104 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Dani Moritz
Today, visually impaired Cheryl Spencer of Jacksonville,
Florida can hardly imagine life without her miniature guide horse,
JBR Princess Confetti; but there was a time when she laughed at
the very idea.
When Cheryl’s husband, Chris Spencer, began reading her an
article in People Magazine called “Helping Hooves” she thought it
was a joke. Horses as guide animals? She couldn’t believe it. “Get
out of town,” Cheryl told him, “Go away.”
But it wasn’t a joke - it was very real, and it would set the stage
for a new beginning in Cheryl’s life.
An Unforeseen Tragedy
Cheryl wasn’t born blind. Although she had photophobia and
chronic dry eye, she lost her
sight unexpectedly due to a
procedure that caused her to
go blind. “It was traumatic,”
Cheryl said. “At the age of 16, I
had to quit school and all your
friends that you have in school
sort of abandon you because
they can’t relate with what’s
going on.”
Despite her new handicap,
Cheryl graduated high school
at 20 years old and moved out
on her own when she was 21.
Around 1980, she got her frst
guide dog, Tammie.
Moving Forward
Life got even better when
Cheryl met Chris, who is now
her husband. They met on
a computer program that enabled Cheryl to connect with other
people all over the country.
Something clicked when she met Chris, who swears he
somehow knew she was blind before she even told him. “I was
very familiar with people who were blind and I knew what their
needs were,” Chris said. “I used to read to one lady and took
several people shopping... I didn’t consider them any different
from anyone else other than they couldn’t see.”
Cheryl and Chris were married in 1989 - 10 months to the day
when they met online.
Heartbreak
But a few years later, joy turned to heartbreak when Tammie
passed away. “I was devastated,” Cheryl said. “It was like losing
a child.”
Cheryl decided that she
wouldn’t get another guide dog
because she couldn’t bear the
pain of losing another friend;
but it didn’t take long for her
to realize that a cane wouldn’t
suffce. “The cane thing wasn’t
working for me,” Cheryl said.
“I couldn’t fnd it half the time. I
would lay it down in the house
and forget where I put it.”
So, in 1993 Delta became
Cheryl’s second guide dog.
But Cheryl knew Delta
wouldn’t last forever either
and when Delta was eight
she began having mobility
issues.
“At that point, I decided I
can’t do this again because I
Mini Guide Is A Major Miracle
Cheryl and Confetti take a walk
on Jacksonville Beach.
Photo by Chris Spencer
A passenger snapped a photo of Confetti on a plane headed to
Boston from Atlanta.
Photo courtesy of the Spencers
Continued on page 106