‘I love him so much’
Girl with juvenile arthritis will be able to ride Bo the horse whenever she wants
As a 12-year-old with a severe form of juvenile arthritis, it’s been a rough ride at times for Jayden Trueman.
But there was a surprising and joyful twist in Jayden’s journey recently when her favourite riding companion arrived for good at her Upper Stewiacke home.
“Turn around!” said one of her friends as they chatted in her backyard during a gathering for what Jayden thought was her uncle’s birthday celebration.
And there was Bo, a 13-yearold standard bred, with his former owner Kim Sellars holding the reins. Jayden burst into tears and clung to the mane of the horse she’s grown to love over the past several months during riding lessons at Sellars’ stable.
“It’s just his personality, he’s great,” said Jayden, still trembling with emotion, in speaking with reporters later. “I love him so much.”
This Thanksgiving weekend surprise came courtesy of the Children’s Wish Foundation, as part of their program that grants the wishes of children with severe illnesses. The foundation, with the support the Royal Bank of Canada, bought Bo from Sellars for $3,300, and also threw in goodies such as a saddle, riding blanket, riding boots, food and $500 in coverage for veterinarian’s bills.
Jayden was diagnosed with polyarticular juvenile arthritis, in which the immune system attacks joints and sometimes organs such as the eyes, when she was four years old.
“She was diagnosed April 1, 2009 and she had a rough go at first, trying to get it under control,” her mother Jackie Snow said in an interview before the surprise presentation.
Jayden’s condition has improved dramatically in recent years with treatments including the drug Enbrel and folic acid. And while this type of arthritis can cause blindness, her eyesight is perfect, her mother said.
Jayden has ridden horses since she was about five, even though that was a time when physical activity could be painful for her.
“She’s in her own little world when she’s (riding),” said her dad John Trueman. “You don’t got to worry about her when (she’s riding). She knows what she’s got to do . . . She’ll spend so much time with that.”
As for Bo, it was love at first canter, Snow said.