A 13-year-old Rifle girl is deep in the dumps about the absence of her beloved horse.

The girl’s mother, Tina Holtz, said by phone Wednesday that the saga started with an injury.

“We had two mares, but after I got a concussion in a horse accident and couldn’t ride for six months, we sold them,” she said. “Mataya (the daughter) can’t ride alone.”

The mother’s mount and Phoebe, a 19-year-old grade quarter horse that Mataya rode, were sold to different buyers the weekend before Thanksgiving, Tina Holtz said.

Then, on Jan. 4, Holtz saw that the Durango woman who bought Phoebe was selling her on Craigslist. When she called, the horse already had been sold, and the seller didn’t have the new owner’s information.

Mataya is struggling with the loss.

“She’s not deeply depressed, but she’s having a tough time,” Holtz said.

She asked anyone with information about Phoebe to call her at 987-9954.

Herald Staff