Brooke Christy with her mother, Sue Battles, as a Lead Line competitor.

Brooke Christy, daughter of Florida trainers Sue Battles and Rick Christy, lost everything in a house fire, on High Road in Tallahassee, Florida, in the early morning hours on Saturday.

Brooke, a former AQHA Hunter Under Saddle and Showmanship exhibitor, who also competed at local Hunter Shows and at HITS, and two other girls, Rachel Girardin and Marissa Hansbrough, have been renting the house while attending Florida State University, where Brooke is a sophomore studying Political Science and International Affairs. She is currently working as an intern for Senator Bill Nelson in Tallahassee and works part time.

Brooke’s father, Rick Christy is currently judging the 2016 All American Quarter Horse Congress. Her mother, Sue Battles, works for Florida trainer, Heidi Cecil.

“We had a party and decorated the yard with outdoor lights,” Christy said. “The fire started in the corner where the extension cord was plugged in.”

According to Christy, the roommates managed to get a few personal belongings out because their bedrooms were in the only space in the house that wasn’t totally scorched.

“Everything is so black we don’t know if anything at all is salvageable,” she said. “It was insane because we couldn’t find my roommate or one dog for about 10 minutes. I literally dropped to the ground crying. It was the scariest moment of my life.

Christy’s friend, Maria Rodriguez has established A GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/help-for-brookes-burnt-down-house-2vjsrgc4) to help Christy recover financially.

“Thankfully, everyone is safe but her entire house and most of her things are totally destroyed,” she wrote on the page. “Needless to say, this would be a traumatic experience for anyone, but especially a college student working hard to pay her way through school.”

Rodriguez said that if you know Brooke, you know how hard-working and how willing she is to help her friends.

“She does everything she can to do well in all of her classes, in her internship and at work, she wrote. “From a young age she has been extremely self-sufficient and has provided for herself. For as long as I have known her she has always had one or two jobs to pay for everything she needs. No matter how difficult things get she always has a smile on her face and a wonderful attitude towards life. I cannot express enough how much I admire her. Even though she is younger than me, I look up to her in so many ways.”

Kerry Bradac, owner of Bradac Ranch South, in Ocala, Florida, knows that first hand. Last summer she worked at the ranch and Bradac said there is not a better person.

“I cannot say enough great things about this young woman. She is one of the best kids I’ve ever been around,” she said. “I’m so thankful that Brookem and her roommates are safe.”

Christy said she is grateful for the outpouring of support she and her roommates have received.

“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone,” she wrote on her personal Facebook page. “I really have been at a loss for words over the kindness and giving from everyone. Never have I been more humbled or felt so loved. We are still trying to salvage and clean things up. We aren’t sure what can be cleaned up enough to save but we will keep everyone posted.

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