JR






JR passed on Saturday May 9, 2009 at 3:30 p.m.

His death was unexpected. He was diagnosed with Botulism.


JR was my first and only horse and my first loss. Every Christmas since I was young, at the top of my list I wrote "A Pony". All I ever wanted was a pony. My family could never afford to give me the gift of my very own.

Years of lessons, working for riding time and my bold passion gave me the chance to train a three year old Morgan gelding named JR who eventually became my first horse. He was big, bold and stubborn at first. Months of peeling away his layers revealed the true character that I always knew was inside him. He had a sparkle in his eye, you could see it in every one of the hundreds of pictures I took of him to save our memories forever.

He learned to love people and trust people. He carried friends and family for joyful rides around the ring. His big goofy ears, his smile and the faces he made when he bent his big neck around to watch me brush him were unforgettable. He had a presence, the biggest one in my heart.

At 23 years old I wanted to give him the world. I paid for his board, his feet, his shots, new saddle pads, pessoa boots and we had fun. We didn't show, we went for trail rides and learned more about each other in the ring practicing transitions and jumping and bareback riding. It was a girl and her 16.2 hand "pony". I felt like the luckiest person in the world for knowing him and feeling his love and loving all his quirks. I went to work every day to save money to someday have a house with a barn in my backyard so he could run and play outside my window all day.

Two days ago his fight against his diagnosed Botulism was failing him. He couldn't breath and he lay in a stall at Tufts hospital sweating and pawing. I made the decision for him to make the pain go away. At 3:30, the day before Mother's day, I had to make the hardest decision a mother ever has to make. My pony, my "muchkin", mearly 8 years old,  JR, now gallops through the pastures of heaven with the wings of angels.

Aubrey Williams














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