Good Horses~

It's time...  I need to write something about horses again.  I miss that so much.  Not as much as I do Farah, not as much as I do riding...  Still - always my favorite topic since my earliest memories, a topic I love to read & write about.

Our friend & mentor Dean Essex, DVM used to say;  "In your life, if you're very lucky, there will only be one or two good horses."  He was right.  Their are a lot of horses, but only a very few, are good ones.  The ones you trust to use their brain, to focus on the task, focus on you, give you what you ask for & agree to partner up.

Farah - June 9, 2015

 To my relatives, coming from the farm, horses were a part of everyday life.  Horsemen prided themselves on their horses.  The norm, thankfully, was well-cared for animals, who knew their jobs & did them well, day after day.  It wasn't until mechanized farming life got easier & horses became a luxury.

My Great-Grandmother Lucy Huffman's father & my Great-Great Grandfather Jones~

 I'm so thrilled to have the few photos that I do from that era.  These horses were magnificent in stature.  Breeding was about a good build & a useful animal.  As you can see above, Grandfather used a shank for control.

On the lead, my maternal Grandfather Arnold Kralik, with his stallion~

 I don't know the year of either of these photos, maybe one of my Aunt's might know who the other two men are.

Connie on Topsy, June, 1966

 My first mare, Topsy, was a good horse.  She taught me how to ride, or at least, how to stay on!  :-)  She would remember me from one year to the next & we flew down the sides of Iowa's country roads.  Summer on the farm was a dream come true for a city girl, living in Boulder.  I expected all horses, to be like her.  It was dejavu, when Farah & I did the same, so many years later.

Uncle  Bud Huffman's stallion, Sundown~

 I was always ready to talk horses.  Uncle Bud brought me the photo above of his stallion.  It holds a place of honor - as the first photo in my first photo album.

Donnie & Rocky Ridge Ali

 The next horse to impress me - Pat's stallion Rocky - sired by Ruminaja Ali.  The sire of my second mare Alexi, a gift for my 40th birthday.  Rocky had presence, as the good horses do, whether mares or stallions.  There are good geldings, but I've yet to meet one with real presence.  JMO

12-18-08 Tropic Lightening - owner, Dean Essex, DVM

Tropic Lightening was our friend Dean's Thoroughbred stallion.  If not for an injury, he would have been a star on the track.  He sired many good runners in his years at stud.  A gentleman in all respects.  My photo of him graced the month of December 2011, in the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Calendar. 

8-31-1997 - Jasrada & Connie

Jasrada was our second Arabian & the most opinionated!  She was Butch's mare first, but in 95, she & I went over to the dark side - Endurance, from a few years at Competitive Trail.  It was never as much about the ride to me, as it was having a relationship with my mare.  Our horses always came first & we gave them our best.  The miles I shared with three good mares & my love of the Equine species, will stay with me forever.