The horse community aids AQHA members caught in a deadly Kentucky tornado.
By Tracey Berry and Connie Lechleitner for The American Quarter Horse Journal
Walking into the indoor arena of Rockin M Farms in Demossville, Kentucky, was overwhelming – hundreds of people had gathered to show their generosity to Bill and Rhonda McCardle and their four children. The family had lost everything in an outbreak of violent and deadly storms in the Northern Kentucky region in early March.
The large metal building, normally used to train some of the area’s best contest horses, had been painstakingly converted into a banquet hall. An array of red, white and blue plastic covered tables sat atop a thoughtfully tamped arena floor. While the band crooned away perched on the back of a flat-bed truck, potential bidders eyed the endless tables of generously donated items for the auction later that evening.
Long-time friends and organizers of the event, Theresa Peoples and Sarah Mann, said folks from around the country were calling to see what they could do to help. More than 500 tickets had been sold. Some folks had driven for hours from surrounding states to show their support for a family that was known for giving so much to the horse community. It was now everyone’s turn to give back.
Following a meal of chicken, pork, green beans, potatoes and salad, guests jumped into the live auction that included everything from specialty cakes to 100 bales of hay and grain – and continued for more than two hours.
“I have an embroidery shop, and people just kept bringing in all kinds of donations,” Theresa said. “Some sent items from as far as Maine and Colorado.”
“It took several trips just to get it all to the arena. The specialty cakes and pies alone brought in more than $1,000, and a signed picture of Secretariat brought $1,100,” she continued. “We even sold the two hay wagons we used, one to display the auction items and one that people sat on. We had a live band, but they only got to play for an hour due to all the auction items.”
One of the highlights of the evening was a presentation of a replacement AQHA World Championship Show jacket to Bill and Rhonda’s daughter Gina McCardle. She had won the jacket with Kolton Dan last fall.
“AQHA was great to work with on the jacket,” said Theresa. “That jacket meant the world to Gina, and it was lost in the tornado. I wanted to see if I could get a replacement for her. When you try to do something like this, you just don’t know even where to start, but you tell your story until someone can help you. In this case it only took one phone call. I presented the jacket to Gina along with her future mother-in-law, Debby Hyland, and Gina was so surprised that she just cried and cried.”
As folks watched her proudly put on her new jacket they were reminded of yet another reason for celebration….her upcoming wedding on April 14. Despite having a tornado level the family’s home and barns, Gina miraculously found her wedding rings in a debris covered drawer in the remains of the basement – just where she had left them.
“It was really amazing to see that house leveled with no sides, no roof and no floor, but those rings were still down there” Theresa said.
One can’t help but think that with those kind of odds this union is definitely meant to be.
Bill and Rhonda, married 40 years this April, bought property in the late ’70s and began their dream of raising horses and kids. McCardles’ Hidden Stables near Old Lexington Pike in Crittenden, Kentucky, was home to the young couple and their four children, Rachel, Becky, Gina and Will. The family started out with very little – a few horses, some tack and a lot of determination. “We did everything ourselves, but we did it together as a family,” Rhonda and Bill said.
Heavily involved in 4-H, AQHA and the National Barrel Horse Association, these active members of both the Mideast Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky Quarter Horse associations, have tirelessly volunteered their time to help organize and run numerous events around the state, including the 4-H district and state shows.
“All involved in horses in Kentucky know Bill and Rhonda,” said Missy Jo Hollingsworth, president of the Mideast Kentucky Quarter Horse Association. “They have spent countless hours donating their time and money for our youth … countless hours.
The McCardle children, successfully competing in everything from county fairs to the All American Quarter Horse Congress to the AQHA World Championship Show, were always there by their parents’ sides.
“We’re a horse show family. It’s what we do,” the kids said. “Some folks go to the beach for a vacation….we load up our trailers and go to shows!”
Bill, a youth team adviser for more than 10 years said, “Horses have taught the kids about compassion, responsibility and hard work … the things you need to know to get ahead in life.”
Winter, like in so many parts of the country this year, was unseasonably warm; for that early in March, residents of Northern Kentucky were more apt to be scraping ice off of their windshields than happily going off to work without a coat. But on that first Friday in March, a severe weather forecast was issued for northern Kentucky. The McCardle family members went about their normal morning routine, caring for their many Quarter Horses before venturing off to work.
Some time after lunch, local meteorologists started actively breaking into programming. The National Weather Service began issuing warnings in the tri-state area. As the storms intensified throughout the afternoon, so did the uneasiness of the residents of northern Kentucky. The path of the storm was bearing down on the town of Crittenden, where the McCardles’ farm was located. Although the area had experienced severe weather in the past, it had never sustained any serious damage. Watching those weather alerts, no one could have known that in little more than an hour, history would be rewritten.
Shortly after 4:20 p.m. on March 2, an EF4 tornado packing winds of nearly 200 mph directly hit the McCardle farm, changing their lives and the lives of those around them forever.
Thankfully, none of the family was home at the time, and their lives were spared. Sadly, not everyone was so fortunate. Bill, first on the scene, began frantically searching for his neighbors. Standing among the mangled and torn remains of what was once their thriving family owned stables, the McCardles shock gave way to intense grief as they realized that their long-time friends Don and Linda Beemon, two, very loved elderly residents that lived in a home on the McCardles’ property, had perished in the storm.
“They were like family – grandparents to the kids,” said Bill and Rhonda. “There was nothing Don and ‘Mama Linda’ (as she was affectionately called) wouldn’t do to help … they were always there for us.”
Don, a retired mechanic and U.S. Army veteran was a skilled leather craftsman and expert woodworker who enjoyed everything on the farm from feeding horses to repairing equiptment. And Linda, an excellent cook and renowned seamstress, had sewn many of the family’s beautiful custom show outfits.
