In the wake of Julie Hansma’s horse accident in the fall of 2018, the Western performance horse community pulled together to raise funds for her recovery. Now, cutters have stepped forward to form a horse raffle ensuring continued financial support for the Hansma family.
A GoFundMe account was set up by Virginia McLamb shortly after Hansma’s accident, and it raised $91,710 for her early care. But as she continued to heal, it became clear the family could benefit from additional assistance.
Jenna Hunt of Millsap, Texas, was motivated to contribute in a big way. She donated Mucho Caliente, a yearling stallion by Hottish and out of CD Pretty Baby (by CD Lights) to be raffled as a fundraiser.
Denver Barnett of Horsemen For Christ created another GoFundMe page on Sept. 6 to gather raffle funds. As of Oct. 8, the second fundraising page raised $47,460 for the Hansma family.
Hansma’s husband, Paul — an Equi-Stat Elite $6 Million Rider and National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame inductee — has been by his wife’s side during her ongoing recovery.
“She’s been home for almost three months now,” he said. “She still needs round-the-clock care. She can’t do [anything] for herself yet, but she is improving. I don’t know if I need to plan on another year, another five years, another 20 years — for better or worse.”
Raffle tickets are $100 each and donations can be made online directly through the GoFundMe page. Multiple raffle tickets may be purchased and donations under $100 will be accepted, although they will not qualify for the raffle. To be entered, donations should include a name and email address.
If donors prefer not to use the GoFundMe page, checks may be mailed to Horsemen For Christ at P.O. Box 9524, Wichita Falls, TX 76308 with the memo “Julie Hansma.” Barnett said donations will also be collected prior to the drawing at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity and the Southern Cutting Futurity by Cutting Horse Central, which helped organize the effort through its Caring Cutters Charity.
The raffle winner will be drawn on Wednesday, Oct. 23, following the Futurity Open finals at the Southern Futurity in Jackson, Mississippi.
“It’s just amazing how many people have stepped up and helped,” Paul said as he reflected on the past year, praising the cutting community for rallying around his family. “You’re always blown away by [everything]. Just like Jenna Hunt doing this, because of how people helped her when her husband was going through cancer.”
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