Jessica and Finn
Jessica attended an Open House at Safe Harbor Stables and, like many before her, she fell in love with the SAFE horses. She quickly became a weekly barn volunteer: a regular on Monday afternoons plus every other Friday. She is also one of our shift leads and is always willing to help other volunteers. However that’s not all she does for SAFE! She will sometimes come on Wednesdays to help out with our rehab program, handwalking horses who are on stall rest. When not doing chores or helping with the horses, you can find Jessica with a camera in her hand. She is responsible for lots of the beautiful pictures that highlight the SAFE horses. You can see her photos on our website, Facebook, and Tumblr. If you attended our Holiday Open House, you had the opportunity to purchase some of her SAFE horse photos. As if ALL the time she spends at the barn isn’t enough, she still has more to give to this organization. Jessica volunteers for special events, she is at the work parties, and she visits and takes pictures of foster horses and SAFE alumni! SAFE has found a wonderful person and volunteer with Jessica and we hope she stays with us for a very long time!
More about Jessica in her own words:
I am a horse/pet portrait artist and, because of SAF,E now a photographer. My love of horses began when I was 3 and rode my very first pony; at 5 I started taking lessons riding hunter jumper. My favourite summers were spent in Canada at a horse camp where we rode from the moment we woke until we went to bed, I have such great memories of riding a big black mare called Babette bareback in the morning to the hedgerows to collect raspberries. I was horse crazy, I lived and breathed horses until I was 18 and then life got in the way.
Although I lost contact with horses I never lost my love for them. In 2014 I had the opportunity to stay at a horse farm in Ashland, Oregon the minute I saw, heard and smelled the horses I felt like I was home. As soon as I got back to Seattle I knew I had to find a way to be around horses again so I researched horse rescues and SAFE was the one that called to me, I attended the September Open House and after touring the facility and meeting some of the volunteers and the horses, I decided to fill out an application to volunteer.
In the year I have been at SAFE I have witnessed some amazing transformations…it has been like watching butterflies emerging from cocoons. I am blown away by the love, dedication and patience the volunteers have for these amazing animals helping them heal inside and out from past traumas and so inspired by how even though the horses come from traumatic situations they still have the capacity to love and forgive.
I have a soft spot for several of the SAFE horses, from Finn with his sweet cuddliness, to Karma with her grace and beauty, Ben with his goofy bendy ways, and Khianna because she is my son’s favourite horse.
I am forever thankful to SAFE for not only giving me the inspiration and confidence to start photographing the horses which is now turning into a fledgling career but mostly because of them my son has been introduced to these amazing creatures and is developing a love for them as well.
