[Ansteorra] To Horse people re Horses stolen and presumed sold

[Sharon Gordon]

Link to pictures of horses at bottom.  Please forward to any appropriate
local lists, equestrian lists, or modern horse lists.  If anyone could print
out info and pictures and post at Gulf Wars that would be good too.
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From: Darlainok at aol.com

Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 11:46 AM
Subject: A list member needs your help


I haven't been online in quite sometime due to my husband's illness. I have
remained a member and kept up with everything that is going on but spend any
free time taking care of the family and our horses. I am asking for your
help now as our lives have now taken another hit in the loss of our two
Arabians. Below you will find the details that I sent to the sheriff and to
Netposse. They will be releasing an alert soon. Please forward this to
anyone that you think can help in the Oklahoma area. Thanks in Advance.
Darla  PS. You may share my email and I will give more details and forward
pictures if needed. I work from 2 to 10pm for the next 4 nights so will
reply after work or in the mornings before.

My husband, Mike Williams, and I, Darla Williams used to live in Seminole,
OK. I managed the Walgreens Pharmacy in Shawnee. In November of 1998 I
imported 9 straight Egyptian colts from Canada. I kept 2 and named them
Lightning and Thunder. We lived there until I was offered a bigger 24 hour
store in Texarkana, TX.

In October of 2004 my husband became seriously ill. All the doctors were
baffled. He was 46 at the time. Little league coach, vice president of the
Maud FFA. Our children and our horses are our life. His symptoms were that
of severe Parkinson's. But he progressed in months to where the normal
disease progression would have been years. We visited Mayo clinic in
Scottsdale, AZ twice in an attempt to diagnose it further. At the time we
had 30 head of horses. Within a month or two of his illness hitting him I
was doing it all. Running the tractor to move round bales fixing and
building fence the whole works along with managing a busy pharmacy and
taking care of the 3 children still at home. I started reducing my herd
size. It's all I could do and I got it down to what we deem lifers our
riding horses. His liver started failing next and I am now giving him
injections weekly along with all the Parkinson's meds.

Mike's uncle contacted us last year saying one of Mike's distant cousins was
looking for a couple of horses that he and his wife could ride. Their names
were (Contact Me for their actual names). He assured me that they would take
good care of them and that it would lighten my load some. We conversed by
phone several times and I reiterated that these were Arabians. They aren't
like quarter horses and that they could never be separated because they were
so strongly bonded that it could kill them, and that they were never to be
sold. If something happened, like they were too much for them, or didn't
like them or whatever they were to call us and we would come get them.

We still like our farrier so much from Oklahoma, that we pay her to come
down to Texas to do our horses. I told them that I would help them out and
bring them to Seminole, to Nancy's house and we could meet there. A friend,
DJ, and also a Seminole police officer was there that day and he helped us
load them in the trailer. I reiterated again on how they were never to be
sold but come back to me, but as long as they were taking good care of them
and they liked them, then they could keep them to ride without payment. DJ
gave them his number as he is also an excellent trainer and Nancy gave them
her card and told them if there were any problems to just call and they
would either help or come and get them.

My husband's brother, Chris, aged 44 had a heart attack coming home from
work and ran head on into a tree the week before last. I made Mike a bed in
the back of our Yukon to get him up to Northern Arkansas to attend the
funeral. While we were there Uncle Mike talked to my husband and said that
he thought Clark might be having a little trouble with Lightning. He was
rearing up with him. Mike told him that we would give him a call when we got
home. We got home late Tuesday night and I called them on Wednesday. The
number that I had for them, was disconnected. So I called uncle Mike's house
and got his wife Sue. I told her that I was looking for Clark's current
number and apparently I didn't have it or knew it was changed. She told me
that it was her understanding that they sold the horses a couple of months
ago at a sale barn and moved up near Enid, OK with no forwarding address or
phone. Previously they had been in Jennings, OK . I just couldn't believe
it. I couldn't even finish talking to her, I had to give the phone to my
husband. Aunt Sue said that they didn't want to tell us at the funeral
because we were already in emotional turmoil and they didn't want to make it
worse as this makes Mike shaking get much worse when he gets upset. They
told them that they tried to call us but never got in touch with us so they
sold them.

We have tried now for over a week to get them to call us. Uncle Mike called
Clark's dad and we have called every other relative we could think of to try
and find a current address or number and can find nothing. We told them that
if we didn't hear from them in a week we would be forced to file charges.
Mike talked to Uncle Mike on his cell phone letting him know what was about
to happen and all we wanted was our horses back. Just call us and we would
work something out. If I had to go buy them back myself I would have and
dealt with them later. I just want my babies. But no one will call us. I
finally searched on the Internet and found the number of Clark, Sr. in
Mannsford, OK. I talked to Clark Jr's Mom at first. I emplored to her to
please just let us know where the horses were. She said that Clark and
Lesleigh didn't know where they were. I told her that I had already talked
to the sheriff and to a lawyer and I didn't want to get anyone in trouble
but was going to be force to because no one would call us and that all we
wanted was the horses back. Her husband then took over the phone and yelled
at me that they tried to call you, and you know they tried to call you and
you gave them those horses and this conversation is over and he hung up.

I called Jerry, the lawyer, back and told him what had just happened. I
couldn't believe it. I guess I have always looked for the good in people and
expect them to do the right thing, I couldn't believe that with us letting
them know that all we wanted was our horses back and not to cause them any
trouble and they were so nasty to me.

I have been calling Sale barns from Tulsa all the way to Enid with no luck
yet. They could have been sold at any sale barn anywhere in between. I filed
a report with the Seminole County Sheriff's office because that is the place
where they took possession of them, and the lawyer is going to file criminal
charges against them.

I have their lineage all the way back to the original Egyptian Arabians and
I have all of their Canadian registration papers with their import documents
as well. My greatest fear is that they were sold to a kill buyer. I'm not
sleeping at night and Mike has starting his shaking again. It has upset him
as much as it has upset me. I hope ya'll can help.
Darla Williams

Note from Darla's friend, Julie:
Here is the link to the NetPosse site where Darla posted pics of the two
missing horses
http://www.netposse.com/stolenmissing/Lightning_Thunder_OKstolenDec05.htm

    Thanks for any and all help................they were really gorgeous
boys...I warned her that the "caretakers" may well have let them get down in
weight due to hay prices before they sold them...they may not look like
"themselves" right now.......

                 Julie in Holdenville