Eden M. has always loved horses.

“She’s been into horses since she was born,” says Eden’s mother, Cheri. “When she was a year old, we’d be in a toy department, and she’d want the toy horses. She had a rocking horse, and at age 4 was into unicorns. Now, at 10, Eden is in a 4-H horse program, and her instructor encouraged us to adopt a horse.”

Cheri and her husband, James, live in Markleton, Pennsylvania, an hour outside of Pittsburgh. They had just begun their search for a horse when one of Cheri’s co-workers suggested they contact the ASPCA.

Cheri and James visited My Right Horse, the ASPCA's online adoption platform for equines, and noticed Rip Van Winkle, a 15-to-20-year-old American Quarter Horse who was available for adoption at the ASPCA’s Equine Transition and Adoption Center (ETAC) outside Oklahoma City.

“Cheri found Rip's listing and reached out to me,” says Libby Hanon, manager of equine adoption and marketing at ETAC. “Because Rip has severe allergies to flies, we were making plans to transfer him to a shelter partner up north, where the fly season is much shorter. But we listed him on My Right Horse in the meantime, in case his right family came along, which they did!”

Libby conducted a virtual meet-and-greet, while Cheri says the family continued to look at horses from other states. But they kept coming back to Rip.

“There was just something about him,” Cheri says. “We knew he’d be a good fit for Eden.”

James, a former long-haul truck driver, offered to transport the family to Oklahoma to pick up Rip.

“Pulling a trailer was no big deal to James, so we borrowed one from a friend, and everything fell into place,” Cheri says. They adopted Rip on February 28, 2025.

Unsparing Allergies

Rip was surrendered to ETAC by his former owners due to his severe allergies.

“They said they had tried everything,” Libby says. “He had rubbed off so much hair that there were only nubbins of his tail hairs left.” 

At ETAC, Rip was diagnosed with other allergies in addition to his severe fly bite allergy and prescribed medication that put him on the rebound almost immediately. 

The day Eden and her family reached Oklahoma, they met Rip and toured the ETAC facility. The next day, Eden received a lesson with an ETAC trainer and rode Rip for the first time. On the morning of day three, Rip was loaded into the trailer for the 18-hour drive to Pennsylvania.

Happy with Her Right Horse

Rip gets medication in his grain twice daily to manage his allergies, and his mane and tail are growing in.

“By show season, he should look okay,” says Cheri, adding that Eden and Rip recently started barrel race training.

Rip’s best friend is Trigger, a Morgan belonging to Eden’s friend Sarah, who lives 20 minutes away.

Eden and Sarah ride Rip and Trigger.

“Eden is happy she finally has her horse,” Cheri says. “He’s really good with her — nothing rattles him, and he never seems stressed.” 

Cheri says if her family ever wants another horse, they’ll go back to My Right Horse.

“We love Rip and will cherish all the time we have with him,” she says. “We discovered there’s a lot of good horses out there.”

 Feeling inspired and ready to adopt a horse of your own? Visit myrighthorse.org to browse hundreds of adoptable horses nationwide by breed, age or discipline.