LOSING MY NOBLE AND GREAT HORSE!

In my fantasy series, "The Mist Trilogy," I made up a story about the noble and great horses who are chosen to be unicorns when they die.

I now have sent a second "noble and great" horse to Celestia, the unicorn kingdom in the afterlife.

On Sunday, Oct. 15th, my beautiful Kit left this earth life. Kit was an amazing horse that I had the privilege of owning for twenty-two years. He was almost twenty-nine when he died which is old for a thoroughbred. His health was not great. He had already lived through a surgery to remove a tumor around his optic nerve. He also had to have daily medication for cushings. Cushings is a common desease in older horses though it has been diagnosed on rare occasions in younger horses. The symptoms include: 1. Excessive thirst and urination. Normally, a horse drinks 5 to 8 gallons of water a day. A horse with cushings drinks 20 gallons of water a day. 2. His coat gets long and doesn't shed in the summer. 3. He looses muscle tone and weight and his eyes get dull. They often develop a hay belly. 

Your vet can do a blood test to determine if your horse has cushings. It can not be cured but can be managed with medication. I was giving Kit daily Prascend pills by hand. They made a world of difference.

However, even with the best of care that I was giving Kit, I can't stop time.

Kit was the leader of my band of horses at my house. Yet he was always the gentleman. The other horses respected him and deferred to him but he was never unkind to any of them. I called him my "benevolent dictator!"

Kit was the RMDS Dressage Champion at First Level and First Level Freestyle. He was also the cover boy for all my trail guide books titled: "Riding Colorado." I bought him as an untrained six year old and trained him to compete in Dressage and ride the trails in the Colorado mountains. We shared some amazing adventures together.

I am so grateful that I had the privileged of owning and loving this amazing horse.

Here is a beautiful poem that a friend sent to me. Maybe it will make you feel better if you've lost a horse, too.

Don't Cry For The Horses by Brenda Riley-Seymore

Don't cry for the horses that life has set free.
A million white horses, forever to be.
Don't cry for the horses now in God's hands.
As they dance and prance to a heavenly band.

They were ours as a gift, but never to keep
As they close their eyes, forever to sleep.
Their spirits unbound, forever to fly.
A million white horses, against the blue sky.

Look up into Heaven. You will see them above.
The horse we lost, the horse we loved.
Manes and tails flying, they gallop through time.
They were never yours, they were never mine.

Don't cry for the horses, they will be back someday.
When our time has come, they will show us the way.
Do you hear that soft nicker close to your ear?
Don't cry for the horses, love the ones that are here.

If you would like an autographed copy of "The Mist Trilogy," go to the website: 

www.dancinghorsepress.com

The series is also available in print and ebook wherever books are sold.

MY BEAUTIFUL JAZZ IS EARNING HIS UNICORN HORN

It has been a very sad 10 days for me. On Tuesday morning, Jan. 30th, I went out to feed Jazz, Kit, and Hardy and I noticed that Jazz was panting. Horses don't pant! I immediately called the vet thinking colic. When he came, he noticed that Jazz's heart rate was nearly 200 bpm. Normal is 40! And it was arhythmic (uneven and irregular.) I loaded him into the trailer and took him to Littleton Large Horse Hospital.  They told me that the problem wasn't colic, it was a problem with his heart. After doing an ultrasound, they found a tear in the aorta. After trying for several days to get his heart rate down and rhythmic, they realized that his heart was failing. I had the devastating experience of having to say goodbye to my wonderful friend and dance partner. I am heartbroken.

When I bought Jazz 12 and 1/2 years ago, my goal was to take this untrained Hanoverian gelding up through the dressage levels until we reached 4th level. It was a fantastic journey, training and working together, moving up through the Dressage levels. Last summer we made it! We competed at fourth level and earned our scores toward the USDF silver medal for 4th level. We were actually working toward competing at Prix St. George this summer. The last time I rode him he did five 4-beat Tempi changes perfectly. It was so fun. We were in perfect rhythm together. 

Besides being my dressage partner, Jazz was just a wonderful, loving horse. This is the most recent picture of him saying "Hi" to my 2-year-old grandson, Landon. 

I also started riding him on the beautiful Colorado Trails the last two summers.

I had so much fun with him!

Now my dream horse is gone and I am in horrible pain.

