PITTSFORD — Deb Hathaway would like to thank the woman who helped save her horses — and possibly her family.

"It would be great if she stopped by the farm," Hathaway said Friday.

Hathaway said nobody caught the name of the woman who was driving by and saw the flames coming out of the Hathaway Farm's barn on West Creek Road early Wednesday morning. The barn had been hit by lighting and her family was asleep when their unknown benefactor happened by at around midnight.

The woman pulled into the driveway, Hathaway said, and honked her horn until they woke up.

"I talked to her briefly after we got the horses out of the barn and she stayed with the children until their grandmother came," she said. "She waited until everything was OK and then quietly left."

Hathaway said she also wanted to thank friend Geody Severance who helped her get the horses out and the volunteer firefighters who put out the fire.

Hathaway said all five horses got out of the barn safely and were treated for smoke inhalation after they were rounded up from the woods.

"They were given antibiotics and medications to take care of it," she said. "They're doing well."

Hathaway participates in horse shows and rodeos around New England and said some of the horses rescued from the barn were show horses.

"Two of them were Reserve New England champions," she said. "One had gone to the World Barrel Racing Championships and done well."

Firefighters said they arrived to find the barn engulfed in flames but managed to put the fire out before it could spread to any adjacent buildings. Hathaway said the horses were staying in a temporary structure on-site.

"We're slowly getting back, changing things around," she said.

gordon.dritschilo@rutland herald.com