Requiem

My first inkling that May 31 would not be an ordinary day came at breakfast when I got a text from a friend: "Bad fire at Boyd Martin's barn last night. Many horses at NB ICU." At first the TV news reported that all the horses had been rescued from the barn at Phillip and Evie Dutton's True Prospect Farm on Hood Road in West Marlborough, but then word started to trickle out online and via the "Unionville telegraph" about just how bad the fire was: six competition horses were killed, four were being treated at New Bolton and one was unhurt (but developed problems later that day and also went to New Bolton).
Three heroic employees who lived at the barn raced out to rescue the horses but lost all their belongings in the blaze. Not only did they lose their beloved equine companions, but they were left without clothes or even a toothbrush.
Usually there's plenty of cheerful small talk at the Unionville post office, especially after a holiday weekend. On Tuesday there wasn't any. A barn fire is every horse owner's nightmare, and a lot of hearts were broken early that morning.
The community has been wonderfully generous. The Whip held an impromptu fund-raiser on Wednesday evening and raised more than $5,000. Updates and videos are being posted daily about how the horses are recovering -- two have already been discharged from the hospital -- and how the victims are settling into their new homes and getting back to work.
To learn more about what's going on, or to make a donation to one of the many funds that have been set up, visit the "True Prospect Fire Recovery Fund" page on Facebook or go to the "Eventing Nation" website(which has been doing a great job covering the story).