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MADISON — In her work with blind horses, Emilie Storch found an ally in neighbor Terra Swinney.

Storch’s horses periodically wandered away from her property, and Swinney would call Storch when she noticed them loose.

Swinney and her husband, Kerry, would often help return them home, Storch said.

“She was aware of our blind horses, very interested in them and always watchful over them,” Storch said.

Swinney, 28, died Wednesday when a tree fell on her truck on Witty Road. Her 2-year-old son, Tristen, was in the back seat but escaped injury.

Recent heavy rains caused trees to fall across the county, and the Madison woman was killed when one fell from the side of the road as she drove home, the Highway Patrol said.

Swinney’s funeral is scheduled for Monday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Greensboro. She was president of Bridlewood Executive Suites, according to the business center’s Web site.

Her neighbors said it was common to see Swinney in her yard taking care of her horses or playing with her son.

Swinney owned six horses and a mule, said neighbor Rick Christy.

Christy, who sold Swinney her land on Lowe Road three years ago, said she always had a smile, a wave and “a kind word for everybody.”

Swinney was a champion cutting-horse competitor, according to her obituary. Storch said she was a meticulous horse owner who was very particular about how her horses were trained and what they were fed.

Swinney also enjoyed being a mom.

Christy said he would often hear shouts of happiness from the family’s yard as she played with Tristen.

Storch, who cares for and trains blind horses through the organization Flurry’s Hope, plans to remember Swinney during a fundraiser for the nonprofit today.

Any sympathy cards dropped off at this event will be delivered to the family.

The fundraiser, an antique show and farm fair, will begin at 8 a.m. at 570 Lowe Road in Madison.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com