With all of the weather issues and reports of stolen purses at the Sun Circuit, it is great to be able to report about a feel good story involving a good samaritan and trainer, Kelley Roberts of Murrieta, California.
Roberts told GoHorseShow that Friday night after a long day at the show, she and her husband, Gary drove back to the hotel when she realized she had accidently left her black tote bag on the running board of their truck. Kelley had been carrying it back and forth from the show to the hotel with items for the show. Also, in the bag was her jewelry box and a camera that Gary had given her for Christmas.
While helping her new puppy in the truck, Kelley sat the tote bag on the running board of the truck and forgot she had left it there. When Kelley arrived to the hotel, she realized it wasn’t in truck and was horrified when she remembered she had left it on the running board. She and Gary rushed back to show grounds in hope that it had fallen off in the parking area by the barn and that it would still be there at 11:00 at night. The couple searched and retraced their path, but they didn’t find the bag.
“I figured someone had picked it up and it was gone forever,” Kelley recalls. “In the jewelry box, I had a few things of my mom’s who has passed away. There was also a very special ring that my sisters had made for me after my last chemotherapy treatment. I was so upset about losing them,” says, Kelley who along with her husband run a training operation specializing in all-around horses.
Two days later, Gary received a phone call from a man that had found her bag late Friday night on Frank Lloyd Wright road. The good samaritan was able to track the Roberts down from the AQHA rule book which had their name and address on it. He called AQHA and was given Kelley and Gary’s phone number.
“We met him Sunday night and I got everything back. I feel so lucky, and I am forever grateful to him. His name is Nathan Atchison and he lives in Phoenix. There were so many thefts this year at Sun Circuit; it was a nice thing that happened,” Kelley says. “I was so surprised to get it back. Nathan was surprised at how emotional I was when he returned the items to me. I told him there are not too many people like him any more.”
The most special item in the tote bag was the ring that Kelley’s sisters gave to her. Her mother and older sister had the same ring. It is a beautiful band of diamonds with gemstones in the center.
“We call them our ‘sisters rings’. They remind us of our mom,” Kelley says. “The ring is really special to me because my mom and I went through cancer treatments at the same time. She and I both went through the hair loss, and chemo treatments, but she unfortunately had an incurable cancer and didn’t survive. The loss of that ring brought back a lot of that. I feel truly blessed to have got it all back.”
We would like to commend Nathan for reminding us that there are still great people in the world and we are glad that Kelley was able to be reunited with her special and priceless items.
