ELLSWORTH — Mancelona 8-year-old Skyleigh Hoose lost her longtime family horse, Mel, to an incurable degenerative muscle disease last fall.
After losing Mel, she was determined to buy another horse of her own. So she decided she would start collecting and returning pop cans and bottles.
“I wanted her to learn that she just doesn’t get things handed down to her,” said Skyleigh’s mother, Andrea Hoose. “So one day we were returning pop cans and she said, ‘Well, I can just return cans to get my new pony,’ and I told her we could try that, and it’s just exploded from there.”
Skyleigh made $1,000 in bottle returns to purchase her new pony, Jewels. She is continuing to collect bottles and cans to fund her lessons at Circle M Acres and for tack and feed for Jewels. She’s raised over $2,000 total thus far.
If you have cans or bottles that you’d like to donate, you can reach out to Andrea at barrelgirl6@yahoo.com. They will also be attending the Grand Traverse County 4-H Horse & Pony Council Tack Sale on March 16, where they will be accepting donations.