Sally Wooldridge

It is with deepest sadness that we report that our dear friend Sally Wooldridge passed away last week due to complications of cancer. Sally was not only a dear friend to those of us at Hanaeleh, but also served as our Vice President and as our head of community outreach. Sally was integral in helping to train our volunteers as well as educate others about horses and equine advocacy issues.

In addition to volunteering at Hanaeleh and working with a number of our horses there, Sally adopted Maggie, an Arabian mare who was rescued from Riverside Animal Control a day before being euthanized. Sally helped to rehabilitate Maggie and even though Maggie was older, she adopted her as her own.

One of the most amazing aspects of Sally’s character is the fact that no matter how much knowledge she had about horses, she continued to be open to learning. She was constantly researching new ways of training, feeding, and working with horses, and brought that knowledge to the horses and volunteers with whom she worked. Her desire to continue to learn and her humility are an inspiration to all of us.

Those people who knew Sally will remember any number of her many horse stories. Sally could pull upon her decades of horse experience as well as her years of riding various  types of horses throughout the years to paint a rich and detailed picture of horses and other equestrians.

If you were one of the many people who were lucky enough to work with Sally, her family would like to invite you to her Celebration of Life Reception that will take place on Saturday, January 6th from 3pm-5pm.  If you are interested in attending, please e-mail: [email protected] . The family would like a head count, so please e-mail so we can forward that information onto the family.

We hope that all of those who knew Sally are able to come out and tell their own Sally horse stories.