09/07/2023
This is the hardest thing to write that I have ever written, and something that I have had to build up the strength and courage to do for a week now. My beautiful, courageous, fierce and undefeatable mother, Dr. Katarina Cernozubov Digman P.H.D., passed away last Thursday night. She was in her house, that we as a family built, on her magical farm, her favorite place. My godmother Hilarie Cash and I were by her side when she drew her last breath. Two months ago, she asked me to pick out her next horse, she was planning on riding the trails another 15 years… and I fully expected she would. She was a force, the strongest, smartest, most determined, fiercest woman, I have ever met. Always fighting for the under dog, always taking care of everyone else, but never herself. She saved/ healed / rescued countless horses, dogs, cats, and any other animal that needed her. She dedicated her life to helping children, starting the first official accredited therapeutic riding program in Hawaii and later starting a program in Oregon, which still operates today. There are literally hundreds of children who's lives have been changed for the better, because she cared. We didn’t always agree on everything, in fact we drove each other crazy at times, but we loved each other, always, and I was (and am) always so proud to be her daughter. Favorite things she used to tell me were; “Everything is Possible if you believe”, “never give up, when you fail, try try again”, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” , “actions speak louder than words”, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, and “just believe”. She pushed me to be the best I could be, to work hard, be tough, never give up, go for my dreams, she did her best to prepare me for a very hard world. One that was never easy for her. A world in which she always had to fight to survive, to accomplish her dreams, and she did. The Unicorn Ranch is a culmination of years of dreams and hard work. Born in Yugoslavia at the start of World War II, growing up with inadequate food, scared for her life, she managed to excel in school and earn a scholarship to study in America, the land of freedom and hope. She escaped communism and came to Hawaii to study as a young woman in her early twenties. What a paradise Hawaii must have seemed to her! Freedom! Warmth! Opportunities! She managed to stay in Hawaii, in America, and met my father, John Murray Digman (Jack), who was a University professor of Psychology there. Over time, through hard work, she earned her PHD, bought a house, and brought my grandmother to America. Her real dream however, was living in the “real wild west” and owning a ranch there. in 1990, she and my father made that dream a reality and bought the Unicorn ranch, which she and my family fixed up, built up, and made into a true safe haven, a paradise for children and animals. She has been living there and helping everyone in need, both two and four footed, furred and feathered, ever since. She will be so greatly missed, and never forgotten. She leaves behind myself, my son Dylan, and so many that love her. I will love you and miss you always mama. I hope you are riding the trails and exploring the mountains you so loved with Dushka and Daydream, I am sure they are so happy to see you again. I love you.
A memorial Service will be held in October.
Instead of flowers, please send donations to Katarina’s therapeutic riding program, The Unicorn Program. Click here for the website and link:
https://unicornranch.net/donate/