The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Ray of Light Farm marks 20 years with gala
East Haddam animal-rescue and equine-therapy center also has animals like a brown-eared pheasant, peafowl, tortoises and a Baudet du Poitou donkey
After Bonnie Buongiorne was diagnosed with aggressive stage two breast cancer, she made a promise that if she lived, “she would do something good with her life.”
Buongiorne recalled that equine-assisted therapy (during which humans exercise with and care for animals like horses and donkeys) helped get her physically and emotionally through the challenges of the illness. Wanting to give others the chance to experience “the healing power of horses” as well as help animals in need, she founded Ray of Light Farm in East Haddam. The farm, which acts as both a non-profit animal rescue and an animal-assisted therapy center, is now celebrating its 20th anniversary.
“The mission is very simply to help animals and inspire people . ... We are very dedicated to helping people have a positive connection with life through the animals and also giving the animals what they need,” Buongiorne said.
In order to raise funds to support the animals, the farm will host its 20th Anniversary Gala at The Gelston House restaurant in East Haddam on March, 23 from 5:30–10 p.m. The gala will feature a silent auction, and guests will be able to make direct donations to programs they want to support.
The farm offers equine therapy and horsemanship programs allowing guests to stroll with horses, groom them, have them pull wagons
and learn to ride them. The equine programs are aimed for people of all ages. Aside from horses, the farm’s current inhabitants include birds like sebastopol geese, a brown-eared pheasant, peafowl, chickens and ducks. Other residents include goats, guinea pigs, a llama, sheep, tortoises and several donkies, including a Baudet du Poitou, a French breed of donkey with curly hair, named Duncan. Ray of Light Farm lets guests visit the grounds for free and see many of the critters.
“Visitors can get a little sense of peace out in the woods ... just very simple things ... They can have a few minutes of the day (when) they don’t have to think about anything else,” Buongiorne said. “What we really try to do is partner the animals with people that need them, so they help each other out.”
Animals come to the farm through a variety of ways. Many of the horses, goats and guinea pigs were
donated by those who could no longer care for them, while the farm actively sought out some of the rare birds. Buongiorne said that the farm currently doesn’t have much room to take in more horses at the moment, but it still acts as a facilitator to help them find permanent homes.
“(The guinea pigs) are even dropped off at the gate. It’s not the best way that we get those, they are all unwanted animals. There’s not a guinea pig that we’ve purchased,” Boungiorne said.
At one point, the farm acquired a female zedonk — a cross between a zebra and a donkey — named Fancy Pants after the farm that she lived on went out of business. She died in August 2022 after battling illnesses for a number of years.
Tickets for the gala are on sale for $125 each. Ray of Light Farm also plans to host a golf tournament in June and wagon rides in the fall.