It's a special thing when a horse celebrates his thirtieth birthday. Those who have been blessed to know a horse that long realize what a momentous occasion that is. In the year 2000, the Peekskill, NY Rotary Club Horse Show celebrated its 30th Anniversary. For most of those years, the show mascot has been none other than our very own Cyber-Pony!

Of course his name didn't start out as "Cyber-Pony", because there was no "Cyber" when this "Pony" was first foaled! The cartoon pony began as a doodle on a notebook sheet when I was in high school. It looked similar to the drawing above: A silly looking cartoon horse who had just had an accident. My friend Rick Kristoph spotted the little guy and thought he was just too cute.

Then in 1974, a new neighbor moved in next door to Rick. Dr. Roger Swanson, DVM. Roger began working at the Peekskill Animal Hospital, where he became the head veterinarian. In addition to his vet duties, Roger also became involved with the Rotary Club, and soon found himself in the position of running their annual Horse Show. Roger mentioned to Rick that they could use some artwork on their judging schedule, Rick showed him a copy of the little "oops pony" drawing, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since that fateful day when I was first contacted by Roger about using my artwork, he's faithfully called every year, around "June-or-July-ish", to ask for another drawing. In 1976 I started college, and he found me there. In 1979 I moved out of Peekskill, home of the show, and he called me anyway. In 1984 I got married and he tracked me down then. In 1989 I moved hours away from my home town and the horse show, to my current home in the northern Catskills. I hadn't left a forwarding phone number with anyone Roger knew (not deliberately... I just forgot <G>). But sure enough, in June the phone rang: "Hi, Gayle, it's Roger Swanson." Radar Roger found me, and I'm sure glad he did. Life wouldn't be the same without that ever faithful annual phone call.

Visit the Peekskill Rotary Club web pages, and learn about the history of the show!

Some Rotary Horse Show Artwork Samples

	Not all of the judging schedules from the past 25 years are in my possession, although I hope to dig up some of the older ones. This is the earliest I could find, from 1983. Each year the show has a theme, and 1983 was a special year, because the Rotary Club was celebrating the bond between handicapped children and horses.
If the theme of the show itself didn't spark a drawing idea, I would look for something special that happened that year for inspiration. I bet you couldn't have guessed that '84 was an Olympic Year! Can anyone tell me where the Summer Olympics was held in that year? Email me with the answer and I'll tell you if you are right!
	I'm really not much of a sports fan (unless of course the object of the sport has a tail and four legs), but I married one of the biggest sports nuts ever to walk the earth. Occasionally I'll be stuck for an idea for a drawing, and Joe will come up with one. This is one of my favorites!
When Roger called in '89, I had just discovered I was pregnant with my second child. Devon was born the following March-- you can visit his web site, and that of his big sister, Jess, if you haven't already. With babies on my mind (and one in my tummy!) what else could I think of but rocking horses?
	And what was "Big" in 1991? If you'd had an almost six year old child at that time, you'd remember! Jess was into Ninja Turtles in kindergarten and first grade, and teaching her baby brother all about them. A house full of "Donatello" carried over to the Rotary artwork!
In '92, Star Trek was celebrating it's 25th Anniversary. We're big Trekkers in this household, and we traveled down to Washington, DC to visit the big Star Trek celebration at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
	"Making Friends Around The World" was the theme for the 1993 show. It isn't often that my mind works literally, but this time the drawing idea was pretty obvious!
For its 25th Anniversary, the Peekskill Rotary Club Horse Show chose the theme of "Celebrating Silver". Look carefully at the drawing to figure out the reference, and if you are too young to know who Silver was, go ask a grown-up and email me when you have the "hints" in the drawing all figured out!
	In 1999, my phone rang: "Hi, Gayle, it's Roger Swanson." We talked about the theme, about the fact that the next year was both the Milennium and the show's 30th Anniversary, and I promised to come up with something. I thought about it for a day, and was drawing a blank when my husband Joe came up with the skateboard idea. I added the down-ramp of 1999, and then scanned the art before I even mailed it out to Roger!
2000 was the horse show's thirtieth year, so we incorporated the "Big Three-Oh" right into this paint pony's markings.
	Rotary, International does tremendous good work to help mankind all over the world. Horses, too, have a history as old as history has been recorded of working alongside their human friends. It wasn't hard to draw the theme of "Mankind is our Business" for 2001.
In 2003, the theme was again one of friends helping friends, so this CyberPony is helping his young rider get ready for the show. Well, he's trying to help, anyway!
	2005's horse show theme is also the motto for Rotary International itself: "Service Above Self". This CyberPony is helping his friend get ready ... taking care of a friend's needs before he tends to his own.