‘A miracle’: Epona Horse Rescue helps bring missing horse back to family

CRETE, Neb. (KLKN) — What started as a routine rescue quickly turned into a multi-state mission.

Epona Horse Rescue took in Rango at an auction on Saturday, April 11.

“I made a commitment to him that he would be safe,” said Lin Guyton, the director of Epona.

Rango needed a lot of loving care and a second chance.

Guyton posted Rango on social media, introducing him to the Crete community and reconnecting him with his past.

“I realized I had a voicemail on my phone from a Minnesota number,” Guyton said. “It was a woman who was reaching out and saying, ‘I think that might be a horse we sold a while ago, we’ve been looking for him.’ Her daughter in Minnesota spotted the auction picture; it popped up on her News feed as an advertisement.”

Rango’s original owners, the Phillippi family, were shocked to see that Rango was living in Nebraska.

From there, coordination began, spanning state lines and involving multiple people to safely return Rango to his family.

Two people who used to volunteer at Epona offered to take the horse back to Minnesota.

“They now live close to the Iowa/Minnesota border in central Iowa,” Guyton said. “They stepped up and were like, ‘We’ll pick him up for you; we’ll be in Lincoln that weekend.’ Everything has just been a miracle.”

What could have been just another intake story became something much bigger; a reminder of the power of community and connection.

“We have been looking for Rango since December 18th, 2022,” said Terri Phillippi, who originally owned Rango.

Phillippi said they have been experiencing a lot of different emotions since finding their beloved horse, once again.

But their greatest emotion is gratitude for everyone who has helped bring Rango home.

“It was a gift to my daughter Courtney for her high school graduation,” she said. “We really have missed him, and we’re just so appreciative of everybody who has been involved in finding him. It’s been a roller coaster.”