Calgary girl and rescue horse are match made in heaven this Valentine’s Day

It’s a Valentine’s Day a young Calgary girl won’t soon forget.

In 2020, Natalie Kowalenko and Katie Rochon rescued a horse from a slaughterhouse to give him a second chance.

They trained him and fell in love, opting not to put him up for sale.

The horse, named Blue, now happily lives at a barn near Spruce Meadows.

Thirteen-year-old Sienna Goldau fell in love with Blue, and begged and begged to ride him. The pair now absolutely love each other.

“It was a really beautiful partnership. Honestly, from within moments of her hopping on him,” Kowalenko said. “So, they have continued to become a team over the last few months to the point that we have come to the decision that instead of selling him, we wanted to gift him to her to see their partnership continue to grow and go on adventures.”

Now, on this Valentine’s Day Kowalenko and Rochon have gifted the horse to Sienna.

“I was very shocked and it means the world to me,” the teen told CityNews. “When I received him I was so happy and I was over the moon excited about him, knowing that he was going to be mine.”

Goldau says this Valentine’s Day is one of the best yet.

“I’m so happy those two girls came into my life and I’m more than happy to be able to gifted this horse of them,” she said of Kowalenko and Rochon.

“I’m so happy that he’s mine now and he has so much to offer.”