Those of you who have read "Behind the Mist," know that Jazz is the star of "The Mist Trilogy." You know that I believe that animals live forever just as we do. I know that Jazz is in heaven. It is just that I miss him so much. It hurts so much to walk into the barn and see his empty stall and unused saddle and bridle. 

For several days, I was of the mind to never ride again. But, you know what? I can't do that. It is true that my heart is broken but I can't cut that same heart out. Horses are part of who I am and I can't deny who that person is.

What the future will bring, I don't know. I'm kind of relying on Heavenly Father to make that clear to me. But, while I always planned that Jazz would be my last horse, I now think there may be another horse in my future.

Just a note: My deepest thanks for all the kind words of love, understanding, and sympathy from so very many people. Your concern strengthened me.

HAPPY DECEMBER!

Happy December! That means it is almost Christmas...YAY! I love Christmas. My husband is crazy about Christmas, too. He says the best thing, and maybe the only good thing, about having a horse-crazy wife is that it is easy to shop for Christmas gifts. All he has to do is get a gift card from the Dover Saddle Shop in our town of Parker, Colorado.

Here is my Christmas wish list:
1. Warm winter riding boots
2. Warm winter riding socks
3. Warm winter riding breeches
4. Warm winter riding jacket
5. Warm winter riding gloves

Do you see a pattern here?

If you need a gift idea for a horse-crazy kid or adult, pick an award-winning book from my website. I will autograph it and send it to you.  Click here: www.dancinghorsepress.com

May I suggest The Mist Trilogy for fantasy lovers ages 9 and up. You can buy the complete set for just $30 including shipping and handling! This is the story of the noble and great horses who are chosen to become unicorns when they die and the first boy who is allowed into their kingdom and trained to become a unicorn rider. As with all classic fantasy tales, central to the story is the struggle between good and evil. The evil takes the form of a power-hungry unicorn who no longer wants to serve the animals on earth. Rather, he wants to control and rule them. You'll love reading about the adventures and struggles.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN UNICORN STYLE

Happy Halloween from unicorn Jazz!

(Jazz is the star of The Mist Trilogy)

A STABLE FIT FOR A UNICORN!

I really love my stable. It is so pretty and so big! I have three 16 X 12 foot stalls that each has it's own run. I have a lovely tack room with a bathroom, and a feed room with a washer and dryer for blankets and saddle pads. (My husband is so happy that he doesn't have horse hair on his underwear anymore.) I also have plenty of room for hay storage. Sounds pretty perfect, doesn't it?

Well...then I found these pictures of stables:

Can you believe these stables? Now I feel like a slacker and a cruel person for making my horses live in a shack!!! I want to know where the dust is? Where are the flies? Where are the manure stains? Where is the scapped off paint and chewed wood?  

Oh well. My horses may not live in a palace like one of the ones above but they are so happy and spoiled that if I leave a gate open, they won't run away! I think I will add some potted plants out front, however!

SPRINTER SACRE - Champion Steeplechaser

Are any of you steeplechase fans? If so, I'm sure you have heard of Sprinter Sacre. This fabulous horse is a dark bay thoroughbred gelding from France. He made his first racing appearance in 2010 at Ascot where he won by a nose. This was over a flat course. His first appearance in a Steeplechase (over jumps) was in December of 2011 at Doncaster and he won by 24 lengths!

Earlier in the month of March, 2016, Sprinter Sacre came back to win the 2016 prestigious running of the Cheltenham festival's Queen Mother race. He was the "come back kid" having won the race in 2013. But then, he spent two years recovering from heart problems. There was great celebration when he returned to the winner's circle!

Two miles galloping over fences can really take its toll as a horse ages. Sprinter Sacre was fouled on April 23, 2006. That makes the bay almost 10. But his owner, Caroline Mould, is still a believer in her horse and hasn't talked about retiring him. His jockey and trainer say he still has the fire in him.

Here is a short video of Sprinter Sacre winning the Queen Mother Race a couple of weeks ago:

 https://youtu.be/SHbZD15zaAQ

About Steeplechases: Generally, a steeplechase is a cross country race (though now they are run on tracks) that includes jumps, though there are some that are called flat races and, as the name suggests, do not include jumps. Steeplechases began in Ireland in the 18th century. It got its name because the horses and riders would race from church steeple to church steeple across country and would jump whatever hedges, rock walls or water ditches that got in their way.

Steeplechases are the most popular in Ireland and Britain. The most famous race is the Grand National held in Liverpool England and made famous for Americans in the movie staring Elizabeth Taylor titled "National Velvet."

There are Steeplechases held in other countries as well, including France, Czech Republic, Australia and the United States.  

Ready to read a wonderful fantasy for horse-lovers:

Read the award-winning THE MIST TRILOGY:

Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and The Rising Mist.

Available on its website and wherever books are sold.

www.themisttrilogy.com

COPENHAGEN IN THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO

Quite a while ago, I wrote a post about Napolean's horse, Marengo. As you probably remember Marengo is said to have been the favorite horse of the French emperor. Interestingly enough, it is very possible that he and one of his cousins, Copenhagen, or so it is said, faced each other in a terrible battle. On Sunday the 18th of June, 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, Napoleon's French army lead by Napoleon, was defeated by a coalition of two armies, one led by the Duke of Wellington riding Compenhagen.

Where there is some doubt about Marengo's authenticity, Copenhagen was very real. He was a stallion with a rather mean temperament. When the Duke of Wellington returned from his victory at Waterloo, he gave Copenhagen a celebratory pat on the rump. Copenhagen responded by trying to kick the Duke in the head! Luckily for both of them, he missed. It would have been a really bad day for the Duke to survive a day of bullets and cannon fire only to be killed by a kick in the head from the very horse that carried him through the battle!

The story is that Copenhagen became much milder in his old age and became a favorite with the ladies who wanted tail hair to make bracelets. (By the Way: this is something that is going on today and some people in Colorado have actually come out to their barns to find that someone has snuck in during the night and cut off their horse's tail! So, don't buy those horse hair bracelets unless you know where the hair came from!)

Copenhagen was so well regarded that, after he died, his head was cast in bronze and put on display at Wellington College.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Books make the best Christmas presents and Horse stories make the best books!

GO TO 

dancinghorsepress.com

and check out my new book:

In the Heart of a Mustang

or my popular fantasy trilogy:

Behind the Mist,

Mists of Darkness

and

The Rising Mist

Autographed copies available from the website!

CARDIGAN BAY SETS THE PACE IN CELESTIA!

Cardigan Bay is another famous standardbred pacer and can legitimately claim to being one of the world's best race horses in any style of racing! He was the ninth horse to win $1 million U.S. dollars...the first 8 winners were all thoroughbreds.

Cardigan Bay was born in New Zealand on the first of September, 1956. He was beloved by his owners, trainers and riders and affectionately called Cardy. After winning 29 of 47 races in New Zealand and Australia, he was purchased for $100,000 by a syndicate  in the U.S. with the agreement that he would be retired in New Zealand. He raced in the U.S.from 1964 through 1968.

The plain bay colt, crossed the $1 million mark at the Freehold Raceway in New Jersey and was retired right after that in a Sept. 1968 ceremony in Yonkers, New York. Before returning to New Zealand where he spent the rest of his life on a stud farm, Cardy actually appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show...I know, most of you weren't alive for that Sunday night show but I was. (And I watched the Beatles 1964 performance and screamed all the way through it!)

Below is an interesting Youtube video of one of his races. Watch closely as, right at the end on the back stretch, there is a crash and horses and sulkies and drivers go everywhere. One driver flies through the air and lands in the lap of another driver and the horse carries both of them across the finish line!

https://youtu.be/YGioLHsgKQM

Cardigan Bay was so famous and such a national hero in New Zealand that they actually made a postage stamp with his image on it!

Cardigan Bay died peacefully in his sleep in March of 1988 at the age of 31. Well, at least that was the official word!

To learn what happens to the noble and great horses after they die, peacefully or not, read The Mist Trilogy. Check it out on my new website: www.dancinghorsepress.com
The Mist Trilogy is a 2014 Gold Medal winner of the Mom's Choice Award.

ADIOS-THE FASTEST PACER IN CELESTIA!

When my husband and I were newly weds, we drove across the country from Oregon, where we were married, to New Haven, CT where Tom was a student at Yale and I was going to start my teaching career at North Haven High School. We had taken the long route through Canada before cutting down into upstate New York. It was late at night and without even a moon to light the way, all was dark as we drove across the farm lands. Eventually, the sky up ahead was glowing with bright lights. When we arrived at the source of the light, we discovered that they were illuminating a horse racing track. Going around the oval were Standardbreds, pulling sulkies. Having never seen a harness race before, we pulled off and went to watch. It was fascinating and so fun.

I have mentioned before that, as a child, my favorite books were anything written by Marguerite Henry. She wrote one book about harness racing titled "Born to Trot". That was my only exposure to harness racing.

So, today, I decided to go back to my usual theme of "Noble and Great Horses" and write about one of the greatest harness racers: the great champion and outstanding sire, ADIOS!

 Adios was born on January 3, 1940, the son of Hal Dale and the mare Adioo Volo. He was born at Two Gaits Farm in Carmel, Indiana. He was trained and driven by Frank Ervin. For a while, he was owned by Harry Warner of the Warner Brothers film studio. During his racing career, he won multiple world championships. His pacing record at the Shelbyville Indiana fair stood for 43 years!

In 1948, Adios was bought by harness racing driver Delvin Miller. Miller brought him to his Meadow Lands farm near Washington, PA, where he stood at stud. While he was a great racer, Adios was even a better stud and is considered by many to be the greatest sire in harness racing history. He sired eight "Little Brown Jug" winners and his sons, Adios Butler and Bret Hanover, both became winners of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. Before he died, Adios had sired 589 offspring. His name is found on consumer products and harness horse equipment. He even has a golf club in Florida named after him!

The Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers are:
Cane Pace, held at Tioga Downs in Nichols, NY
Little Brown Jug, held at the Delaware County Fair in Delaware, Ohio
Messenger Stakes, held at Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, NY

There is a different Triple Crown for Trotters.

All North American Harness races are restricted to Standard Bred Horses.  But the races are divided into two specific gaits: a trot or a pace.

 There is a big difference between pacers and trotters. A trot is a two beat diagonal gait, like my Hanoverian, Jazz, does and that we English riders ride either posting (rising up and down) or sitting. The trot of a standard bred is faster than the gallop of the average non-race horse and has been clocked at over 30 miles per hour.

The pace, on the other hand is a lateral two-beat gait. In the pace, the two legs on the same side of the horse move forward together. Some horse naturally prefer to pace. This gait is generally not comfortable to ride as the rider is thrown from side to side. The pace of the Icelandic Horse is one exception. But the pace is even faster than the trot in a harness racing horse.

This famous set of pictures shows that there is a moment in the pace (as well as the trot) when all four of the horse's feet are off the ground.

READ THE AWARD WINNING FANTASY 

"THE MIST TRILOGY"

BEHIND THE MIST, MISTS OF DARKNESS AND THE RISING MIST

Autographed copies available on the website:

www.themisttrilogy.com

Also available wherever books and ebooks are sold.

AT LAST! A TRIPLE CROWN WINNER: AMERICAN PHAROAH

HE DID IT!

THE NEW TRIPLE CROWN WINNER: AMERICAN PHAROAH

I posted earlier that I am always hoping for a triple crown winner. Finally, after 37 long, dry years, American Pharoah became only the twelfth horse to earn the title. Twenty-three horses have won the first two races: The Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but only a dozen have won all three!

Here is the list of the 12 Triple Crown Winners:
1919: Sir Barton
1930: Gallant Fox
1935: Omaha
1937: War Admiral
1941: Whirlaway
1943: Count Fleet
1946: Assault
1948: Citation
1973:Secretariat
1977: Seattle Slew
1978: Affirmed
2015: American Pharoah!!!!!


During the 1970's, as you can see from the above list, there were three triple crown winners and I had come to expect that every few years there would be one. WRONG! Thirty seven years is a LONG time to wait for a new one, especially when, every year, I am hoping for it to happen.

American Pharoah's name, including the misspelling, came from his sire: Pioneerof the Nile, and his Dam's sire: Yankee Gentleman as well as his owner/breeder's Egyptian heritage. He was born on Groundhogs Day, Feb. 2, 2012 at Stockplace Farm near Winchester, Kentucky.  He was bred and is owned by Ahmed Zayat.

American Pharoah is described as a people-lover. He is gentle and calm for a race horse. His two most outstanding characteristics are his long smooth stride, seen in this picture,

 and his short tail! Apparently, a stable mate chewed it off!

