Wishes Do Come True a barrel racing horse for Morgan from Make-A-Wish Foundation By Nancy Brannon Many young girls dream of owning a horse. Fourteen-year-old Morgan Anders of Magnolia, AR had that dream, too. Her family has horses and she had a special wish for her own barrel racing horse. In November 2008, Morgan was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, aplastic anemia. After that, her wishes for the horse and to compete in barrel racing were put on hold. That is where the Make-A-Wish Foundation intervened to make sure her dream came true. June Trusty, a Make-A-Wish volunteer and mother of TN High School Rodeo barrel racer Amanda Trusty, heard of the request, and sent out over 200 emails and put the request on Facebook to try to find a “made” barrel racing horse for Morgan. “June was instrumental in organizing this” and making it happen, said Tracy Dain, Wish Coordinator at Make-A-Wish Foundation. June’s efforts paid off, not just in finding the right horse, but also in generous donations of tack, equipment, hay, feed, and cash from sponsors who wanted to help make the wish come true. Ashley Brooks is a top barrel racer. At only 13 years of age, she has qualified for the IBRA Nationals four years on her horse Kaydo, a 10-year-old Quarter Horse mare. She has owned, trained, and competed on Kaydo for seven years, since the mare was a 3-year-old. She was TN Junior Rodeo Wrangler Barrel Racing Champion in 2009 and finished in the top 25 in poles in Gallop, NM last fall. Ashley knew her horse would be a perfect beginner’s horse and would take good care of Morgan. So she decided to donate Kaydo to make Morgan’s wish come true. Another top barrel racer, Kindyl Scruggs donated to the cause the Championship saddle she won. The Kim Kunihiro family sponsored Morgan’s wish. Morgan thought she was coming to Memphis with her family to get their horse trailer repaired and to watch some team roping. Little did she know what was in store for her at the Show Place Arena. Morgan’s wish was granted at the USTRC Muddy River Classic on Sunday February 21. At mid-day, all roping activity ceased for a few moments as Morgan was called to the center of the arena. There, Tracy Dain, Sally Whitehorn, Make-A-Wish Senior Development Coordinator, and June Trusty presented Kaydo to Morgan. Carol Anders, Morgan’s mother, cried tears of joy. Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience. It is one of 65 chapters in the U.S. and has granted more than 3,200 wishes since its inception in 1986. For more information, visit http://www.midsouth.wish.org/