Sheridan gives Strider a beauty treatment

Our August volunteer of the month is the fabulous Sheridan Jones!  Sheridan has been a longtime SAFE supporter and has fostered many SAFE horses over the years.  After showing SAFE horse Corona at the 2011 SAFE Benefit Horse Show, she fell in love with and adopted the talented gelding.  Recently, Sheridan agreed to foster SAFE horse Strider for a couple of months of pasture time.  We are very grateful for the support of wonderful people like Sheridan!  Here is a little more about her:

1.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’ve been in love with horses as long as I can remember. My Mom loved horses (although she never had one), and my Dad was very supportive as well. I was pretty athletic as a kid, but when my dreams of becoming an Olympic ice skater fell thru (no talent), my dreams of becoming an Olympic equestrian were born (yes, even as a young girl I was both relentlessly “hopetimistic” and impracticably ambitious.) After some pony time and my share of riding lessons, I bought my first real horse for $1 when I was about 10. My parents would say he was no bargain, but I’d say he was a pretty cheap babysitter, and I adored him. Together, Padre Echols and I figured out that while we weren’t too competitive on the Hunter circuit, we were hard to beat on a cross-country course (to be fair, not much competition in Southern California in the ’80’s.) When I was 15, I had an opportunity to become a working student in Unionville, PA with Bruce Davidson. Eventually, I figured out I wasn’t going to the Olympics (although some of my fellow working students actually did!), and if I didn’t get myself to college I’d be living in a barn for the rest of my life (not that it sounds so bad now!) I left horses behind to pursue school, start my own business, go to grad school, and then embark on the corporate career path. I came to Washington in 2001 with my husband Jason, and have worked at Microsoft since then. About five years ago I realized that if I didn’t get some exercise and start working less than 15 hours a day, I would soon be regretting it. Since I hate the gym, I decided to start riding again. In 2010, Jason and I moved from Sammamish to a fixer-upper farm in Monroe (we’ve got a lot more fixing up to do yet, but it is a fun project) so I could live out my unresolved equestrian fantasy (minus the delusions of Olympic grandeur this time around.) I have the perfect “horse husband” — he never borrows my tack (doesn’t ride) but will clean stalls and feed the horses without even being asked!

2.  How long have you been volunteering with SAFE?

Since 2010.

3.  What made you decide to volunteer with SAFE?

Jamie Taft, who I worked with at Microsoft and who was the President of SAFE at the time, invited me out to her place in Monroe right after we moved to our farm, just for a “look around, to get some ideas.” I was hooked! I didn’t take a horse home that day (no trailer) but Goliath came to live with us shortly thereafter. Since then I have fostered Deeds, Honeycutt, and now Strider; all have been good company for my event horse Austin, and each will always hold a place in my heart.

4.  Who is your favorite SAFE horse?

I love them all, especially those we have fostered, but of course my favorite is my boy Corona! I was asked to ride him in 2011 at the SAFE Annual Benefit show. I knew by the end of that day that we were meant for each other; I adopted him right after the show, and he still has my heart. I love him and am SOOO proud of him, and so grateful to SAFE for saving his life, and the lives of all the other amazing equines like him. Who would believe that this now-successful AA show-horse was so heartbreakingly close to a tragic and undeserved end? Thank you, SAFE, for intervening in time to enable us to find each other!

5.  Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your experience with SAFE?

My admiration and gratitude for SAFE and the amazing people who donate their time, money and love to this cause is boundless. With each horse I foster (or adopt!), I have an increased appreciation for the mission, and the tireless dedication, of this incredible organization. I am so thrilled to have Strider with us here now; he has so much to give, is such a joy to be with, and without SAFE, he wouldn’t have a chance. Thank you for sharing him with me!