I bought Celzeus in 2001 as a 2 week old baby, and from the first moment I saw him he was captivating. I had originally gone to Marsha Parkinson's Canterbury Farm in Southern California to look at a 3 year old filly, but could not help asking how much Marsha wanted for this gorgeous, fiery little chestnut c**t. He was busily frisking around his mother, occasionally bucking and striking out at her
in little bursts of energy. Marsha said she wasn't selling him, so reluctantly I moved on to look at the filly I had originally inquired about. She was pretty, and very well bred, but had a "human eye" (which I don't like) and not only that, but my interests were now focused on the adorable little chestnut c**t I had first seen upon my arrival at Marsha's farm. When we arrived at the large paddock containing the older c**ts (2 yrs +), I found another c**t I was just smitten with from the start. He was the only grey in the group, and was intent upon getting my attention and some "love." When Marsha's assistant waved the c**ts off so I could observe their movements, this grey was absolutely amazing to watch. His motion was so effortless, so smooth, so beautiful; I knew then that I wanted to take home both of those c**ts, if it was the last thing I did. Marsha's assistant, Sage, was kind enough to provide the insight that Marsha was generally a very open-minded person, and that she would probably be impressed if I were to make her an offer on both c**ts. So, expecting to be disappointed, I hesitantly approached her after I had looked at all of her sale horses. I asked her if she would sell both c**ts to me, with unlimited retained breedings to the chestnut c**t she was so reluctant to part with. To my great surprise and elation, she agreed! Marsha is known in the Polish Arabian community to be a collector of incredible horses, and to have great knowledge of Polish lineage. At this moment, she provided insight into why she had been so reluctant to sell this little, un-named chestnut c**t. His mother, a beautiful chestnut mare named Candela, was growing old, and hadn't produced a c**t for Marsha until this beautiful boy was born. Candela is a gem, having been named European Supreme Champion prior to being imported to the US. The mating of Candela to Marsha's imported stallion, Goliat, had been well thought-out, and the pedigrees of both were impressive. The result was my c**t, Celzeus, a beautiful golden chestnut with four stockings and a striking blaze. When Zeus was 3 months old, shortly before he was weaned and shipped to my home, he contracted a serious viral infection that had already killed 12 of Marsha's amazing babies. He was still on antibiotics when he arrived, 6 months after I bought him. Shortly after his arrival, he took a turn for the worse. He was taken to UC Davis Equine Veterinary clinic, at the college, where he stayed for 1 week and endured a tracheotomy and constant treatment. He eventually recovered, much to my relief! Four years after I bought him, Zeus proved his worth. I had been given a 12 year old Arabian stallion named A Sentry, who had been used only for breeding. When I acquired him, I began attempting to get him under saddle myself, and was working him in a pasture adjacent to Zeus' paddock. One day, I was longing him and asked him to switch directions. He stopped abruptly and turned toward me and shook his head, as if to challenge me. When I encouraged him with the whip to turn and continue longing, he reared and came down into an aggressive charge. Sentry hit me under the eye with his teeth, knocking me onto my back. As I rolled over onto my stomach to crawl away, he ran over the top of me, stepping on my lower back, forearm, and thigh. I lifted my head to see where he was, after he'd run me over, and to my horror, he was coming back at me, teeth bared, ears pinned! I still feel to this day that he intended to finish what he'd started and stomp me into the ground. I screamed, and my scream was echoed by one from Zeus. He was screaming a challenge to Sentry, one that Sentry answered by charging straight for Zeus instead of me! I took advantage of Zeus having distracted Sentry, and reached into my jacket pocket for my cell phone. To my great benefit, my dad had happened to take that day off from work, just because, and was sitting in the house eating his lunch. I called the house and said in a calm voice, "Dad, I need you to come out right away and catch Sentry. He's run me over and I don't think I can catch him myself." He said in an equally calm voice "Okay, be right out." How he did not hear the two stallions screaming at each other as they fought, I don't know, but boy was he in for a shock when he came outside! Once we'd hung up, I laid my head back onto the grass and waited for him to come out and catch Sentry. Initially, he was walking calmly to the pasture, but as soon as he saw me laying prostrate on the ground, he forgot all about catching Sentry and ran to my aide. Get Sentry put away first, save Zeus!" I yelled. By that time, Sentry had damaged the fence-line separating Zeus & him, and I was afraid he'd get in with Zeus and injure him. My dad caught Sentry and quickly locked him in his paddock, tack and all, and ran back to see how badly I was hurt. "Where did he get you?" he asked. "My arm, my side, and my leg, I think." was my reply. He pulled up my sleeve to inspect my forearm, and discovered it was grotesquely swollen and already turning black & blue. "Let's get you inside" he said, and picked me up. Once we were inside and he made sure I was reasonably comfortable on the couch with an ice pack for my arm, he asked "what do you want me to do with Sentry?" I told him "just take off his tack and make sure he's got water, and make sure he didn't hurt Zeus!" Once he came back inside, he assured me that Zeus was none the worse for wear, but the fence needed mending. I was surprised to hear what my typically stoic father said next "I'm going to shoot that horse when we get you back from the hospital, Renee." I wouldn't hear of it, and suggested trying to find Sentry a new home with a very experienced (and informed) stallion handler, but that's a whole different story! Zeus got a huge helping of oats that night, and I got a tremendously strong pain killing shot that knocked me out for the rest of the night. In case some of you are wondering what kind of injuries I sustained in the attack, I was lucky. Thanks to Zeus distracting Sentry, I came out of the ordeal with a severe bone bruise on my forearm (surprisingly, it wasn't broken!), and a bruised kidney, and a whole lot of re-occurring pain in my arm and lower back. But, I am very thankful to be alive, and to have suffered such minor injuries. I honestly feel that if Zeus hadn't sounded a challenge, Sentry would have killed me that day. That is why Zeus is my hero, and he will always have a special place in my heart.
