Party celebrates 'Chance' worth
taking
by Jenny Braswell
More than 150 people turned out to celebrate
Chance the Clydesdale's third birthday at a party held Sunday
at Robin Freeman's Castalia home. Co-owner Maggie Freeman was
thrilled that so many could attend the event at ROMA's
Clydesdale Farm, since the original date had been rained out a
week before. "We wanted to celebrate a
'chance' worth taking," Maggie said, "so we took a
chance that it wouldn't rain us out again." Children
played games, attacked piņatas and careened down an 18 foot
slide as the adults ate funnel cakes and strawberries.
Volunteers from the Castalia Baptist Church youth group coaxed
the children through the games, giving their parents a chance
to relax and mingle. "It was a really fun
experience," said volunteer Erin Alford, 13. "I
would love to do it again." Fellow youth group member
Lily Boulden, 14, of Nashville agreed. "Chance was
awesome," she said. Attendees colored
pictures to enter prize drawing to enter prize drawings and
were treated to a preview of an upcoming book based on
Chance's experiences. Children received free pictures of
themselves in a miniature barn and romped through piles of
hay, searching for treasure. "I liked the
slide," said Elias Moore;9, of Nash County. "I like
sliding down it, and I could do tricks!" His
brother; Ezra Moore, 4, said his favorite part of the day was
the face painting. Their mother, Tamara Moore, was most
enthralled by their riding demonstration. "It was
awesome, watching Robin ride, "she said. Robin
Freeman and professional trainer Morgan Harris of Carolina
Horsemanship showed off Chance's training in a ground work and
riding demonstration. Chance, who currently weighs more
than 1,500 pounds and stands 17 hands tall, just began
training in October. "He has a good heart," Harris
told the watching crowd. "Chance is easy to train." Two
years ago, it seemed impossible that Chance would ever survive
to enter training. Chance was born with a birth defect in his
intestine. When he was five months old, Chance received
two surgeries at the N.C. State University Equine Teaching
Hospital to bypass sections of his intestine. The bypass
surgery had never been performed at N.C. State and only had a
30 percent survival rate. Chance's name became
the Freeman's mantra. As he suffered through subsequent
infections, confined activity and a hernia that eventually led
to more surgery, Robin and Maggie began to repeat the phrase
that has now become their farm's motto and the theme of
Sunday's party: "Have a hope, take a chance." "Chance's
full name is ROMA's First Chance of Hope, and he was named
after his dam, Hope," Robin explained. "Chance's
life is a miracle that shows the power of hope and
determination. I want to share that miracle with the
people who love Chance, especially the children.
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