A Series of Fortunate Events

I think I've asked for a pony for Christmas ever since I was able to speak (well, that first Christmas I wanted a cow, but that's another story). My parents knew better than to make empty promises just to get their daughter to stop asking for a horse, so instead they side-stepped the issue, showering me with horsey accoutrements, driving me diligently back and forth to lessons several times a week and waking up at the crack of dawn to braid my pigtails and chauffeur me to horse shows. My "passing phase," however, quickly matured into a full-fledged obsession as I continued through high school and college, training and exercising horses for friends and competing intercollegiately for Lafayette College. When I graduated and moved to Chicago to pursue a Masters in Medical Illustration I feared that my riding would have to take a hiatus. However, even there I was able to find respite in the form of Noble Horse Theatre, an equine musical performance stable right in the heart of the city.

Me, Cowboy and Andy after a Noble Horse practice

After earning my degree I moved back east to Providence, RI to be with my boyfriend, Dan. He was finishing his doctorate so I, unable to immediately find a job in my field, opted to freelance while working full time as a receptionist for a local veterinarian. My quest to find a horse to ride/lease was short-lived as I was lucky enough to almost immediately discover Lucy - a then 4-year-old OTTB - through Craigslist of all places (kids, don't try this at home)! Her mom and I formed a quick and lasting friendship and will forever be bonded by our shared trials and tribulations in our quest to transform Lucy into a successful event horse (Kate maintains a fantastic blog about Lucy, by the way, which you can check out here).

Me and Lucy

Fast forward to mid-October: 

Dan had earned his PhD earlier in the summer, but was having difficulty finding viable job prospects in desirable areas so he was working at home as a full-time job hunter.......to save money we relocated from Providence to Bristol movng in with his dad, which put me an hour away from both my job and Lucy.......and my seemingly "sure-thing" illustration job in Kentucky, which I had been scouted for early last year, had turned into a "sure-thing-once-we-get-enough-money-to-start-which-may-be-quite-a-while," leaving me perpetually on hold.....

All in all it was at this fantastically unfortunate time that my good friend sent me the following text:

"Hey. I have a really nice, fancy 5-yr-old Irish TB...for free."

Usually I would brush a suggestion like this off without a second thought - after all, if I was looking for a free horse I could get ten of them off the internet in a second. Plus I had Lucy! But for whatever reason this text got to me and I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility. I forced myself to go to bed that night and not respond until morning when my head was clearer but, as I'm sure you have guessed, no matter how much my rational brain tried to shut this crazy idea down I found myself typing back "What's his name?"....

I went down to Pennsylvania to "look" at the horse the weekend that Superstorm Sandy was rolling up the coast. Charlie was out of shape but in great health, well-built and just about the sweetest horse I'd ever met. Let's just say it didn't take much convincing; he'd won me over without even trying. To make a long story short, his owner was a friend of my friend and owned several fancy horses. With a job that took too much of her time away from them, she was looking to downsize her crew in order to give the rest of her horses more quality time and Charlie a chance to really be something. I was sold.

Me and Charlie on our first ride together

While he weathered the storm at my friend's house in PA, I spent several weeks going over the finances to make sure this commitment was truly possible and researching countless barns in the area until I finally found the right one (wow are there some scary ones out there). It was going to take some sacrifices but I knew in my heart that this was one of those opportunities in life that I could not pass up. Then, this past weekend I (finally!) made the 6-hour road trip down to PA with the help of Kate, her husband and a rented trailer (thank you Tourbillon!) to pick up my new baby. 

Hey guys, what's up?

Exploring the new digs

It's going to be an exciting and life-changing ride, I'm sure, and I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that after 25 years I'm finally a horse-owner, but I can't wait to take it all in and see where this road leads!