Oct. 16 1995
Quarter Horse
I fell in love with Nugget the first time I rode him.
At that time he belonged to my dear friend and teacher Barry Cooper.
I had only been riding and showing horses for about a year but it came
naturally to me. This beautiful Palomino gelding wasn’t ‘show’ quality
but he had talent. We never won the confirmation or halter classes but
we were unstoppable together when it came to performance.
Over the next couple years we developed a bond so strong I can’t put
it into words. We worked hard and played harder.
He was my best friend and really helped me make it through the
toughest part of my life. Barry knew that Nugget and I were inseparable
so he agreed to sell the horse he swore he’d never part with.
I wanted a new challenge so I announced my decision to begin
Reining possibly the most difficult event in western riding.
Barry said at that point he just didn’t have the time it would take
to train me. Fortunately the horse was already trained so I decided
to teach myself. No one thought I could do it.
The next year Nugget and I won the state championship in Reining.
We had actually qualified for the Regional competition.
Unfortunately before the Regionals Nugget was diagnosed with a
rotated coffin bone a serious injury that if severe enough calls for
euthanasia. Fortunately Nugget’s condition was only slight.
But Regionals were out and we would never rein again.
I could still ride him but we had to take it easy.
It was time for him to retire from the show ring.
Nugget and I enjoyed his retirement riding bareback through the
fields of my parents farm in Tennessee and exploring dirt roads
in the mountains of Appalachia.
The next fall school kept me really busy but I still spent every
spare minute with my best friend. One day I came home from school
and told my mother I was going to the barn.
She suggested I call my friend Heather and go out instead.
I thought it was out of character for my mom to make that suggestion
but decided I should spend more time with the few human friends
I did have before the completely gave up on me.
So Heather and I went to the park. After awhile I started talking about
Nugget and asked her if she wanted to go to the farm and ride the horses.
She said she didn’t want to and I thought that was a strange
response but didn’t pay much attention to it.
Later when I dropped her off at her house she began to cry.
I asked her if she needed to talk about something and she said no.
Feeling rather perplexed I asked if she were sure and
she said yes and she gave me the saddest look I’d ever seen.
When I got home Mom and Dad were sitting at the kitchen table.
I knew by the looks on their faces something was terribly wrong.
I immediately asked what’s wrong who is it who’s dead but in my
heart I already knew. The days events made sense.
Mom keeping me away from the barn. Heather not wanting to go
to the farm. The look she gave me when she said good-bye.
I collapsed on the kitchen floor and sat there hugging my knees
and sobbing. I will never forget that moment as long as I live.
Mom sat down next to me and put her arms around me and said
it was a freak accident we did everything we could.
I looked at my Dad hoping he would say it was some mistake or
it wasn’t true but the tears in his eyes said it all.
All the memories came flooding back. The first time I rode him.
Jumping bareback over a fallen tree on some obscure trail
somewhere in the smoky mountains. Walking into the arena and
feeling the hush of the audience as we begin a reining pattern
number three at the state show.
The inertia of him spinning underneath me. The burst of speed
as he breaks into a gallop. The powerful force of his sliding stop
as the crowd comes to life and the voices of my parents over
the crowd woohooing and yeehaaing knowing that we’d won
without being told. The moment they called our names over the
loud speaker telling us we had one the state championship.
The way he nickered at me every time I entered the barn.
How he loved drinking from a water hose. Wading into a lake and
the feel of him swimming when he could no longer touch the bottom.
The rush of wind and exhilaration as we raced ahead to cut off
a herd of cows and drive them home. All of these memories rushed
back and hit me full force at that moment that felt like an eternity.
It will be four years this November since his passing and I still
cry when I remember. I keep all of his things packed neatly in a box.
His show halter blanket leg wraps all the ribbons and trophies
news articles from our hometown paper about us pictures.
When I went to college two years later his picture went with me
and sat on my desk.
When I got my first apartment his picture sat on my night stand.
When I married and moved to South Carolina his picture sat on
an antique secretary in the foyer.
Now I’m living in California and his picture has a special place in
the living room for everyone to see.
No matter where I go I take his memory with me.
He will live forever in my heart.
Darlene
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