Lady Wonder: The Telepathic Horse
The year was either 1924 or 1925, depending on which sources you check into. At any rate, a farm wife named C. D. Fonda, of Richmond, Virginia, saw something she desperately wanted: a two-week-old foal. The reason she wanted this particular animal was because she sensed that it was unusually intelligent.
Her husband purchased the filly for her, and Mrs. Fonda carefully hand-raised her and dutifully bottle-fed the creature. The horse naturally developed a strong bond with humans. She named the mare ‘Lady’, and later the name ‘Wonder’ would be tacked on, the reason why being very evident as you read on.
As an adult, Lady Wonder looked perfectly ordinary. She wasn’t even especially pretty, even for a horse. She had champion bloodlines, being the granddaughter of a Thoroughbred race horse, and related to a well-known winner of the era, yet the black mare with a crooked blaze and three white stockings was never raced. Her claim to fame would be an altogether different track, so to speak.
The first indication that Lady Wonder was highly unusual was when she would come running to her owners – before they had called to her. Reportedly, all they had to do was think about calling her and she’d come!
Mrs. Fonda tried to teach Lady how to spell by using children’s play blocks to spell words in front of her. Later, when some kids were visiting and playing with Lady, they attempted to hide objects from the horse and have her search for them. To their amazement, Lady found each and every object without hesitation! No matter how carefully well-hidden, the mare was able to locate each and every one.
As for the spelling lessons, Lady had been paying attention – she began to spell words on her own with the blocks. Not only that, she seemed able to predict the future, like the time she spelled ‘engine’ shortly before a tractor came into view.
Not long after, friends and visitors began showing up to ask questions of the mare. To everyone’s amazement, the answers given by the horse were nearly always dead-on correct. She was asked what year was on a coin that one of the spectators held. Lady correctly spelled out 1914. She was asked what time was on a clock hidden from her view, and again correctly spelled out the time (ten minutes after six). She was asked what the name of a young boy she’d never met before in the audience was, and she correctly spelled out L-E-R-O-Y with the blocks. No one had uttered the boy’s name out loud, not even in a whisper. She also spelled out other people’s names or even middle names upon request, some of whom were complete strangers to her.
Eventually the wooden blocks were replaced with tin plates with letters and numbers painted on them, and held up by a string, much like a clothesline. This allowed Lady to spell out words by pushing the plates with her nose.
The authorities in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, already in the early 1950’s had asked Lady Wonder to help them find four-year-old Danny Matson. They had heard how Lady Wonder predicted the winner of the World Series and now this little boy had been missing for months, they were counting on some sort of a miracle. Lady Wonder “told” the police to go searching for the boy at a water-filled stone quarry and although the site had already been searched without yielding any evidence connected to the case, the body of Danny then was found there.
In October 1955, three-year-old Ronnie Weitcamp disappeared after he left three playmates in his front yard. The sheriff’s deputies and the Indiana state police, accompanied by about fifteen hundred employees of the local navy depot combed thousands of wooded acres looking for the toddler. But Ronnie had disappeared while scooting… and without leaving one single trace. Had Ronnie been kidnapped or murdered? Was he lost? Countless leads and clues poured in to the police department, but no solid evidence emerged.
By the end of October the official search was called off. Journalist Frank Edwards, who was also a paranormal researcher, then news director of the television station WTTV at Bloomington. He remembered the strange tale of Lady Wonder, contacted a friend who lived near Mrs Fonda and asked him to see if her paranormal mare could offer any help in finding Ronnie Weitcamp.
Edwards was unable to travel to Virginia, but he sent some colleagues to visit the paranormal mare. What followed might seem too uncanny to accept, but it really happened…
“Do you know why we are here?” they asked the psychic detective, and by flipping out large tin letters that hung from an iron bar across her stall, Lady Wonder answered immediately: “B-O-Y”.
When asked the toddler’s name, she responded: “R-O-N-E,” which is close enough for a 30 year old psychic horse.
“Is he dead or alive?” they asked her.
Lady Wonder spelled: “D-E-A-D”.
“Was he kidnapped?”
“N-O.”
“What is near him?”
“E-L-M.”
Lady Wonder also indicated the soil around Ronnie was sandy, and that he would be found in December (”D-E-C”). At this point, Lady walked away, apparently done with the interrogation.
Edwards broadcasted the information provided by the talking telepathic horse on October 24. The story received widespread ridicule and criticism… until the woods near where Ronnie had lived and disappeared were again extensively searched in early December. His body was found in a shallow indentation in the ground by two teenagers. There was sand in the area, as well as an elm tree not far away. It was determined that Ronnie had died of exposure, not foul play.
Whatever Lady Wonder’s secrets were, she took them to her grave. She died on March 19, 1957, a few short days after suffering a heart attack. She was buried at the pet cemetery in Richmond, Virginia where she still rests.
Book Review:
Unspoken Messages: Spiritual Lessons I Learned from Horses and Other Earthbound Souls
This is a must-read for people who love animals and those looking for a spiritual journey to help them travel through life. The book shows that our general perception about death is incorrect as it is not the end, merely a transition of spirit. Whatever emotions you experience, you always stay connected to the story throughout. Richard has shared his most private moments with readers, wrestling with confusion, enlightenment, joy and sorrow.
This story has been cleverly divided by author Richard Rowland into two parts, the way is connected to another is almost seamless. The first half of the book narrates stories about Richard horses, dog, cat and other animals, and people whose lives and circumstances influenced Richard in a manner to see beyond his regular scope of vision. They taught him to see with his spirit and that there are no coincidences.
You will meet many characters who will become your friends and at times your guide. You will share a few intense moments with deep thoughts. It may happen that sometimes your mind race ahead of the words on the page and you may wonder what the purpose behind telling this story is only to realize later that it was important for us to feel the spiritual growth.
The journey will then take you to part two with the wisdom and reassurance that animals have, their ancient abilities to communicate with us if we let them. It shows how ancient wisdom and learning to explore new paths and modalities can benefit people and their loved ones facing life-threatening or altering prognoses and challenges.
Richard faced this situation in 2008 when he was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer. He and his wife were devastated focused and determined to meet the challenge. He used lessons learned from Pal and guidance from his wife, a trained holistic nutritionist, to face the challenge. In this section readers can experience the benefit of his research and experience into alternate forms of treatment and healing with a message of hope.
You can purchase the book on Amazon here. Also you can find the book on balboa Press website.
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Lady Wonder, Richmond Times Dispatch Archive Lady Wonder, Kidnappings Murder & Mayhem blog Lady Wonder, Richmond, Then & Now Lady Wonder, Cyclopedia (dot) net
