On this day, May 7, 2007, when we are all remembering the valiant Barbaro,
I would like to remember a valiant chestnut mare who was the joy of my young
teenage life.
I want to pay tribute to
a mare with class, spirit, and grace, who was a natural jumper (I once saw
her clear a 5-foot corral fence, while the person who had been the "rider"
was in the dust), was an ace at pole-bending, and was so fast she could beat
a quarter horse at a quarter mile. She was gentle but spirited like a South
Dakota breeze.
Ginger, this is my tribute
to you, in horse Valhalla, where I know we will meet again.
El-Bud was born in April,
probably 1960 or so. We sold her in 1967, so I don't know how long she lived,
but she was a sturdy thing and the sweetest animal I have ever known. One
day, and it won't be long, I'll have another Ginger. And her flaming chestnut
torch, streaking over the prairie, will be carried on.
From your loving companion,
in spirit, and in the continuum of all things, for you, El-Bud.
Love,
Diana C. Nelson
