Since she moved to Langley more than 40 years ago, horsewoman and author Joy Richardson has worked tirelessly for the benefit of the horse community.
She lavished what she describes in her book ‘Joy for Living’ as her “excessive amounts of energy” on a number of causes, a shopping list of clubs, and on the love of her life, her Quarterhorse Hyline Gentry.
Her cottage at Holly Farm in Campbell Valley, which she recently sold, was the command centre from which she dispensed a lifetime’s worth of wisdom to friends and strangers who called at all hours asking for the name of a good farrier, what kind of hay to feed a foundered horse, or to pass on tidbits of horsey gossip.
From her antique-filled study, lined with photos of Hyline and a beaming Joy winning at horse shows, she plotted her assaults on local politicians who could help her with her many pet projects.
She was as good at training politicians and civil servants to do her bidding as she was with horses. Her technique was simple: she made it easier for them to do the right thing than to do the wrong thing or — God forbid — to do nothing at all.
A tiny person, she would tiptoe up to some hapless mayor at a civic function and whisper: “Dahlink, could you do me a little favor?” She is a formidable cross between Zsa Zsa Gabor and Attila the Hun.
Few dared to say no to Joy. We all benefitted from her tenacity, however. We can thank Joy for the safe horse gates in Campbell Valley Park, and for the Spirit of the Horse Garden memorial, a project she considers to be her legacy to the horse world.
Now, my friends, it is payback time. Township Councillor Mel Kositsky has organized a drop-in event to honour Joy at the Langley Golf Centre on May 1, from 3 to 6 p.m.
Mel and a group of Joy’s many admirers have also been working behind the scenes to make sure the Spirit of the Horse garden in Campbell Valley Park is cared for and preserved now, and in the future.
A meeting to help plan Joy’s tribute and to plan the upkeep of the garden will be held Tuesday, April 5 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Campbell Valley Park office on 200 Street, just south of 16 Avenue. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Since the lease of the land on which the Spirit of the Horse memorial is built expired and reverted back to Metro Parks, Joy has been deeply concerned that her beloved garden will be neglected. For years, she has organized fundraisers to pay for its upkeep.
When the money ran out, she could be seen bent over double in the hot sun, plucking weeds that dared to invade the immaculate flower beds. Now she’s looking to us for help.
Donations for the maintenance of the garden can be made to the Pacific Parklands Foundation which, thanks again to Mel Kositsky, has agreed to establish a special fund for the purpose. Donors will get a tax receipt. For more information on how you can make a donation, go to www.pacificparklands.ca
For more information on the May 1 tribute to Joy, watch the Horse Council BC web site:www.hcbc.ca