ARCHBOLD WEATHER

New Sauder Village Horse Arrives





Kara Schnitkey, 8, rural Ridgeville Corners, with horses at Sauder Village. At left is Durango, a Belgian-quarter horse crossbreed, which will take over carriage-pulling duties from Big Guy, at right. Schnitkey raised $500 from a garage sale to help pay for Durango and the cost of a year’s care for all of the Village horses. Overall, Sauder Village raised more than $6,500 for the horses.– photo by David Pugh

Kara Schnitkey, 8, rural Ridgeville Corners, with horses at Sauder Village. At left is Durango, a Belgian-quarter horse crossbreed, which will take over carriage-pulling duties from Big Guy, at right. Schnitkey raised $500 from a garage sale to help pay for Durango and the cost of a year’s care for all of the Village horses. Overall, Sauder Village raised more than $6,500 for the horses.– photo by David Pugh

Durango, the new horse at Sauder Village, arrived Saturday, Aug. 23, and for a while, will bunk with Big Guy, the horse he will replace, and Mark, his new teammate.

Together, Mark and Durango will pull the Sauder Village carriage, giving rides to visitors around the grounds.

Todd Sterken, director of development for Sauder Village, said the living history museum exceeded its $6,500 fundraising goal for the purchase of Durango and money to take care of the resident horses for one year.

The money was raised from the staff and volunteers who work at Sauder Village.

“The staff and volunteers really believe in the (Sauder Village) mission at a really deep level, so they came out in a big way to support the project,” Sterken said.

Among those volunteers is Kara Schnitkey, 8, rural Ridgeville Corners, who had a garage sale to help raise money for the horses.

She sold some of her own things, and Sauder Village employees and volunteers brought things by to sell.

She presented Sterken with a check for $500, the money she raised from her sale.

“It’s great having people in the community like Kara, who really care,” Sterken said.

Last week, Durango was still being acclimated to his new home.

Big Guy, a 15-year-old exharness racer, is no longer comfortable pulling the Village carriage.

Soon he will leave for New Vocations, an organization that finds new homes and careers for ex-racers.

If he’s healthy enough, he could become a riding horse.


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