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Then in 2002, Tonya’s mother, Rose Marie, spotted her Dallas driving home from work one afternoon. Fortunately, Rose Marie worked with one of the owner’s, Woodrow, daughters who made the connection for Tonya to see her Dallas up close, face to muzzle. Although Tonya had not been around a horse of any kind since Ranger, she was so excited of the possibility that maybe, just maybe, a horse really did exist that looked like Dallas.
To her astonishment, indeed, it was! It was Tonya’s dream horse. At the time, however, the foal was close to being a year old and Woodrow wasn’t sure that he would part with him as a yearling. Completely, but respectfully disregarding Woodrow’s strong insinuation about not selling the yearling, Tonya smiled at him and stated “I’ll be back in about a year to get my horse.” Woodrow through his head back and laughed with glistening gold teeth across his front uppers and pearly white teeth everywhere else, which ended with one of the most beautiful smiles ever.
From that moment until she got ready to leave, Woodrow and Tonya stood in the pasture exchanging small talk getting to know one another a little better. Sensing the seriousness of her intent, before Tonya left, Woodrow reminded her that he never agreed or said that he would part with the yearling. In response, Tonya chuckled, smirked, and reminded him that she would be back in about a year.
Over the following year, Rose Marie kept an eye on the yearling in her travels to and from work. On occasion, Tonya would send messages to Woodrow by way of her mother and his daughter. From all accounts, those messages would always make Woodrow laugh and result in that million-dollar smile.
Time passed and before Woodrow knew it, the yearling was old enough to be weaned from its mother and sold. Tonya sent one last message to Woodrow via her mother and his daughter. A few days later and as promised, Tonya returned to Woodrow’s home to behold the growth of her dream yearling with much more definitive flagrant markings and to discuss his sale. Even after the year had passed, Woodrow still found Tonya’s delightful persistence laughable and was even more determined not to sell the yearling. After about a month or so, Woodrow’s decision had not changed as the yearling was growing more beautiful and majestic with each day. When Tonya realized her dream horse was perhaps slipping away from her grasp, she shared her childhood horse fantasy with Woodrow and that made all the difference in the world. When Woodrow understood the reason behind Tonya’s perseverance, he could not keep the yearling. Woodrow sold and delivered the yearling as agreed. Barbie had Dallas, and Tonya, finally, acquired her dream horse, Prince.
Despite having not grown up with access to a horse or opportunities to develop equestrian skills as an adolescent, teenager, and young adult, Tonya’s affinity for horses never declined. If anything, it grew even more. When residents realized her affinity for horses, Tonya began getting messages about other owners’ who were reluctantly surrendering their horses to a good home. And, the rest of this story is not history, it is alive and well. DayDream Equestrian Center, “where dreams really do come true,” was established in May of 2020. Furthermore, to date, no horse has ever kicked the s^!+ out of her and only two have passed.
Tonya is a 23-year professional educator who is licensed in FL, GA, SC, and NC as a Business Education Teacher, Career and Technical Education Director, Secondary Principal, Secondary Supervisor, Superintendent and in Educational Leadership with endorsements in Reading to Succeed and Gifted and Talented. Tonya’s experience includes teaching, training, curriculum, instruction, assessment, strategic planning, grant writing, and grant management. She has earned an AA with a concentration in Office Information Systems, a BS in Information Systems Technology, and a MAT in Business Education all from the University of South Carolina, and a PhD in Educational Administration from Capella University.
In addition to over 17 years’ experience caring for and managing horses, Tonya has registered over 33 riding hours, 40 hours in equine handling, 40 hours in working with individuals with disabilities in an equine environment, and 30 hours of supervised teaching from four Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International (Intl) Premier Accredited Centers in the southeast. In addition, Tonya is certified by the National Council for Behavioral Health to provide Mental Health First Aid and certified in Adult and Child CPR, AED, and Basic First Aid by the American Safety & Health Institute.