St. John is a special place, we all know.
There are things on the island you don't expect to see or experience. More than once, I've shaken my head, smiled, and said to myself, "What a cute little island." Now sometimes it's been a good thing that's happened, or a bad thing. But it's always a reminder St. John is unique.
Carolina Corral in Coral Bay is one of those things. Who'd expect to find horseback riding trails on such a small island, or a menagerie of goats, donkeys, dog and cats. And don't forget the native donkey-drawn wagon tour through Coral Bay.
The Corral is the labor of love of Dana Bartlett, but perhaps not for much longer. Late last year, she staged a fund raiser for the Corral because it takes lots of money to keep everybody fed and healthy and, now she frankly she told St. John Rotary, it's really getting tough.
The club is so concerned that a committee is going to help her with another fund raiser in April or May, according to a report of a recent Rotary meeting. "Proceeds from the event would be used to assist Dana to continue her animal rescue efforts which she is no longer able to fund without assistance," the club said.
On her own, Bartlett also manages the only large animal rescue center on the iusland – at her own expense. "The corral is the last hope for all of the horses in residence and most of the smaller animals too, having been abandoned by their owners or found themselves unwanted," she said.
Looks like the link to Carolina Corral is wrong at the moment.
http://carolinacorral.com seems to work for me.
Had a great time with Dana way back in 2005 when I went on a ride with her. The view of the distant islands from the mountaintop while sitting on a horse was fabulous! And she very kindly drove me back to Cruz Bay so I didn’t have to get a taxi. Nice gal!
Dana, if I won the lottery I’d help you out in a heartbeat.
It might also be helpful to have some sort of paypal system for us here in the states to send $$$? I went to the website to help out and found no way to do anything online.
I absolutely agree. A Paypal system would be very helpful.
I’d donate.
Yes, definately Paypal. We have horses in Colorado and it is VERY expensive, I cannot even imagine the cost of feeding horses on the island.
Hi you all, I very much appreciate the effort someone took to make known to everyone our current situation. Have been busy feeding, cleaning, running for horse feed and this past few weeks riding as with the spring breaks come more folks. I currently have a paypal account set up under Carolina Corral and accept VISA and MC as well. Our web-site is up and running as well after a change from one site to another. It has been a difficult year with higher feed bills and fewer riders, but I am excited to announce that I will soon be able to offer lessons upon completion of an arena. If you or your child are interested in riding and have the time to help clear the land for the riding ring it would be much appreciated. You can call us at 340-693-5778. We thank you all for your past and continued support of the islands’ animals. Dana