According to a newspaper article by Debbie Arrington, Judge E.G. Moody (a CAA member in Tennessee), “his lovely wife, Mary Frances, and their friends throw a big equestrian-themed bash [each spring] for every child (including … siblings / family) who was adopted in Sullivan County during the previous year, as well as all children in foster care at the time of the event, regardless of how or when they were placed there.”

This year’s “Farm Fest,” back in May, featured wagon rides, pony rides, carriage rides, a trick horse, cowboys, a chuck wagon, a cowboy singer, the Sullivan County Mounted Patrol, and more. The goals? To let the kids have a fun day at the farm and to introduce them to horses, cowboys, and the “Code of the West,” which espouses such inspirational tenets as Live Each Day With Courage, Do What Has To Be Done, Take Pride in Your Work, and When You Make a Promise, Keep It.

Here are few photos (all courtesy of E.G. Moody) from previous year’s parties:

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party, food, and fun at the Moodys' farm

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Judge Moody's Chuckwagon, which he made by restoring an old wagon, having a chuckbox built, and furnishing it with eBay and antique-store finds

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making hoe cakes ... they're actually being cooked on a hoe!

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... and making ice cream; the machine is Amish-made and consists of a mechanical pump, powered by the horse, which pumps hydraulic fluid that operates the ice-cream maker; it makes five gallons at a time, and the children usually eat about ten gallons

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wagon rides were offered by Mike McKinney, whose mules won three ribbons at this year's Mule Day in Columbia, Tenn.

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pony and horse rides were organized by CAA member Pam Umberger of Virginia