11/15/2025
You guys share so many personal experiences with me it wouldn't feel right not to share with you the hard times I struggle with with loss as well. Some of you know I have had a horse for 23 years now and some of you even got to meet him at our last place. My heart is heavy to share he is no longer with us. He did not suffer and died of old age at 27 years old which is phenomenal for a horse with injuries off the race track.
I met Willie when he was almost 4 and he was the craziest most muscular horse I had ever seen, our souls connected. He was not fond of my dad or men for that matter for years because he associated them with force on the race track. He did learn to love men when Greg came into our life and he always had a soft spot for kids. He has bit and kicked so many people off his back but in 23 years not once to me. He was a big reason why I started my training career, enjoy the photos of younger me...😂 He taught me the more force and frustration the bigger the emotional reactions I would get. The calmer and slower I trainer the faster and more willing he was to participate and learn.
He was by far one of the smartest horses, I was training him without even knowing I was training him. Gate could have flown open and when I came home he would be standing there waiting at the threshold. He could open or pick ANY lock which is why containing and forcing him to be stalled wasn't a great option. We built trust and in the end he did anything for me. His favorite trick like all my animals were giving out KISSES 😘 He went on jogs with me while I jogged alongside no halter, he played fetch and protected me from all wildlife! We rode western, English but our favorite was reining and barrel racing. Resilience is something he had more than enough. He had many hoof infections and once a very bad kick to the heart that swelled like a football and he never skipped a beat, literally. Once he survived a barn fire that all other horses burned alive in and there he was running to me in the field like a dream come true. He had skin cancer twice which is why I brought him home but we overcame that too, 8 years ago! He ran until the day he passed, he lived a great life.
