Why Bad Things Happen To Good People
There comes a time in life where everyone asks that question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”. Well, the answer is simple really, good people are the target of evil because evil cannot thrive where there is good. So in reality, it is an obvious answer to the question at hand; Satan does his best to corrupt and suck out the life in good people. The less “good” in the world, the more evil can thrive. Not only does evil come to those that are good, but it can come in all shapes and sizes to catch you off guard. Evil can be in the form of friends and family, and appeal to your sense of good through the things you care about. This is exactly what happened thirteen months ago when an old woman with a crippled husband came begging for a home for their 30 some “rescued” horses. At first it was to only be ten horses, and two months… “just until their closing was finalized.” Not only did she come with horses in desperate need of care, but she came with the blessing of a good friend who’s aunt worked with her. I do not think that any of them truly knew what was going to happen, but the fact remains that there were multiple parties at work here to knock down Robin’s guard. As a very close friend, I have been there from the very beginning of this journey with Robin and had to stand by and watch as evil attempted to drain out all that was good in a person that I care about very deeply.
As a disclaimer, I want to point out that any person, at any time, can be taken for granted and make poor business decisions. No matter how much of a savvy business person you are and no matter how hard you try to protect yourself and your assets, there comes a point in time when you will be trialed. What matters not is the how and why, but the outcome. I just want to make this very clear, that Robin has been a victim, and that no matter how much hindsight we, as outsiders, can see into this situation; she did what she thought was right at the time and got burned for doing good. She has asked me to write this story for her, for many reasons. Not only does she want to warn others of this woman, but she also wants to let this be a lesson to all so that perhaps her mistakes can mean the salvation for someone else.
Alright, now with that all out of the way lets get down to the facts. Last November, of 2011, a good friend of Robin’s, whom will remain anonymous, called her up and asked if she had the room to house ten rescue horses that were being evicted from their current residence. They only needed to have a home for two months before their owner closed in on a new property. The friend’s Aunt worked with Patty and the horses, and so it would seem that their word was good. Robin, with much hesitance, reluctantly agreed that for two months she would take in this group. Unfortunately, no background research was done until later, when it was too late. A few days later, here arrived Patricia “Patty” and her husband Kenneth “Kenny” Simpkins, also associated with Green Gate Rescue. Patty is a tiny, unassuming little woman with long grey hair and a big toothless grin; she will knock down the guard of anyone with a heart with her stories of where she’s been, the horses and how she’s come into them all. The inherit problem here is, there is no way to tell what is truth and what is lie; because in the last 13 months there has been more deceit and outlandish lies from that little woman than I have ever dealt with in my life. When the horses started coming in, it was apparent that these creatures were in desperate need of some knowledgeable care and there was an opportunity here to do some real good; not just for this woman but for the horses. Unfortunately, once again hindsight is 20/20.
Once the initial horses were brought in, the stories of the others started to be told and Robin opened her doors to the rest, minus a dozen or less ponies that were left at a third party. The exact numbers elude me at this time, but at least 20 horses were brought in last November. A small deposit of money was put down on them for board until they could get their next check from an unknown benefactor. To this day it is unknown where the Simpkins get their money from. By the end of November all were settled in, many being in their late 20’s and a few in their 30’s with many “special needs” horses. The special needs horses included a crippled paint mare, whom many would recognize as the star of a news report done a few years back. This mare had a bad shoulder, bad knee and a sleigh foot so bad she could not walk. There was a 42 year old gelding, half blind, skinny as can be but a true survivor of a horse. There was a pony with a bad case of heaves that could not have hay or be inside with shavings and dust. There was a giant 18 hand warm-blood mare with a cancerous growth on her leg that weighed close to five pounds and was the size of a very large cantaloupe; and finally there was a sweet two year old stud colt blind as a bat. In addition to these few with “special needs” there were a great many others that were just inches away from death’s door due to their age and health condition. It was apparent that neither feet nor teeth had been done on any of these horses in a very long time.
About a month went by and they were settled in, many of us at Robin’s place would come in and help out while Robin got into a routine caring for these horses and attempting to get information in order to get their feet and teeth done. She was attempting to work with Patty to take charge and get these horses healthy; who during this time was eager to learn and apparently grateful for the new help she was receiving. In the beginning of December Robin left to go to Vegas for the NFR, this is where things went wrong. Patty became MIA. It would be months from there before any of us would see or hear from her again; which left Robin in care of 20 debilitating horses who would eat her out of house and home and later cause her to have to sell her favorite project, Dixie. But for the next couple of months, Robin never once let those horses go hungry, without water or suffer any unnecessary hardship. There were quite a few that passed away that Winter, leaving on Robin’s shoulders the responsibility of caring for and disposing of these poor creatures with her own means and out of her own pocket. She later would be accused of murdering them. But we’ll get to that part of the story.
It was during these long winter months of abandonment where Robin found out the ugly truth about the Simpkins and Green Gate Rescue. You can easily “Google” and look up their public court records to see for yourself just what type of character we were dealing with.
