10/30/2024
Jesse will always be the horse that made me, but Barbie might be the horse that saved me.
Gods timing definitely was in play with both these amazing mares.
Jesse raised me, taught me to win, lose, and got me places I could only dream of. I got her when I was 11 she was 4 and we attended our last circuit finals when I was 25 and she was 18. Jesse is still giving advice to the babies and furure of Dark Horse Equine at 30 years old.
I rode Jesse to over 10 CPRA Colorado Pro Rodeo Association Finals qualifications and Rookie of the year, 10 WRA Finals qualifications and rookie of the year, 3 Mountain States PRCA circuit finals qualifications and Rookie of the year. Her LTE is over 100k.
We bought Barbie 30 days prior to loosing our youngest daughter last October. I would of never purchased her while grieving or after loosing Ronnie. I also would not be moving if I was not forced to by the love of my family and the passion for my horses.
God knew I needed Barbie. She became a little bit of light in very dark times. Ry would beg me to get up and ,"go ride Judy" so no matter how hard I wanted to die along with my baby, Brady, Ry, and Barbie would make me get sunshine, smell my horses noses, and see the blessings that were still remaining in our life. The 3 of them helped push this grieving mother to keep moving.
There are good and bad days for sure. Being home was hard for all of us. We decided as a family to get out and go. Go to rodeos we had never been to. Spend every minute together with our family, horses, and dogs in our rig, See things we have never seen and just be together because we know all to well you never know when will be your last snuggle, giggles, smells, smiles, and memories.
In our first season Barbie and I learned alot, became a team, and accomplished so much. Often I'd be crying in the alley only to come out with a smile. The wins are different when your life is forever separated into the "before and after".
We qualified for the CPRA finals, where she was nominated by her peers as Horse of the Year.
We qualified for the MSCF finals, where she again was voted as Barrel Horse of the Year by her peers and we were voted as Team with the Most Heart.
We have won over 20k in our first season together, but more importantly we are still moving.
Life is cruel, but along the way there are so many beautiful things and moments to cherish.
There are many great horses that have helped me acomplish so much, but it is the horses like these that carry some of the weight of our burdens for us allowing us to smile even if its for a short amount of time that leave the biggest footprints on your heart.