The year was 2007, and a fledgling horse rescue called Save a Forgotten Equine was attempting to put on its very first horse show. The show would include Halter, Showmanship, English and Western classes, as well as a Trails course set up outside the arena. For reasons we can hardly remember, the show was held in Boring, Oregon, so naturally the person selected to judge the trails competition was Idaho resident Crystal Vore. Crystal arrived the morning of the show to find a very panicked Show Manager, and absolutely nothing set up in the Trails arena. Crystal calmly assessed the situation, took charge, and by 10am that morning, the show had a trails course with obstacles set up and ready for competitors and their horses to face.

Since that fateful day, Crystal Vore has brilliantly designed, managed, and judged the trails competition at the SAFE show every year. And every year she drives 5 hours over and 5 hours back. It’s a harrowing journey, fraught with danger and blown tires, but Crystal has never let that stop her from making it to the SAFE Show and making the SAFE show special. Once at the horse show, she will work until she is ready to drop, but she does it knowing that she’s making a difference for the horses of SAFE. We are so lucky to have her devotion and dedication to our cause.

So thank you Crystal, thank you for being part of this event for six years in a row, thank you for building an awesome course and judging it so well, thank you for running two days of trails and judging over 65 rides, and thank you for always making us laugh and making us look forward to seeing you year after year. We love you!!

Additional thanks to Monica Bretherton, Emily Bullard, Jet Parrett, and Chrissy Lynch for their help with getting Crystal what she needed to make this event so great!

Here are a few photos that show the SAFE horses facing some of Crystal’s obstacles: