Westmount student rescues horses in grandpa’s memory

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

What started out as a class research project quickly turned one elementary student’s passion into a successful initiative to save horses and honour her grandfather’s memory.
Westmount Elementary School’s Grade 6 student Hailey Buck began researching the topic of horse slaughter during the summer. When the assignment arose to write about something she was passionate about, Buck lunged at the chance to educate her friends and classmates about the practice.
In doing so, she enlisted the help of her mother, stepfather, and grandmother to bake and decorate over 400 cookies and cupcakes for staging a two-day bake sale, with proceeds – $335.30 – going to two local horse rescue organizations. By organizing the sale to occur on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15, her grandfather’s death day, Buck took the opportunity to recognize him.
“My grandpa passed away on Oct. 15 [last year] and he’d be really proud of me for doing it, so I wanted to do it in his memory,” the 12-year-old said. “I don’t like sticking out, I kind of go with the flow most of the time. So when I told my mom this is what I’m doing, I kind of felt bad, but I knew I wanted to do it, and even if she didn’t help, I knew I’d find a way to get it done. Figure out how to bake them and hopefully they wouldn’t turn out black.”
With her helpers busy in the kitchen, Buck stepped out of her comfort zone and started promoting her sale through word-of-mouth, posters, and even took to the PA system at her school. Along with support from her mother’s colleagues, friends, Westmount Elementary School teachers, and other students in the school, Buck sold out in no time.
“She said ‘mama this is what I’m doing it on’ and she’s so passionate about animals, so I said ‘ok’ I’ll support you,” Hailey’s mother Jessica Shaw said. “It’s for a great cause, it was great, and I am so proud of her. It’s a little bake sale, so we kind of went ‘I hope she does well,’ because I didn’t want her to be discouraged. But I was pretty proud when she came and said ‘I sold it all.'”
Canada’s horse slaughtering industry claims the lives of 70,000 to 115,000 horses a year, and over 300 a day in Alberta for human consumption. The animals facing such a fate are often young and healthy including weanlings, yearlings, and two-year-olds. Following her report, which received an E for excellent, Shaw went out to two non-profit rescue organizations – Last Chance and Dare to Dream – to provide them each with $167.65.
“It is through fundraising efforts like hers that we can try to save more and we have told her that we will save a colt and she can name it,” said Mandy Royko, with Last Chance Horse Rescue.
“She reminds me of me when I was a little girl. We have been using our own resources to save and provide for these horses who can not speak for themselves. This is why Hailey touches our hearts. She knows how much time and effort go into one horse and we have quite a few right now, so any bit of fundraising helps.”
Buck is already looking forward to spring when she plans to have another bake sale, and hopes to expand her endeavour to the other schools.
For more information on the rescue organizations, visit www.lastchancehorserescue.com, and www.dare2dreamhorserescue.ca.