A reader sent this Horse&Rider story to me. It was written by a 12 year-old girl, Mary Homicz, an accomplished endurance rider.
The story was short so I read it.
At the end, I burst into tears.
And then I immediately sent a card to the address at the bottom of the story. Mary Homicz, P.O. Box 581, Weaverville, CA 96093
I think you might, too.
Let’s see how many cards we can send to this brave little horse lover, shall we?!
HERE IS THE STORY:
HERE IS THE TOUGH PART… the addendum written by Horse&Rider. Can we cheer her during her treatment?
Mary Homicz lives in Junction City, California, with her mom and dad; brother, Jimmy; two horses; and three ponies. Their 11-acre farm is near the Trinity Alps Wilderness. At press time, Mary had just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer); her mother says Mary would love to receive letters from fellow equestrians to cheer her during treatment (P.O. Box 581, Weaverville, CA 96093).

Mary,
I’m so proud of you! You are very brave young lady. Follow your heart & dreams. I can see they will take you beyond anything you can imagine. Keep riding & impressing all of your fans in such a huge endurance rides.
God bless you!
Mary, Stay strong and keep riding! May God Bless you and give you many happy trail yet to conquer!!
Audra: We all support you. Keep strong. Thank you for writing.
Dearest Mary, My prayers and thoughts are with you. You are a tough girl and have been on tough rides. This is your toughest one. I heard Turkey foot mushrooms help with the treatments. Please tell your mm to look into it. Godspeed! Linda Klee
Mary also does gymkhanas she loves chasing barrels and poles to ?
? The mail box was cramed full of letters and card yesterday…as it has been since the article came out. Our post master was starting to wonder what was going on and one of the ladies that works there that knows us let him know… The horse community across the country is for sure helping keep Mary Homicz distracted with this mail..UCSF treatment team told us they have learned the best thing for kids with cancer is distraction lots of distraction…keeping it positivity and not dwelling on feeling like poo and not being able to ride and play….The article was accepted back in February before her diagnosis, we appreciate H&R adding the bit about sending mail after her Ewings Sarcoma Diagnosis. Thank you everyone!!! She has a great attitude about her treatment and her prognosis is good.
Mary,
Will keep you in my prayers. You can overcome this thing with God’s help and a positive attitude. Congrats on your riding achievements. What a trooper you are!!
Sincerely,
Dianna
Dear Mary,
I don’t know much about endurance riding, but I spent many years barrel racing. I wish you the best, and the main thing is for you to beat this, and get to back to doing what you love. God bless and you have my prayers young lady.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bryant
God Bless, and Much Luck wished for a speedy recovery. Distance riding rocks! Get back to it!