Barbara Ellen Ries Writes:

enclosed is my story, sweet adeline's story of courage - it is with the heart ones sees rightly what is essential is invisible to the eye (antoine saint de exupery)THE LITTLE PRINCE. it’s about sweet adeline, a horse that saved 12 people's lives, keeping them steadfast against the founding wall during a f3 tornado. adeline did not exhibit flight survival behavior; she kicked three people to the ground and kept us unaware of the approaching storm. she had an intuitive sixth sense of danger approaching. she became a hero that day and the leader of the herd.
i’m one of the storm’s survivors, and i’m here to tell the story of a hero. there is no greater honor than to save someone’s life. it is an even greater honor to save their lives back. sweet adeline needed for me to tell our story.

one ponders the last seconds of sweet adeline’s decision that day, when she corralled a group of 13 visitors against the founding wall at serendipity stables putting her own life at risk to protect the people against the oncoming f4 tornado. the 13 visitors were participating in a horse companion visit at the serendipity stables in york center, ohio, when an f4 tornado circled the building, completely collapsing the stable.

the huge gusts lasted 15 seconds, intensifying at midpoint, with winds reaching 200 miles per hour; it seemed time stood still. while the wind swirled sweet adeline kicked three people to the ground to prevent their sure demise. she then emerged cut and battered from the rubble of the building, galloping as the fury passed. the roar of the wind was filled with the power of the stratosphere and the magnitude of all four directions coming together in what native americans call the arrival of the thunder beings and messengers.


a vortex of earth’s power sucking and winding in a counter to any clockwise fashion. during five seconds of time a howl and a piercing came through every board in the stable, demolishing any thought or question as to the nature of the event. crouching one's self did bring angelic comfort to all seeking shelter from the storm.


three horses led the wind around the barn, racing against the wind and the wind won out. parker, tristan, and yankee, being the elder horses, were in line with the angels to cooperate with the forces to buffer harms way for the two legged beings. the horses knew of no other choice but to give their lives in sacrifice. all three horses kept the two leggeds near a safe haven. the visitors had only minor injuries, but not one perished during the storm’s plight.



barbara ries is on the left, standing in front of the foundation wall one week after the storm.
finally, visibility returned. every person told, as was documented on the front page of the columbus paper, about thirteen people, but in reality, there were only twelve present. the 13th person was there only a few seconds for the miracle. the thirteenth person spared the lives of twelve to tell the story