An East Tennessee mother has come up with a way to honor her daughter who died.
A scholarship will help fulfill her daughter's dream for others.
"As long as I can remember she loved horses," Jennifer Gibson said.
When her daughter was 5 years old, Abby Gibson started riding lesson ponies.
Over the years she advanced to quarter ponies.
"She rode English. She did Dressage and she did jumping. And she loved jumping. That was her favorite," she said.
Jennifer Gibson said horses were Abby's first love but her daughter felt a connection with all animals, everything from bugs to whales.
"We used to hike a lot. And she would say, I met a deer today or I met a chipmunk. She just loved all animals," she said.
Two years ago, in the summer of 2010, Abby was 10 years old.
The family went to Florida for vacation and Abby swam with dolphins.
Later that summer at a horse camp, for only the second time ever, she fell off a horse.
"They ended up ruling it blunt force trauma to her abdomen and it fractured her liver and they couldn't stop the bleeding," Jennifer explained.
It was an accident that took Abby's life.
In her grief, her mother focused on a way to honor Abby' s memory.
"She wanted to be a veterinarian," Jennifer said.
Abby's dream was to attend the UT College of Veterinary Medicine. Her mom is keeping that dream alive for others.
"I decided the scholarship would be really good since she wanted to go there so badly and she always loved school," she said.
She's raising money to endow the Abby Gibson Veterinary Medicine Scholarship.
"Family, friends, strangers, people have donated and asked how they could help out," she said.
She came up with a fundraiser she thinks Abby would have liked. She calls it the Walk and Wag Dog Walk.
PetSafe is sponsoring the event Saturday June 2nd at Victor Ashe Park.
"I was trying to make it fun for families and for dog owners too," Jennifer said.
Once the scholarship is fully funded it will help a student do what Abby wanted to do, work with animals.
The scholarship named for her will keep Abby's memory alive.
"She was smart, beautiful, she had a really kind heart. She cared a lot about her family, friends. She definitely lived life to the fullest," her mother said.
You can pre-register for Walk and Wag through the weekend.
A registration booth will be set up this Saturday at the PetSmart on Morrell Road from 10:00 to 2:00.