To the Epona Community,

It is with a strange combination of deep sadness, awe, gratefulness and mystery that I share with you the news of Rasa’s passing on Monday, May 9th.  She has been having numerous close calls with health challenges resulting from the arthritic condition in her stifle for several years now. Ultimately, it was her left back hoof—the one that had been compensating for her condition all these years—that finally could no longer hold the weight.  Her transition was peaceful.

I will write a more formal newsletter in the next few days with some photos and more details.  I was so happy that she was able to stay with us for her twentieth birthday, and that I was able to write a newsletter dedication to her last month while she was still with us in this world.

I did have a powerful archetypal dream that her time was coming a few months ago, and was able to appreciate every subsequent day with her as a true gift.  Numerous profound synchronicities have also happened for a number of people in the last week, some of which I will share with you soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to send along a few quick details:  First of all, we will be holding a public memorial service for Rasa at our new home Epona at Eagle Way in Amado, Arizona on Saturday, May 21st.  We will open the gates at 4:30 p.m. with the service itself taking place at around 6 p.m.  If you would like directions to Epona, please contact Sue Smades at the Epona office:  info@eponaquest.com or 520-455-5908. (It would also help to let us know if you are planning to come as we will be providing light refreshments after the service.)

Also, over the years, I have been receiving beautiful emails and cards from people communicating their experiences with Rasa, both at workshops and private sessions, as well as non-locally in meditations and dreams, in poetry and drawings and photos as well as prose.  Many of these anecdotes were lost when my computer crashed last year.  As I knew this day was coming soon, I have been in conversation with my agent about creating an art-style coffee table book collecting a variety of artwork, photos, poetry and anecdotes about Rasa.  The proceeds from this book will go to the new EponaQuest Foundation, a national non-profit organization that we created to support equine-facilitated psychotherapy and experiential learning, with the goal over time of bringing the wisdom of the horse into mainstream schools, of doing research to prove the efficacy of this work, and to give grants to qualified facilitators and organizations to allow people who would otherwise not be able to afford equine-facilitated sessions to be able to learn from the horses.  The Merlin’s Spirit fund for soldiers is now a part of this new 501c3 organization. (For more information about the EponaQuest Foundation, or to donate, we do have an initial website up at www.EponaQuestFoundation.org ).

I am sending out the call to everyone who has been inspired by Rasa over the years, in person or in spirit, to send your stories, experiences, dreams, poetry, art work and best, clearest photos for possible inclusion in this book. The creation of the book will be a volunteer effort on my part, as I will be writing commentary and continuity, as well as sharing some new stories about her powerful work the last few months, as well as her passing, in this new volume. (I’m also open to hearing from anyone with an editorial flair who is interested in volunteering to help select and edit some of the material.)

Please send email submissions to info@eponaquest.com.  The snail mail address is: Linda Kohanov, 1725 W. Eagle Way, Amado, AZ 85645.

When you send a submission, please make sure you send your full name and phone number as well as email contact information.  All proceeds from the book will go to the non-profit.

In the meantime, I am much comforted by having Rasa’s beautiful children with me.  They all got to say goodbye to her before the burial.  And I’m grateful to Shelley Rosenberg and Dr. Barbara Page who were so sensitive in supporting Rasa’s transition, as well as my husband Steve Roach, staff members Nancy Coyne, ML Gould, Elysa Ginsburg and Kathleen McGarry, and the class of AP 16, who were all present for Rasa’s last day.

Many Blessings to you all,

Linda Kohanov