I was to impressed with Gary that I made him my Hero before the beginning of the month. But make no mistake, Gary Johnson is my one and only Out for Good Hero For August, and Dover’s World is still as committed as ever to finding him his new driving pony and making his dreams come true! So if you missed it the first time around, may I introduce you again to my friend and Hero, Gary Johnson.

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Every once in a while someone comes into your life and reminds you of just how all of us were meant to be - LOVING, CARING, GIVING, COMPASSIONATE, RESILIENT and FORGIVING.
I was up in Gladstone for the National Championships to watch and work with many of our top riders to help them improve their scores. Naturally, in doing so, I directed all my attention and energy to every possible detail of both riders and horses, obsessing over half-passes, flying changes, weather, and footing. But then I received word from my good friend, Maureen Pethick, that Gary Johnson wanted to come by to meet me. Maureen had to remind me who this young man was, but a few hours later everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, became crystal clear!

Gary walked in with the biggest smile imaginable and proceeded to tell me about his passion for driving and the fun and excitement he has by competing. Sounds all so normal-right?

But Gary’s situation is anything but normal. He has surmounted life-threatening challages as well as emotionally traumatic times which no adult, no less a child, should ever have to experience. But, as often seems the case, children like Gary have a wisdom and grace which belies their years and clearly comes from a higher source. Nothing in Gary’s demeanor makes one believe he spends even a minute feeling sorry for himself, though I would have thought it more than reasonable. This wonderful kid just wants to look for everything good in people and especially takes pride in his huge accomplishments as a driver. And He is ever so thankful to people like Shelly Zlotkin, Mary de Stefano, Bonnie Jenkins, Maureen, and others who work with an organization called, “Sharing Village Survivor Groups” (details below) which has brought horses and driving into his life. One of the USET’s top international competitors, Jimmy Fairclough and his wife, Robin, had donated their son, Ryan’s pony, Boxcar Willy, to the program. But, sadly, the pony which Gary bonded so beautifully with recently had to be put down, due to complications from Cushing’s Disease. Gary was crushed, just as any one of us would have been to have lost his friend and partner, but still continues to show incredible strength and wisdom beyond measure.

I am publishing Gary’s story below in its entirety along with my personal plea to all my Dover’s World readers and friends to help me find and secure a new pony for Gary Johnson, my “Out For Good Hero” for August!

I am absolutely positive we can all put our heads and hearts together and accomplish this goal in record time. So, if ever you thought about doing a great deed, now is your chance! Contact information for Shelly at Sharingvillage.org is below or you can always contact me right here at DoversWorld.com.
And, Gary, THANK YOU for reminding me that I want to be more like you!

RD

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…

When I began my latest blog, Dover’s Dreams….And Yours, I hoped that it would resonate with my readers, and it truly has. So many people have responded, especially to my Dream of finding Gary Johnson a new pony, but also with their own wonderful wishes for themselves and others.
I honestly had some very big personal dreams when I thought I was going to be able to retire with the money owed to me by Joe Zada. I still have them as future goals but first I will have to try and make back all that money.
One of my Dreams is to, along with Robert, work with organizations to fund the building of schools, libraries, and wells in Africa and other third world countries. So many people are truly desperate and I hope someday to at least make a tiny dent in the problem. But, since horses are what I know, it will require that I work hard to recoup the funds necessary to be able to make these and other dreams come true.
In the meantime, I thought I might put one more dream out there into the universe and see how it flies.

When you live in a big city like New York, you witness gridlock almost every day, and much of the time emergency vehicles are sitting still with their sirens blasting to no avail, simply because the congestion is so bad in every direction that no one can move to let them by.  So here’s my Dream.  On top of every traffic light there will be a siren which not only makes noise but emits emergency lights showing the direction from which EV’s are coming.  And the best part is that, like with trains, they may be turned on from up to a mile or more away by the flick of a switch on the vehicle’s dashboard. Can you imagine how many lives might be saved if you could clear a path for every emergency vehicle well in advance of every intersection between their start and  their final destination, be that a hospital or the scene of an accident or fire? I can imagine this system working beautifully in every major metropolitan city in the world!  Any Engineers out there who might be interested in helping me to create a prototype for my dream invention, give me a holler.

