Greetings from the American Horse Publications in New Orleans!

by Karen Pickering

On Wednesday, June 24, I left Blaine, Washington to take an adventure—I was on my way to the annual convention for members of American Horse Publications (AHP), held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana. The second night in town, a group of us toured the French Quarter via the “haunted history” tour. Our tour guide was author of New Orleans Ghosts, Voodoo and Vampires…Journey into Darkness, Kalila Katherina Smith. She has been interviewed by the History Channel, Travel Channel, Discovery, Fox News, Sci Fi, MTV, CNN and more! She told many tales of ghostly encounters within the streets of the French Corridor.

Many mule-drawn carriages took people around New Orleans. I’m not sure how they survive the heat--I didn’t do so well. That second evening, the temperature was close to 90 degrees with 100% humidity! I took refuge in a fantastic restaurant with good friends, Cheryl and Kerry of California

Riding Magazine and Daniel of California Horse Trader.

After dinner, the heat finally caught up with me. Ringing ears, a feeling of weakness and no peripheral vision were the first indicators I was experiencing heatstroke. The gang called a cab, poured me in, and got me back to the hotel. Once I’d cooled down, though, everything was fine. Whew, glad I live in Washington! They’ve had a record heat wave here in New Orleans, something most of us Northwesterners aren’t accustomed to.

I’m having a great time and learning lots of new things at the convention--it’s quite an honor to be a part of this group. Tonight we got a surprise visit from Molly, a Pony of the Americas survivor of Katrina and her Aussie companion, Ruby. I had the privilege of a photo with Molly, who is doing incredible work visiting hospitals, schools, nursing homes and army bases. Molly’s story is an encouragement to everyone struggling with a handicap. She survived the hurricane but was later attacked by a traumatized pitt bull, another tragedy of Katrina, and now wears a prosthesis after having her leg amputated. I encourage you to read her story at www.mollythepony.com. She is the “spokeshorse” for a worthwhile cause, so I encourage you to consider a donation to her work.

All in all, it’s been a great trip. Please enjoy the pictures and let me know if you have any adventures to share! We post reader stories every Friday!