He is a beautiful bay with only a tiny hint of a star and no other white markings. You can see the star in this picture. (Jazz, the star of Behind the Mist also has a tiny white star! Perhaps American Pharoah will become a unicorn someday, too!)

Now, I must add my plea to the Thoroughbred Racing business to please stop racing these horses so young and intentionally breeding for legs that are too thin to carry their own weight! My joy at American Pharoah's victory is greatly tempered by my sadness at the loss of yet another beautiful horse on the same day at the same track in a different race. Behind a curtain out on the track, just three hours before American Pharoah raced and won, Helwan ran his last race. On the back stretch, this beautiful thoroughbred "broke down" as they call it. That means, in this case, his left front cannon bone snapped. A curtain went up and he was euthanized where the crown didn't have to see it. "Broke Down?" Really? These aren't just cars or trucks! They are living,feeling creatures. And the racing industry has caused this by its breeding practices and training and racing these horses WAY too young!

Rare? you ask. NO! Since January, 43 horses have died in training or racing...just in the state of New York!

I don't know what to do about this!

So, with a bit of an ache in my heart, I guess I'll go back to writing my latest book.

Need something great to read for the summer?
Get the Gold Medal winning trilogy: Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and The Rising Mist:
On the website: www.themisttrilogy.com or wherever books or ebooks are sold. 

A TRIBUTE TO SKIP

One purpose of this blog is to memorialize the noble and great horses in our lives...not just the famous ones! Here is a beautiful tribute sent in from Colorado:

A very sad yet joyful day today!!! My daughter Nicole Janitell's horse Skip went to the Rainbow Bridge. We are very sad to lose a member of our family but he is in a better place. Thank you God for all the great memories and a GREAT horse. He will live forever in our memories as our Grumpy Old Man with a huge heart!

Thank you Skip for taking care of my Nicki and giving her the love and nurturing and teaching her so many things.We will miss you and will always love you.

Send me a tribute to your special horse at: mjevansbtm@gmail.com

and I will include it on a future blog post. 

MAY 7th IS SEATTLE SLEW DAY!

I am officially declaring May 7th to be Seattle Slew Day! On May 7, 1977, the 16 hand, dark brown colt won the Kentucky Derby. On May 7, 2002, he died.

Seattle Slew was the tenth out of eleven horses to win the Triple Crown.
Every year I hope we will have a new triple crown winner even though it hardly ever happens. This year I am rooting for last Saturday's Kentucky Derby winner, American Pharaoh. In 1977, I was living in Salem, Oregon and pregnant with my first child, Bethany. But you can bet I was rooting for Seattle Slew to win the triple crown.

Seattle Slew was born on February 15, 1974 at White Horse Acres Farm new Lexington, Kentucky. He was rejected from the prestigious Keeneland Yearling Sale based upon his weak pedigree and his appearance. Everyone thought he was ugly. (Does that remind you of Seabiscuit?) He was purchased at another yearling sale by two couples from Washington State, an airline stewardess, Karen Taylor,  her lumberjack husband, Mickey and their friends Jim and Sally Hill. Jim Hill was a veterinarian. His name came from the city of Seattle and the sloughs that loggers in the Pacific Northwest use to transport heavy logs. They float them down canals. Karen changed the spelling to "slew" because she was afraid no one would spell it correctly.

This is a picture of Seattle Slew in the winner's circle at the Flamingo Stakes in Hialeah, FL.
Left to right: Groom, owner Karen Taylor and Jocky Jean Cruguet.

I wanted to include this picture of the cover of Sports Illustrated from June 20, 1977 because I love the headline: "Riding High and Handsome." Not bad for a horse that was considered too ugly to qualify for the Keeneland Auction! 

It is also important to note that Seattle Slew is the only undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown.

So remember: May 7th is SEATTLE SLEW DAY!

In the second book of The Mist Trilogy titled Mists of Darkness, the book opens with the first mist of darkness as it descends on Churchill Downs. No one can see or hear anything...except the horses who hear the evil unicorn Hasbadana trying to talk them into joining his army to conquer the world. As you might guess, only the unhappy horses agree to follow him. 

You can get the Mist Trilogy wherever books are sold. Get autographed copies on the website: www.themisttrilogy.com