Memorials and tributes invited!

There's no doubt that horses can have a profound effect on a person's life! Like you, we truly love and cherish the time we get to spend with these creatures. It's been said that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a person, and there's no denying it! They sure do get under your skin. We invite our clients and friends to share their stories as a tribute or memorial to living or deceased horse friends you have known. Please email them to us, and include a picture if you have one.

Memorial to Fly Alex Fly by Deborah S.

Five years, ago, I had an uncommon stroke of good luck when I met Kathy D. and her Fourth-Level Quarter Horse, horse, Alex. Kathy was looking for someone to take a full lease on Alex, and I was looking for a schoolmaster. It turned out to be a perfect match for all three of us.

Alex had an amazing history. He was born in 1970 and spent his first years on the quarter-mile racetrack. Then he was ridden to Preliminary Level in eventing. By the time I met him, he had gone to Fourth Level in dressage, and he was 27 years old. But Alex was amazing not just because he could still do upper-level work at age 27, but because you knew the instant you met him that here was an old soul. I couldnÕt possibly tell you in a few minutes everything I learned from this extraordinary creature. There are a lot of ÒAlex stories,Ó believe me! And the things I learned from him were not just about riding, but about life itself. Alex entered my life during a dark and difficult time. And in the years that I knew him, he taught me about getting through. About having faith in yourself, accepting lifeÕs twists and turns, and coming out on top and winning in the end, against all odds.

Alex was the most self-possessed creature I have ever known. He knew exactly who he was, and he never let you forget it, either. He always expected others to be on their best behavior. He did not suffer fools gladly. And at the end, he left in the same way that he had livedÑwith grace and dignity.

In the time I had with Alex, Kathy D. did everything you could imagine to make him my horse in the truest sense. So before I present this award, I want to thank Kathy, who couldnÕt be here tonight, for her extraordinary generosity and friendship. The other person whoÕs not here and who I want to thank is Athena Haresign. It was through Athena that I first met Kathy and Alex, and she has been a stalwart friend to us through the years. Athena was also with me and Al at the end, and IÕm grateful beyond words for that, because he was in good hands, and he suffered no indignities. That would have been very important to him.

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Alex was greatly loved, and in return he gave us gifts beyond measure.

The lessons he taught me were about compassion, and trust, and loyalty, and honesty. About self-possession and dignity. About knowing yourself, truly and completely.

Lessons about joy, and strength, and perseverance. About pulling through, preposterously, against all odds.

And lessons about integrity, and about grace. About surrendering to time the gifts of youth. About having a sense of what is appropriate; of knowing where you belong, and who you are.

And he taught me lessons about love, the greatest gift of all. AlexÕs imperious manner belied his generous heart, which he gave to us completely, but not freely; not without asking of us in return respect, and that we pay attention.

Gifts beyond measure. Like Athena said, Alex was a bright light. One that hasnÕt gone out, and, I believe, never will. HeÕs just over there, just at the edge of what we can see, ambling across the pasture, looking for just the right rolling spot, having left behind a permanent incandescence that will illumuinate my heart, and the hearts of those who knew him and loved him, for all the days to come.

A tribute to Smokey Cody 288

Smokey is a 1988 quarter horse gelding who tore his deep digital flexor tendon in multiple places, and if that weren't bad enough, developed a tendon-sheath infection that required several surgeries to heal.

Due to the diligence of his owner, Elsie C, he was able to make a remarkable recovery! His therapy included swimming at Chanceland Farm in Ellicott City, Maryland, as well as at the Northern Virginia Swim Center. His owner, Elsie, diligently hand-walked him daily, wrapped his legs, and performed physical therapy to break down the scar tissue. Elsie's efforts paid off with a sound horse who was able to be turned out normally, ridden in dressage lessons, and jump anything on trail rides.

Memorial to Seek and Find

Seek and Find was a lovely english-bred TB mare owned by Athena Haresign and Muddy Paddock Sport Horses. About a week after her horse show debut where she took first place in a green hunter division she fell in a quicksand type substance along a riverbed.

With no warning the ground gave way, and she was sucked in to her shoulder. She didn't panic, but reared back and pulled herself out with all her might. As you can imagine, it was very traumatic mentally and physically.

She'd pulled muscles, ligaments, and tendons all over her body, and was very painful. Sadly, she never became riding sound, however, she did produce three lovely Oldenburg approved foals, Dream Catcher, Fifth Element, and Dascha before stomach ulcers claimed her life at the early age of fourteen. Although she lived with some discomfort, she loved being a mom, going to breed shows, and showing off her foals.