So, there you have it. My future dream for helping the needy, as well as one for an invention which might also be a source of good in the world. I hope that you all will keep sending me your Dreams so that I as well as my many readers might share our positive energy with you to help make them come true!

Cheers!

RD

I was afraid that the 1st of my Dreams which I posted as a comment only might have been lost in the shuffle, so I am reprinting it here. It is so near and dear to me that I hope, by doing so, people will grab hold of it as they have so fantastically with my Dream to find Gary Johnson a new driving ony.
I believe we are already well on our way to making Gary’s wish come true. Thanks!!!
So here it is-my 1st post, again.

Well, I just have to say how beautiful the words those of you who have written in have been for me to read. I truly hope you will keep on sharing your dreams with me and others, and I will now share with you one of mine. I want you to know that this is by no means my only or even my greatest, though I admit it to be one of my fondest.

One of the great loves of my life is neither a person nor an animal; though again I admit that these two will always be my highest priorities and I will discuss one in my next “Dream Wish” with you all later. It is actually a place many of us simply refer to as “The Team” and it is the home of the United States Equestrian Team in Gladstone, NJ.
In one of my early posts, I recounted my very first time setting foot in the fantastic stables which also house the offices, living quarters, trophy room, and library. I remember the feeling of entering a building which felt as holy as a Church or Synagogue, but probably cleaner. Every last inch of this shrine to our top horses and riders from decades before was polished and gleaming and NEVER was even a shaving seen where it did not belong. Our great Jumping Coach, Bert de Nemethy, ran the Team as his ship and the riders and staff were the ever faithfull shipmates who ensured his exquisite attention to detail be applied each and every day in not only the care and training of the horses, but to both the interior and exterior of their home as well. Since Bert’s retirement, and because the team stopped being used as it was in his time, as a true “Training Center”, the facilities slowly fell more and more into disrepair. It is certainly partly a result of the nature of the Show Jumping business having evolved into one which sees the trainers and their students spending the greatest bulk of their time annually at the competitions as opposed to training at home or at a “center”.

Needless to say, over these many years I have been very emotional and sometimes even angry over the state of this place I called my second home for many years in my youth. It is absolutely nobody’s fault any more or less than it is all of our’s for letting it become so run down, but last month as I was there for the Festival Of Champions and it was being discussed that next year’s Championships will be the last one probably ever held there, a light came on in my head and I’ve been obcessing about it ever since, and want to share it with you now.

I dream of the “Gladstone Restoration and Beautification Project” which will ask for, recieve, and use funds not associated with those necessary to be used by our Federation to train and field teams, but rather will have the goal to bring the USET back to its former glory, and then some! This fantastic building and the much smaller but still substantial grounds associated with it need not have it’s story come to a close. By restoring what is truly an amazing Olympic Training Center, there is an enormous opportunity to bring back the days of De Nemethy, but now with the discipline priority being placed, instead of on Jumping, on Dresssage. The building and stalls are fantastic; the living quarters and indoor arena need to be refurbished with heavy emphasis being placed on making it the world-class facility it can and should be.
I dream about seeing training sessions and camps taking place there on a consistent schedule, and of nurturing top young athletes, both two and four-legged who may, as I did, take up residence, provided they understand that once again, they will be treated with the same respect as is expected of them in the care and maintenance of this sacred place. And I would be more than thrilled to march myself around daily, humbly remembering that I would be walking in the footsteps of Bert de Nemethy, who I am absolutely certain would be right there in spirit, thrilled to see his home once again with its wood and brass shining and bright! And there you have it - my Dream.

Cheers!

RD

Hi Gang.

I just posted my 1st “Dream” under the Dover’s Dream…And Yours blog. I hope you enjoy reading it by hitting the icon at the top of the page and also take a look  at those lovely responses by others. Please  share yours with me and my readers as I am certain  that only good can come from putting your wishes out into the universe.

Cheers!

RD