Pleasanton Nonprofit Sews Bags To Help Horses In Need

PLEASANTON, CA — Clothing and accessories often come at the expense of animals. But thanks to the efforts of a Pleasanton nonprofit, buying a bag could save a horse or donkey from being killed.

Big Bay Ray, founded by Pleasanton resident Gretchen Kyle, collects grain feed bags from local barns and stables, and a team of volunteers turn them into a wide variety of animal-themed tote bags. All proceeds are donated to horse rescue teams around the country that prevent horses from being auctioned and taken to kill centers in Mexico and Canada.

Caring for horses is expensive, and many people give them up because they can no longer afford the costs. After that, they are taken to auction. If no one purchases them, the “meat men” in the audience will take them. Big Bay Ray uses the proceeds from its bags to partner with rescue organizations to help struggling owners, and make sure that horses go to anyone except the meat men.

“If you don’t have the money, you’re not going to take on any horses, so Big Bay Ray picks a rescue partner every year and helps them financially, so that when someone calls and says, I can no longer care for my horse, can you take them, that rescue maybe can say yes, knowing they’ve got the money to take care of them,” Kyle said. In addition to helping with horse rescue, Big Bay Ray also donated to the UC Davis Emergency Response Team to battle wildfires, and to other horse-related charities, including a Livermore therapeutic riding organization called Reins In Motion.

The organization was named after a former track horse named Big Bay Ray, who was rescued by Kyle’s daughter Jenna in 2012. The stables were having trouble caring for the horse, and Jenna decided to take him on. “My daughter took one look at him, and he took a look at her, and they fell in love,” Kyle remembered. She eventually adopted him.

“Financially, I had no business getting a horse, but I couldn’t say no,” Jenna said on the organization’s website. “So, with Ray in tow in a trailer, we headed North so that he could be closer to me. Ray was my best friend and the best horse I could’ve ever asked for. Like most rescue horses, he loved me and trusted me when he had no reason to trust anyone after his abandonment.”

While caring for Ray Ray, Kyle began to notice non-recyclable grain bags made out of polypropylene. “Some of them are super cute, like a huge pig and a baby sow, and horses jumping over in full color - some of them are like art actually,” she said. “So I approached the lady who had the rescue on our property, and I said, hey, if you sold these as shopping bags, you could make some money for your rescue.”

The woman wasn’t interested, but after Ray Ray died in January 2017, Kyle began doing exactly that.

She began going around to local stables and asking ranch hands for attractive feed bags. She then washes them, and takes them to a team of volunteers aged anywhere from 15 to 85 years old. Now, the team sews shopping bag-sized reusable bags, with photos of sheep, pigs, rabbits, and of course, many different horses. All totes cost $20.

Kyle picks each bag up, and tries to get the word out. The publicity aspect has not been as simple as she’d hoped, especially for a cash-strapped nonprofit trying to donate all of its money to horse and donkey rescue. She asked over 100 stores in Pleasanton if they could put up a temporary sign in their window advertising the charity, and only two said yes. One of them was Iron Horse Realty, which has also agreed to put up bags and signs for all varieties of community organizations and initiatives.

“We are very proud to support the work of Big Bay Ray!” owner Dan Starkey told Patch in an email. “As horse lovers ourselves, we are glad to help and our Pleasanton community is very supportive of their work. We display and sell Big Bay Ray repurposed bags in our store front window and 100% of the proceeds go towards saving the lives of horses and donkeys. People come in just to buy the bags or make a cash donation. Big Bay Ray's Founder Gretchen is an enthusiastic and passionate leader of the cause and she's [become] a good friend and partner of JPAR Iron Horse Real Estate.”

Kyle has also tried to exhibit at farmer’s markets, but has been frustrated that nonprofits are required to pay a $150 fee for booths. “I have been bending the [Pleasanton] Downtown Association’s ear, saying, you have empty spots in the farmer’s market all the time, and especially during COVID, only half the vendors showed up. In the winter, if you’re a vendor and you sell strawberries, you’re not there, and there’s always space. Why can’t you rotate…and dedicate six spots each weekend to the first six nonprofits that contact us?” she said.

The owner of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association, which runs the farmer’s markets in Pleasanton, Livermore, and Fremont, told Kyle she could exhibit for free in Livermore and Fremont whenever she wanted.

“I’m a Pleasanton resident. Why should I have to load up my car and go to Fremont or Livermore? My nonprofit is here. I live here,” she said.

“The Pleasanton Downtown Association is a non-profit (501c6) as well and the funds generated from the Farmers Market table rentals are an important source of income for our organization,” Laura Brooks, the interim executive director of the PDA, told Patch in an email. “We did a lot of research about [the] cost of marketing and table space at other markets in the Bay Area and we feel that the $150 is very reasonable for the amount of reach and exposure an organization can receive during our market. Plus, we allow organizations to sell items at their booth so there is the opportunity to recoup the fee and make additional income as well.”

Despite the challenges, the organization continues to honor Ray’s legacy through helping fellow horses and the planet.

“The loss of any animal is incredibly tough, but horse owners will describe a very deep pain that lasts for months or years after the loss of a horse,” Jenna Kyle wrote. “I still grieve the loss of Ray. I hope that this non-profit is an honor to Ray’s spirit and encourages others to support horse rescues, whether it is by buying our merchandise or making private donations to Big Bay Ray, Inc. in support of horse rescue organizations.”

Visit bigbayray.com for more information.