She went by the barn name
of Dolly. She also went by the nicknames "Dolly May", "Dodi", "Dolly Lolly",
"Dolly Lolly May", and more recently (as my boyfriend liked to call her)
"Miss Mare". And don't let her registered name fool you - Dolly was anything
but "slow moving"! Quite the opposite, actually. She also went by some names
that aren't as acceptable to publish - especially when she was trying to
bite or kick someone!! :)
I got Dolly off the Fort
Erie race track in September/October 1989, thanks to the help and connections
of a very good friend of mine who worked there. When I brought Dolly home,
I thought we had made the biggest mistake ever! I had just decided not to
purchase another horse, and instead went and bought Dolly, expecting a horse
with a sweet and lovable temperament. A temperament like Kellie (my former
horse who everyone loved) or Major who came to live with me for a couple
years before he was sold. Well, was I in for a surprise! We brought Dolly
home and put her in her new stall. She proceeded to dig a hole in the floor,
kick the walls constantly, and pin her ears and threaten to either eat or
kick any living being that tried to even look in her stall, never mind enter
her stall! You never know what you are going to get when you buy a horse
right off the track - and, wow, I was sure getting worried rather
quickly!
Anyway, after many tears
and bruises and curse words yelled out, over time Dolly accepted me as her
"person". Oh, we still would have the "alpha dance" every now and then -
she always wanted to remind me that she was "allowing" me to be her friend
- but that she still ultimately was making the final decision!! :) In fact,
to the day she died, we would have "discussions" about proper behaviour and
how it isn't acceptable to scare everyone who comes by with nasty faces and
teeth bared...but trust me, once you got to know and understand Dolly - she
really was a lot of talk, and deep down would do anything for you. She rarely
ever refused to attempt anything I asked of her. And I asked a lot of her
over the years.
Dolly at first was my Pony
Club mount. We did three-day eventing and show jumping. We even competed
at the CNE in the jumper ring representing Western Ontario - and did quite
well too! However, Dolly wasn't a huge fan of dressage (and neither was I
at that age) so we went off to pursue other avenues. We did tons of hacking
all over the countryside. Dolly was a great hack horse! Except with cars
on the road, but everything else - not a problem. If dogs came out to chase
us as we were going by, Dolly was the horse to turn and chase them back!
She would cross any bridge, jump any ditch, lead the way without fail when
in a group of other horses, and then some. She might spook at the odd mailbox
or culvert, but then realize that she had to put on her strong front and
act all, "I'm not scared!" and just march on by - snorting and blowing the
whole time - but rarely did this horse ever refuse to move forward. She may
have tried to move quicker than one would want, but she'd move
nonetheless!!
Eventually, we met a great
friend who was into barrel racing. And Dolly went from being an English eventing
and jumper horse, to travelling on the Dodge Rodeo circuit and running barrels.
Yes, my 16 hand thoroughbred mare was running barrels along with all the
quarter horses - and she did AWESOME at it! If I knew what I was doing more,
we have have done even better at it!!! But I was as green at barrels as Dolly
was - she just learned a lot faster than me!! She was never last - always
at least in the middle of the pack. And that is competing against people
that have been running barrels their whole lives! And with exclusively bred
barrel horses too! So I was the proudest mom ever!!! I would tell people
that Dolly was a western horse trapped in an english horse body. The truth
of it was that Dolly loved to run so much! So barrels was one more excuse
to pick up speed and get r done!!! My horse chiropractor said that,
in his opinion, if Dolly didn't have the physical limitations that she did
while racing, she probably would have done so much better on the track -
as she had the right attitude of a winning racehorse. And to the day Dolly
died, her favorite thing was to run around like crazy. I never needed spurs
or a whip when riding - the main thing we always lacked was brakes
actually!!!
So after the barrel racing
- we also decided to see how handy Dolly was with cows - and once again this
Granddaughter of Secretariat blew us away with her instincts to move and
cut cows!!! Where she got this instinct no one will ever know - however my
mom says its because Dolly just liked being bossy - and what better way to
use your pushiness and bossiness than to push cows around and make them go
where you want them to go!!! I think maybe my mom was right ;)
Anyway, Dolly is proof that
thoroughbreds have the biggest hearts and the most amazing talent for almost
any equestrian sport - and that's what I mean when I say that anything I
asked of Dolly, she'd give it her all and try her heart out. Oh sure, she'd
grumble about a lot of it - but let's face it, if she really didn't want
to do it - at 1150 lbs there is no way I could have forced her to do anything
she didn't really want to do.
Dolly was one very special
and amazing animal. In the end, it looks like her heart finally gave out
on her. At least it was quick and painless, and she was with her horsey friends
out in the field enjoying the day outside, which was her favorite pastime
when she wasn't galloping around somewhere. I am thankful in a way that I
didn't have to make that hard decision that we all never want to make - she
made it for me.
I had a great ride on her
two days before she passed away. Even another boarder that was riding with
me commented on how happy Dolly looked when I was riding her. And I believe
she was. Oh sure, even that night we were still having "discussions" about
how when cantering you do not have to rush off and run sideways down the
long side of the arena wall - she always kept me on my toes that way! But
it was still a great ride on a great friend who has been there for me for
20 years.
Dolly - you will be missed
forever. I know that one day I will have another horse - but I will never
have another horse like you. You mean the world to me - and I feel blessed
to have had the chance to be a part of your life and you taught me SO MUCH
about horse care and training - even what not to do at times - and your memories
will be with me forever and ever.
I love you, Slowmovin Dream.
I know you are over the Rainbow Bridge now galloping away all over the place.
Just don't give God such a hard time up there, okay? When he says "WHOA"
you may want to listen to him ;) Say "hi" to Kellie when you get there -
at least you two will be together again. And I know that one day we will
be together again...galloping all over the place together - with me grinning
away and still wondering how and when to apply those brakes that you always
made the final decision on as to when they would actually work!!!!
RIP Slowmovin Dream -
"Dolly"
Galloping forever in my
heart...running as free as your spirit."
Love,
Candace
Slowmovin Dream 