“They were special, special people,” the family said. “We will miss them so much … at least they are together.”
Grateful for their lives, the reality of that day’s events set in for the McCardles.
“Forty years to build and less than three minutes to take away,” Rhonda said. The hard task of taking stock of their loss began.
Gone was their newly remodeled home, with fewer than 20 bricks found where it once stood. A heavy slate pool table, which had been kept in the McCardle’s basement, has never been located. Three barns, one housing more than 3,000 bales of hay, yielded a mere 40 bales after the storm. An indoor arena was lost and most of their fencing and pens, as well as all their tack, show equipment and attire, and five horse trailers, two with full living quarters. Part of the gooseneck of one was found in the home of a neighbor a few miles down the road. More losses included a truck, three tractors and all their farm equipment. And heartbreakingly, two of their four beloved dogs, Allie and Andy, along with 14 of their prized American Quarter Horses, including several yearlings and 3-year-olds and two mares, ready to foal in the next few weeks. Below is a partial list of some of their show “family” they lost:
- Kolton Dan, aka “Clyde” – 2011 AQHA World Show top 10 in senior and amateur pole bending
- Kiss This Goodbar, aka “Dave” – 2006 All American Quarter Horse Congress reserve champion in Novice amateur trail
- Notes for Bullion, aka “Bully” – Congress and World Show top 10 in amateur barrel racing
- Its Nobodys Business, aka “Noby” –Congress top 10 in junior pole bending
- Easters Dan Jet, aka “Danny” – AQHA World Show qualifier
- Silver Gray Te, aka “Greta” – a distinguished American Quarter Horse show mare with three AQHA Registers of Merits
All gone … with the exception of what they believed at the time was one lone survivor.
Diesel Two A Te, aka “Max,” a yearling by Diesel Only and out of Silver Gray Te was found thrown 100 feet from his stall with a severe puncture wound to his upper right shoulder. He was taken to the Park Equine Hospital in Winchester, Kentucky, where the medical staff did everything possible to save him.
Although he put up a gallant fight, Max’s injuries were too severe, and he had to be euthanized.
Rachel Hensley, the McCardles’ oldest daughter said, “The care and generosity of all those at Park Equine Hospital was amazing. They wouldn’t take a penny from us for Max’s care; they are wonderful.”
The unbelievable scenes of destruction played out across the region. It was reported that the super outbreak of storms affected 11 states and produced more than 100 tornadoes and 39 deaths, 20 in Kentucky alone.
The goodness of humankind rose up in full force as thousands of volunteers came out to help with the cleanup in the region. More than 200 of them showed up on the McCardles’ property alone. Generous souls brought tools and heavy equipment, supplies, food and water and the manpower needed to make a dent in what surely felt like an insurmountable task.
Debris was collected in huge piles and burned. Pastures were painstakingly scoured for dangerous sharp objects, as well as any pictures or personal items of the McCardles’ or their neighbors whose homes had also been destroyed in the storm. The destruction was complete, and very little was found.
“If you didn’t know where we lived before, you would never know we had ever been there,” the family said.
During the gut-wrenching task of burying 14 of their beautiful horses, a miracle happened. As a pile of debris was being removed in the area where the barn once stood, a small hoof poked out from under the body of its mother, Silver Gray Te, and began to move. “Teddy,” a one-and-a-half-week-old colt by Diesel Only, was alive. He had been trapped for more than 16 hours. It’s believed that the mare’s fallen body sheltered her baby from the flying debris, saving his life.
And seemed like something only a mother would do.
Once freed, he whinnied and stood on his own, drinking water out of his rescuers’ hands. He was taken to Park Equine Hospital, where his full brother, Max, had been cared for the previous day. Although his ordeal left him with a cut under his left eye, he was pronounced in good condition and introduced to a nurse mare. Little “Teddy” is bonding with her quite well and is growing stronger every day. The morale of those helping to clean up skyrocketed when this little four-legged survivor was found. His discovery was a symbol of the hope that everyone needed, and it helped the healing process begin.
The recent benefit for the McCardle family in Demossville was alive with stories of past shows and horse camps, and memories of connections made throughout the years. Bill and Rhonda and their whole family stood before the entire crowd trying to find the almost impossible words to express how grateful they were for the endless love and support they have been shown. Tears were welling in the eyes of Rhonda and the girls, and an obvious array of emotion was mirrored throughout the venue.
The solidarity of this evening was obvious: We are horse people, a tight-knit group of folks who love our animals and respect and admire those who are hard-working, kind and dedicated to their family, friends and their equine passion.
The McCardles are just those kind of people. They are a strong and resilient family who will come back from this even better than before.
“We started with nothing, and now we’re starting with nothing again,” Bill said at the benefit. “Except this time, we’ve got experience!”
Bill’s comment brought a wave of welcome laughter that shone across the faces of these friends, old and new, who had come out to pledge their support. It was a fitting end to an evening that was meant to create a new beginning.
A fund has been set up for the McCardle family by the Mideast Kentucky Quarter Horse Association. Donations to The William and Rhonda McCardle Relief Fund can be made at any branch of the The Bank of Kentucky or online at https://www.bankofky.com. Checks can be sent directly to The Bank of Kentucky, 117 Lookout Farm Drive, Crestview Hills, KY, 41017.
Tracey Berry is a freelance photographer and writer in Northern Kentucky and has been involved in the equine industry around the country for many years. She can be reached at tberryphotography@gmail.com.
Connie Lechleitner is a freelance journalist for The American Quarter Horse Journal. She can be reached at
cmlechlei@gmail.com.
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