When eight year old* Lilia saw all the trailers in the parking lot, she asked her mother whether that meant there were more rescued horses. That would mean more horses needing love.

In fact, the trailers are there for a Les Vogt working cow horse clinic.

Stefanie Hargreaves and Lilia are volunteering at People Helping Horses, the rescue based at Black Raven Stables in Arlington. Stefanie had asked Lilia what kind of volunteer work they could do together, and Lilia set her heart on working with horses - not just riding them, but helping them.

Lilia is the one who provided the impetus, but Stefanie had think about the big picture. She had some trouble finding a rescue where a young girl could participate and that would be a safe, positive environment. After checking with many of the area rescues, who couldn't fit a child into their program, even with adult supervision, it was getting a little daunting. When Stefanie called Melissa Lowell, volunteer coordinator at People Helping Horses, everything clicked.

Stefanie can't say enough about how great the experience has been for them, including the free two hour clinic for volunteers with trainer Terri Cook and her daughter Matney , along with the daily help and support from other volunteers, boarders , Gretchen Salstrom and the barn trainers. Lilia is "learning all the really important stuff," Stefanie says, the work that goes into caring for a horse, and how to handle them starting from the ground up, not just taking weekly riding lessons.

Lightning, the miniature horse who came in with the seizure of horses from a neglect case in Renton, is still close at hand. Stefanie scratches his neck and gets to the heart of the matter.

"For my daughter, it's simple. They're skinny. They need to be brushed. They need love."

I get a chance to see how it works as they slip into their routine. It is Lilia who sets the agenda - she wants to find her favorite horse first, a bay mare named Mystic. They ask Matney, and it seems Mystic has just been turned out with a buddy in the paddock. Matney gives them only a little parting advice,"remember what you learned about letting her catch you."

As we watch Lilia take her time, waiting for Mystic, Stefanie gives me a little background on the mare. She was sent, in foal, to auction by a farm that bred reining horses, and a woman bought her to save her from going to slaughter. After the foal was born, weaned and sold, she couldn't really care for the seventeen year old mare. Gretchen Salstrom. director of People Helping Horses, took her in so that they help her regain weight and get her back into training.

Mystic is an attractive, personable, and solid bodied mare who might suit a variety of riders with a little bit of experience. Stefanie is surprised she hasn't been snatched up yet - she went on trial but came back again because she did't fit their program. At least she got a nice purple halter and matching leadrope out of it.

When Mystic does find a permanent home, it will be a real wrench for Lilia to have to say goodbye. For her, Mystic is the magnet, the one her eye searches for in the herd.

There is something very special about the first horse that teaches you and inspires you, gives you the courage to take the lend and accepts all the love you have to offer without questioning it. That will never be taken away, even if you can't take the horse home like you dream of. Stefanie and Lilia live in Seattle, but Lilia doesn't see that as an obstacle. She still has a long ways to go to learn how much responsibility it really is to own a horse and all the skills you need - but I have a strong feeling she'll get there one day.

I watch how carefully she does everything, remembering her instruction, but more importantly, watching the horses to read their body language. She doesn't startle them or intrude on their space, just sort of meanders into the herd, until she can touch Mystic.

Lilia needs some help putting on the halter from Stephanie, but Mystic accepts that this slip of a girl, one twentieth of her weight, is in charge and she follows Lilia to the gate.

"How come I'm the only one who can do this?" Lilia says with pride. Oh, it is so addictive, that sense of being needed. That is how horses catch us, isn't it?

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*Actually, Lilia was a few days short of eight, as she reminded us, and today is her birthday - so Happy Birthday Lilia!

Don't forget to mark your calendar for Celebrate the Horse at the Puyallup Fairgrounds on July 5th and 6th, to benefit People Helping Horses and a new program for kids they are starting. Terri and Matney Cook of TLC trainingwill be among the many clinicians, and maybe Mystic will be their demo horse, if she hasn't been adopted. In that case, check the crowd, because you will see Lilia and Stefanie there somewhere!