Phoenix the horse thrust her head into a water-filled tub in search of an apple, chomping away once she found it. She was dressed up in NASCAR attire, as was her human assistant, Whitney St. John.
“They do love apples,” St. John said. “It's pretty entertaining for them. And also, it just engages them and gives them, like, a stimulus and everything.”
St. John, a barn assistant at People and Animals Learning Services, was one of the people welcoming community members to PALS’ “Halloween with the Horses” event Saturday. PALS is a Bloomington equine therapy organization that hosts horsemanship and adaptive riding programs.
Much of PALS’ campus was damaged in the EF2 tornado that hit Bloomington on May 16, and executive director Christine Herring said the team even considered canceling or relocating the event.
“And we all just pretty much said, ‘Nope, we're doing it here, and we're going to bring everybody to PALS so that they can see, you know, that we are coming back,’” Herring said.
The rebuild is going well, Herring said, and PALS’ grand re-opening is slated for spring 2026. Herring said they expect to have double the arena space compared to what there was before the tornado. St. John, who said she’s been volunteering at PALS for three years, celebrated the reconstruction.
“I never would have thought we would come this far throughout the journey of healing and rebuilding,” St. John said. “It's been a very tough process, but we, we've built such an amazing community and I'm very fortunate to be a part of it.”
Devin Coryell, PALS’ director of development and marketing, said the PALS team reimagined “Halloween with the Horses” as a festival so it would be a way to celebrate after a difficult summer.
Music filled the air near a barn where children played life-sized Jenga and got their faces painted. Food trucks and vendors provided entertainment for adults as well. Community members of all ages sported Halloween costumes including animals, princesses and knights.
Jeff and Molly Pridemore’s daughter, Karlee, dressed up as a monarch butterfly, brushed one of the PALS horses as her parents watched. Jeff said the family came to the event to support PALS’ therapeutic mission.
“I love programs that support anything or anybody that, you know, like I said, vets with PTSD or any kind of programs that help build up the community,” Jeff said.
Lake House Farm owners Ewa Schopp and Sydney Sills said Coryell invited them to be vendors at the event. Schopp and Sills sold pre-made arrangements and build-your-own flower bouquets, with a portion of their proceeds going to further support PALS.
“I think it's great to give back,” Schopp said. “This is a really great place. It's really helped a lot of people.”
Herring said people seemed to be enjoying this year’s “Halloween with the Horses” even more than in previous years because there were more activities.
“It's more of a festival,” Herring said. “And we just planned it that way. We wanted people to be able to come here, see that we're still here and explore everything that we have. So, it's really turning out to be a great event, probably the best we've ever had.”
Community members who want to get involved with PALS can apply to volunteer or donate to support either ordinary operations or ongoing disaster recovery efforts.
St. John encouraged members of the Bloomington community to engage with PALS even after Halloween.
“This place is truly a gift,” St. John said. “And I think everybody should, like, anybody should come and visit and see some horses and possibly get into it. It's truly amazing. And it changes lives every day.”
