Durango is a 22-year-old buckskin miniature horse who belongs to Gail Conley of Hamlin. Gail has been a horse lover since she was a young girl. She remembers her mom having her in the Hamlin parade with her horse when she was little. Gail had horses her whole life and decided to get her first mini after she was struggling with a shoulder injury. Durango was purchased from Barker, New York, when he was five years old. He was a champion show horse and was used in carting.
Gail got him to have as a pet and to be part of a ministry she leads called Zip-n-Gail. Durango has such a friendly personality that she created “The Bible Buddies Mini Horses” where he and another miniature horse she purchased would attend church events, festivals, parades, birthday parties, and more. “Durango is a spitfire!” said Gail. “He is like my dog. I can do anything with him, take him anywhere and dress him up. Durango has attended events dressed up as a unicorn covered in glitter, a pirate, and a rodeo horse,” laughed Gail. Durango may think he is part dog. He tries to come into the house and has amazing recall. When Gail calls him, he runs as fast as he can across the pasture to stand right in front of her for a treat – watermelon is his favorite.
Last month when Gail was scrolling through Facebook, she saw a contest called America’s Favorite Pet. Pet owners can submit a picture of their pet to be part of this annual national contest. The competition opens to online voting to narrow down contestants to the top 100, then top 20, top 15, top 10, and then the top five before the winner is chosen. The contest allows people to vote for free once a day or to make a donation and buy several votes. A portion of the proceeds go to a nonprofit called PAWS, which has the mission to raise national awareness and rehabilitate orphaned and injured cats, dogs, and other animals to go home and thrive. The winner of this world’s largest online pet competition receives a grand prize of $10,000, the prominence of being America’s favorite pet, and a two-page spread in InTouch Magazine.
Gail decided to submit a picture and little write up of Durango and submit it to the contest. To Gail’s surprise Durango has made it all the way to the top 10. The competition goes until October 27. At the time of this writing, Durango had climbed into first place although it can change hourly with voting. “This is a God thing,” said Gail. We have many people in the community and at our (Jubilee) church praying for Durango.”
This weekend they will announce which pets have made it into the top 5. If Durango continues on, he is one step away from being named America’s Favorite Pet. When asked what she would do with the prize if she won, Gail chuckled, “Buy Durango the biggest watermelon I can find!” She also would love to have the extra money to help continue touching others with her nonprofit equine ministry. Her horse trailer is no longer safe and she is having to borrow a trailer to get her horses to events. Gail never imagined that a little horse from Hamlin named Durango would have climbed into the top ten of America’s favorite pet competition.
Votes can be cast once every 24 hours through October 27 at https://americasfavpet.com/vote/options/2022/durango.
To meet Durango, visit him at the Kendall Scarecrow Fest on Saturday, October 1.
