Manny Calvario--Lilac Fire
Donation protected
Manny Calvario trains race horses. He doesn’t own them; he trains them. He has been working with race horses since he was 14 years old. Manny loves his horses. He knows every inch of them as well as he knows his own hands. Manny is with his horses 24/7. He sleeps in a small room at the end of their stalls.
San Luis Rey Downs was a beautiful place to live and work. Manny felt lucky to be there. Until Thursday afternoon when the Lilac Fire brought darkness, sparks, panic, flames, and horror to the once calm and serene setting. There was no time. Manny removed the leggings from his horses, put on their bridles, wet them down and then did what every horse lover never wants to do; he let them free to run.
They didn’t want to leave the security of their stalls. He had to push them out. With his horses out, he ran from stall to stall releasing as many horses as he could as the barns burned. He heard a woman scream and found her on fire in the corner of a stall. He wrapped her up and pulled her out to safety. She remains in a medically-induced coma at UCSD Burn Center.
Friday morning Manny went down to Del Mar to search for his horses. They were not there. He returned to Bonsall to look for them at other ranches. As he was about to give up, he saw them huddled together at the back corner of a pasture. He whistled and all of their heads went up with a whinny. They were safe.
Except for his beloved horses, Manny lost everything: all of his personal belongings, his saddles and tack, medication, and the barn he lived in.
These events are the makings of nightmares. They will never go away. Manny Calvario was heroic in every sense of the word. He needs and deserves our help.
San Luis Rey Downs was a beautiful place to live and work. Manny felt lucky to be there. Until Thursday afternoon when the Lilac Fire brought darkness, sparks, panic, flames, and horror to the once calm and serene setting. There was no time. Manny removed the leggings from his horses, put on their bridles, wet them down and then did what every horse lover never wants to do; he let them free to run.
They didn’t want to leave the security of their stalls. He had to push them out. With his horses out, he ran from stall to stall releasing as many horses as he could as the barns burned. He heard a woman scream and found her on fire in the corner of a stall. He wrapped her up and pulled her out to safety. She remains in a medically-induced coma at UCSD Burn Center.
Friday morning Manny went down to Del Mar to search for his horses. They were not there. He returned to Bonsall to look for them at other ranches. As he was about to give up, he saw them huddled together at the back corner of a pasture. He whistled and all of their heads went up with a whinny. They were safe.
Except for his beloved horses, Manny lost everything: all of his personal belongings, his saddles and tack, medication, and the barn he lived in.
These events are the makings of nightmares. They will never go away. Manny Calvario was heroic in every sense of the word. He needs and deserves our help.
Organizer
Suzanne McCluskey
Organizer
Encinitas, CA