Many more weeks went bye and finally the weather was decent enough to take action. We posted word that we were going to be assessing these horses one by one for training and abilities in hopes to find them new homes. A few of our good friends on Facebook came out to be witness and lend their help in cleaning up and riding these unwanted horses. Almost all of them, save the special needs horses, were brushed, ridden and loved on that day. All of them would have been spoken for to find new homes. Of course, doing her due diligence, Robin notified Patty of what was going on and lo-and-behold, she shows up in arms over the idea that someone would take her horses. She once again gave Robin a small bit of cash to start over (mind you nothing to even begin to cover the back board or vet/disposal/farrier costs over the last few months) on board.
From here the months drag on with lies and tales being told, of promises to pay back every penny owed and make it up to Robin, somehow, for her generosity and kindness. For the longest time, Patty spun a story that Ms. Mars (yes, the candy bar heiress) was Patty’s mysterious benefactor and was paying for her to get a new place and pay back all the money and expenses to Robin. This went on and on, while Robin continued to do the best she could for these horses and spending money out of her own pocket to care for them the best she could. She made sure they were de-wormed regularly (out of her own pocket) and helped Patty budget in trims and vet care for those that needed it the most. Eventually the crippled mare and the pony with heaves were suffering too much that they needed to be put down, and Robin was there with Patty to take on that burden.
No amount of words can express the pain and suffering that this woman caused Robin for the last year, no amount of words can express how inherently evil this woman was or how much life she really sucked out of Robin, and the others at her barn. It was a known fact among those of us that call Robin’s place “home”, that you could not believe a word Patty said. To each person she met, she had a new story to tell them and new lies to pit us against eachother. To me, Robin’s closest, she would tell me lies that Robin apparently said. Lies that would strike close to my heart and would have severely hurt our relationship had I believed them. To anyone new, they were not to be trusted as they were spies (not making this up!). She would cry and tell us all how Robin verbally abused her and how she was slowly working Kenny (the husband) to death. Now, to pause here, I feel I need to paint another picture of the character of this woman… in case you haven’t already gotten the picture. Here she is, tiny and older but with all her health (less any teeth) and complaining about barely being able to put food on their table because everything goes into the horses. Whenever they were out at the barn, Patty would most often be sitting in her van playing on her SMART PHONE (yes, you read that right, she had a smart phone); while her crippled husband hobbled around the farm doing whatever he could for the horses. Yet, it was always Robin who was slowly working him to death. For a good part of the Summer there, Robin held onto whatever hope she had left that this would turn around… that there would be a silver lining to her heart-ache and financial distress caused by these people. She never lost her sense of good, and always looked on the bright side… even though those of us that love her could see that this situation was seriously taking it’s toll on her health.
Finally, this fall, Robin had enough and realized all of Patty’s lies and came upon the harsh realization that Patty would not leave of her own. It wasn’t until after the personal attacks of her person, her reputation, her health, her relationships and the realization that she would not have enough hay to last through the winter; that Robin finally turned her back on Patty. She told them that they were now responsible for all the care and feeding of the horses and that they were to provide their own hay for them as well and that they needed to find a new place. This is when the true evil of these people showed through. Robin was once again in Vegas for the NFR, a full year had come to fruition and it was only fitting that this would also be the time where Patty once again attempted to take Robin down. While she was gone, I received notice that Kenny had called the Humane Society on Robin, claiming that she was withholding food and water from the horses and they desperately needed help getting their horses out of there. On top of that, in an attempt to ruin Robin’s reputation even more, they spun a web of lies including that Robin had murdered five of their horses last winter and were starving them. Luckily, the Humane Society officer is a smart woman and has seen situations like this many times. After a quick inspection, it was evident that the horses had food and water and a quick vet check showed that the horses’ teeth had not been done and was a major factor in their body condition.
The last few weeks have been a long and grueling ordeal, but it is finally coming to an end. Three horses were granted to Robin for ownership and only four remain on her property as of now. It is unclear whether or not they will be removed as well or if these final four will also be granted over to Robin to find homes for. What is certain, is that Patty is no longer welcome on the property and as of January 5th (thanks to a new contract she signed), she will be out of Robin’s life, no longer allowed on the property and any horses left will be forfeited to Robin to do with as she sees fit.
The story you have just read is an extremely condensed version of the last 13 months of hell that has taken place in Robin’s life. Now the horses that have been taken were taken in by a new rescue, a rescue that fortunately for them, has contacted Robin with questions. Despite all they had (no doubt) heard about Robin from Patty (who is calling herself Penny now), they contacted her. Robin will be working with them to help get more funding and lend her expertise of these horses to help the new Rescue care for them and find homes for them, or put down the ones that need to be put down. This here is the silver lining, that after a year of hell, these horses will finally get out from underneath a true hoarder that could not provide adequate care for them. It is unrealistic to hope that this is where the line ends for the evil that the Simpkins have done to Robin and many before her, but at least we can all know that of the 20 horses that were brought in, they all will find help. Whether that help is in the form of humane euthanasia, or in a new home… they will no longer have to suffer with Patty and neither will Robin. Who, as per her character, I am proud to say she did not let this tarnish her good soul. She still has the biggest heart of any person I know and will gladly give the shirt off her back to anyone in need. Only next time she will be sure to do background checks first!
