Everywhere in the world, we can observe and be touched by acts of kindness. People from all walks of life, faiths, and cultures extend themselves beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally. Through their noble deeds, humanity as a whole is elevated.

To commend virtuous actions and encourage more people to be inspired by their examples, Supreme Master Ching Hai has lovingly created a series of awards, including the Shining World Leadership Award, Shining World Compassion Award, Shining World Hero and Heroine Awards, Shining World Honesty Award, Shining World Protection Award, Shining World Intelligence Award, and Shining World Inventor Award, to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us.

Today we travel to beautiful Chase, British Columbia, Canada, to meet Christine Adderson, a caring and compassionate woman who has devoted her life to the well-being of our equine friends.

A long time lover of these noble animals, in 2005 Ms. Adderson founded For the Horse, a holistic horse care research and education center for equines and riders. Part of its mission is to find forever, happy homes for rescued horses, many of whom have special needs.

The majority of the horses at our farm are rescued. And the horses that we rescued come from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of problems. And their problems are caused by people.

Whether that be metabolic problems from the wrong food which gives them metabolic issues causing chronic founder (laminitis), or whether it be emotional issues, mental issues, physical saddle fit, foot/hoof trimming, whatever, there’s a huge array of problems that can develop. And so we see probably a little bit of everything.

Christine Adderson and her family members, who are the For the Horse staff, provide the equines with loving attention to help them overcome their physical, mental, and social issues.

When we rescue the horses, they go into our program which is a holistic program and we look at the whole being and we treat the whole being. We work in close relation with a veterinarian and qualified hoof trimmers and equine massage specialist. And then we educate. So we not only rescue, we rehabilitate and then we re-educate. So we treat their mind, body and spirit so that then they can find their path back with humans and integrate back in society.

In July 2010 Ms. Adderson found out that 30 beautiful horses living in her area were to be sent to the slaughterhouse.

I was notified that 30 thoroughbred horses were going to be taken to slaughter. And I knew the person who was planning on doing this, so I phoned him directly. And I asked him, “Is this true? Is this going to happen?” because I’d known him for several years and he is a friend.

And he said, “Yes, unfortunately it is true. I am in really dire straits. My farm has been taken away from me. I have nowhere to keep the horses.” So I said, “Well can I help somehow?” And he said, “I don’t think there’s time because the slaughterhouse closes at the end of the month. I’ve waited as long as I can for this decision to be made, and they’re going on Monday.” This was on Thursday.

With only four days to save the lives of these precious horses, the Addersons took immediate action.

So the girls and I went down on Thursday afternoon and took photographs of every one of the horses and identified them and put them up on my website that evening. We finished that project about midnight on a Thursday night. And all the horses were up on the website. I’d worked with some rescue horses and some coalitions previously, so I contacted all those people. We put out emails and sent out Facebook messages. So we went crazy on the Internet.

And by Friday morning when we woke up at 7:00 AM, the phones were ringing, emails were crazy, we couldn’t get to the responses quick enough. So we went down to the farm and had people coming right away, at 8:00 AM in the morning.

One person actually came from the coast, brought her horse trailer, stayed at the top of the Coquihalla (mountain pass) overnight and had her horse trailer there for 8:00 AM in the morning. And people just started picking out the horses that they wanted, and loading them up in trailers. By the end of the day we had the majority of the horses new homes.

So we went back to our website. We took the ones off that had been taken and we highlighted the ones that were left. Unfortunately the ones that were left were considered more undesirable for people to take. They were an old mare 20 years old with a broken knee and a young filly, two years old, with a hernia; so all things that took time and money and extra effort for people to take them and adopt them. So we were a bit concerned that those ones wouldn’t find a home.

But people kept phoning and I had emails all day long. Even the stallion, we found a home for him. And he was 18 years old and had been a stallion all his so life, so that was a concern that we did find a home. And then people from Washington (USA), all over British Colombia, all over Alberta (Canada) offered to take horses. And by the end of that day, we had most of them homed.

On Monday morning, I got a phone call from the breeder and he said, “Well I’m not going to call the truck to come.” So we had found homes for every one of those horses. And it was just a miraculous rescue that in talking with other coalitions and members who have done work like this, they just could not believe that we had done it in few days. So it had a very happy ending.

