Dearest Jakey,
No little girl could ask for a better first horse. There are so many reasons why I love you. Thank you for everything.
Thank you for being safe. Thank you for being a perfect gentleman, for always catching me when I was about to fall.
Thank you for being a blast to ride. Thank you for going sideways over cross-rails, for having the most comfortable gaits, for teaching me to ride without my hands and legs (something that I would later discover is not so practical for riding other horses).
Thank you for being Jake. Thank you for coming when I called, for sharing peanut butter and sandwiches with me on hot summer days, for licking vanilla cake off my face on your birthday and mine, for giving the sweetest kisses, for your perfect nose, for letting me style your forelock and play “pony can’t see,” for tolerating my horrendous singing, for following me around, for always being dirty, for looking so handsome in your “Scottish-kilt,” cowboy hat, Santa hat, and black “sleezy,” for our figure eights, for being afraid of bicycles and baby carriages, for herding your paddock buddies away from the lawn mower, for breaking countless stall doors and wriggling free of blankets, for always expecting a face rub before I bridled you, for never shedding out in time (what kind of southern-bred horse were you anyway?), for the silly face you made when we clipped your bridle path, for spinning your tail before you took off, for loving clover and dandelions, for having onion breath in the spring, for hiding when I came into your stall with a fly spray bottle, for acting up when other people rode you, for playing with my hat and my hair, for never standing still in a line, for letting me lean over your neck and hug you after a ride. Jake, thank you for a childhood full of beautiful memories.
Jake, you took my breath away – and still do. I knew and loved every inch of you from the dent in your neck, to the spots on your ear and hind leg, to the lump on your chest, to your kind eyes, to the sideways F-shaped cowlick on your forehead.
Jake, you made me a better person. All the criticism we bore together only made us stronger. You taught me to be patient and kind; you taught me how to love.
I am forever indebted to my parents who brought us together, eased your pain when you passed, and supported us for nine years (even though sometimes you made them a little angry) simply because I loved you and you loved me. I am sorry that I could not be there for you when you passed. I would have liked to stroke your face and tell you how proud I was, how much I loved you.
Jake, you always knew. Thank you for letting me go. I will never let you go. Thank you for these final gifts that you have given me. I will carry your memory with me always.
Jakey, I miss you and I'll be thinking about you often. You are my jelly-roll, my fuzzy teddy bear, my pregnant gelding, my baby, my good boy, my Jakey, and I will love you forever.
Love Always,
Your Jen Ten
Summer 2010
I can't believe that it has been over a year since I last saw your sweet face.
Thinking of you.
Jen Ten
2011
I Dreamed A Dance
I'll wake alone tomorrow.
The dream of our dance is through.
But now until forever, love,
I'll live to dance with you.
Alice Ripley
Thinking of you, Jake.
Love Always,
Your Jen Ten
April 24, 2013
Though time has passed and things have changed you are always in my heart, Jake.
Thinking of you.
Love Always,
Your Jen Ten
Rest Peacefully, Boys. We Love You.
Golddigger & De Blues Brother
They Walk With My Heart - And I’ll Never Let Them Go
Photo credit: Katlin Catapano (c)
Jake 
