owner and caretaker’s nightmare.
Fortunately, the farm’s owner, Melinda Antisdel, and a staff member, Chuy Mendez, were able to open the stall doors and chase the horses out before the entire structure collapsed. Only one horse perished in the fire. Members of the equestrian community in Cumming, Iowa, where the equestrian center is located, came out to round up the loose horses, most of which were quickly recovered.
A horse named Ozzie, a fairly new boarder at the facility, went missing after fleeing the fire, but he was recovered safely on Sunday.
Maffitt Lake Farms has a sister facility, Maffit Lake Equestrian Center, which is a horse show venue that hosts numerous hunter/jumper shows. The horses displaced by the barn fire will be able to stay in the stabling at the equestrian center’s facility.
The fire started around 5:30 on Friday and was first detected by a young rider who was schooling her pony in the farm’s indoor arena, according to chronofhorse.com. Des Moines news station KCCI reports that the barn and indoor arena are a total loss after the fire, which continued burning throughout the night into Saturday. The cause is unknown at this time.
A GoFundMe page was created by rider Emily Pope to help replace the lost farm and equipment; the campaign quickly exceeded its $20,000 goal and has been closed. Queenie Productions, a company that organizes hunter/jumper shows, announced that they will be collecting equipment—halters, blankets, etc.–at their Lake St. Louis horse shows over the next two weeks to help Maffitt Lake replace the items they lost. Additionally, Saddlers Row, a tack shop near Chicago, has donated stable supplies and veterinary equipment.
Read on for information on preventing barn fires. What to Do In Case of a Barn Fire 30 Tips to Prevent Barn Fires
Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com
Leslie Potter is a graduate of William Woods University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Equestrian Science with a concentration in saddle seat riding and a minor in Journalism/Mass Communications. She is currently a writer and photographer in Lexington, Ky. Potter worked as a barn manager and riding instructor and was a freelance reporter and photographer for the Horsemen's Yankee Pedlar and Saddle Horse Report before moving to Lexington to join Horse Illustrated as Web Editor from 2008 to 2019. Her current equestrian pursuits include being a grown-up lesson kid at an eventing barn and trail riding with her senior Morgan gelding, Snoopy.
wish them all the best, i cant imagine going through that.
I love to see p[people helping horses and other animals that need help, like in this case.
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