On her own farm, Ms. Adderson looks after more than 20 rescued horses. They are carefully tended to and fed organically grown food each day. Let’s meet one of these delightful companions.

This horse is a young two year old thoroughbred. He’s one of the horses that was rescued from the slaughter that was going to happen of the 30 thoroughbreds in Chase. We’ve named him Popcorn. He doesn’t have any training at this point, but we have him here because he needs to be gelded and so he needs surgery.

Then we can start training him and then he can be put in with the other horses. And as you can see, he’s very friendly and a great, great horse. He likes to get his head scratched and his ears scratched and that’s what he wants me to do right now. So he’s a really friendly guy.

For her quick action and dedication that saved 30 innocent and helpless horses from a horrific fate and caring for many rescued equines at her equine center, Christine Adderson received the prestigious Shining World Compassion Award from Supreme Master Ching Hai.

A beautiful Award plaque, several gifts including some of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s CDs, DVDs, and her #1 international best-selling books “The Birds In My Life,” “The Dogs In My Life,” and “The Noble Wilds” were presented to Ms. Adderson during a ceremony. Our local Association members also prepared a delicious vegan lunch for all attendees. The following is a reading of the kind letter sent by Supreme Master Ching Hai to Ms. Adderson.

We were deeply moved by the great kindness you showed in rescuing many horses and are delighted to present the “Shining World Compassion Award” to you. This Award is presented in recognition of your outstanding efforts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of these magnificent animals, for your selfless spirit of service to them and your compassionate advocacy on their behalf.

Hearing that their previous owner was in difficulty and had become unable to care for 30 thoroughbred horses, you very lovingly put out the word on the internet that these horses needed new homes where they would be well cared for. You also let people know what their terrible fate would be if they were not re-homed. Wonderfully enough, through your efforts, every single one of these deeply emotional and sensitive animals did find a loving caregiver who could give them a safe haven. What a happy ending to this story!

The fact that most of the horses at your centre are rescued animals shows both your deep commitment to equine welfare, and the loveliness of your heart and mind. May Heaven bless you for your exceptional compassion and shining example of loving kindness.

For selflessly providing for the needs of these noble animals, for your altruism, sensitivity, creativity and great sympathy for horses in need, and for being so dedicated to ensuring equine welfare and contentment, we hereby applaud and celebrate the compassionate deeds of Ms. Christine Adderson.
With Great Honour, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai

Thank you very much.

Supreme Master Ching Hai also contributed US$10,000 to For the Horse to assist the organization with their continued warmhearted and selfless efforts to rescue and care for horses without homes.

Thank you, thank you so much. The horses will benefit greatly by this. It’s such a refreshing sense of renewal that we all feel that humanity is great. So thank you so much.

My wish is that the energy from this fine gift will carry through, not only through our community of Turtle Valley and Chase, but to the entire country of Canada and to the entire world, so that every horse will experience well-being, health and a deep, deep sense of happiness. Thank you.

A few days after the ceremony, Ms. Adderson wrote a cordial thank you letter to Supreme Master Ching Hai.

November 24, 2010 Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, I am deeply honoured to be chosen for the Shining World Compassion Award. I am also filled with gratitude for your gift of $10,000 USD. These wonderful sentient beings, the horses, will benefit immensely from your gesture.

Supreme Master Ching Hai, your love has provided such a feeling of inspiration in our farm members and has rippled out to the rest of our community. Thank you for working towards raising the consciousness of humanity. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping our efforts here. Respectfully yours, Christine Adderson, Bkin ForTheHorse founder

Two weeks after the Award presentation, Ms. Adderson informed our Association members that thanks to their encouragement she and her family members have adopted the vegetarian lifestyle! Learning of the Adderson family’s switch to the vegetarian diet Supreme Master Ching Hai sent the following message, “Wow. That made my day. Please thank them profusely.”

Our deep gratitude and sincere appreciation Christine Adderson and family for embracing vegetarianism, a way of life that protects our Earth as well as our precious animal friends and creating a better life for horses. We wish you much success in all your future noble endeavors.

For more details on Christine Adderson and For the Horse, please visit: www.ForTheHorse.com

Graceful viewers, thank you for joining us today for the Shining World Award series. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May all beings lead safe, happy, and harmonious lives.