Page 30 - Winter 2022

Local girl wins competitions with rescue horse
By Popi Márquez
When most of us imagine rescuing an animal, we think of a dog or a cat, but not 15-year-old Mischa Jahn.
She thinks big. Mischa has grown up around horses. But when attending the 2019 Equine Rescue Challenge, she fell in love with a rescue quarter horse named Annie. She would later refer to as her “miracle horse.”
The Equine Rescue Challenge showcases the potential of rescue horses after being trained for a short period of time in hopes that they will find a new home.
This is where Mischa first laid eyes on Annie and felt an instant spark. After the challenge, Mischa and her mother, Sonya Jahn, traveled to the Silver Lining Stable to meet Annie, but Sonya did not have the same reaction. She was filled with trepidation.
Sonya wasn't overreacting: Annie had many difficulties.
CeCe Calli, the foster care coordinator at GERL, described Annie when they first rescued her as “a wreck,” “starved,” and “totally untouched,” meaning she had not been halter trained. In fact, she had no human interaction until she was three.
“Physically she was a 3-year-old; emotionally and mentally she was still a yearling,” CeCe said.
Annie had already been returned from two other potential owners. Something in Mischa’s instincts told her that she was the person for Annie.
“I don’t know what it was; I just knew that something was special about her,” Mischa said.
They left the stable that day without Annie, but Mischa persisted.
Mischa Jahn’s next goal is to qualify for the USEF Pony Finals in Lexington, Kentucky.
sPopi Márquez is a senior at Athens Academy who plans to major in journalism. PAGE 28 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2022