I'll never forget the first time I saw Reba. I was at a quarter horse
show in Rochester, MN. I thought that she was the cutest mare I had ever
seen. Even though she was very young and green, she was a beautiful mover,
and I just knew great things would lay ahead for her. I thought to myself
that I would love to own a horse like her one day. Over the years, I followed
her show career. She made the Amateur Western Pleasure Finals several times
at the Congress. She placed 9th at the AQHA World Show in Amateur Western
Pleasure! She earned over 250 western pleasure points and won several
major futurities.
I then saw Reba and her
owner at another show and got brave enough to actually go talk to her owner.
I mentioned that if she ever decided to sell Reba that I would be interested.
Well, about a year later, her owner decided to sell her to focus on her
youngsters at home. I jumped on the opportunity to own the mare of my dreams!
I had to make a lot of sacrifices to afford a mare of her caliber, but she
was one mare I just had to own!
I qualified Reba for
the 2003 World Show in Amateur Showmanship. She picked it up very quickly
and was good at it. She was the first horse that I had actually qualified
in the showmanship! I had been so close to qualifying with so many other
horses. Reba just took to showmanship like a duck to water. I took
her to the World Show, and even though we didn't make the Finals, I
was pleased with her. Then, we went to the 2004 Denver Stock Show
and actually won the showmanship one day and were always in the points.
After that show, I semi-retired her and bred her to my stallion,
HOT DIGGITY JOE.
With Reba's show record
and talent, she was the PERFECT cross for my stallion. We bred her in
March and she settled on the first try. I brought her home and
just turned her out. She LOVED being a horse and spending her days
roaming her 200+ acre pasture with her new friends.
My last memory of Reba
was a good one. I was leaving home to go to the World Show. I looked
back at the mares at the round bale. She was standing there eating
hay and she looked at the trailer as it went by. I thought to myself, "You
are STILL the CUTEST little mare I have ever seen.". I spent the next
few hours of my drive picking out baby names for her foal.
The World Show was going
very well for me. I can remember just sitting in the line-up after I had
shown in my split of Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. I was thanking
God for giving me the opportunity to be at the World Show,
and thanking Him for all that he had given me through the years. I
thanked Him for allowing all of us to make it to Oklahoma
City safe and sound. It didn't matter if I won or lost. Just being able to
qualify and actually make it to the World Show was very rewarding. I
made it out of my split and back to the Semis where we ended up 17th. To
me, it felt like I won the World Championship Title. I was absolutely thrilled!!!
I tried calling home, and always got the answering machine. Finally, my husband
called me. I was sitting in the stands with my trainer and a few other
people. My husband told me that he had some bad news, and asked me if
I wanted to hear it or not. At that point, he had to tell
me, otherwise I would have worried the rest of the time I was away from home.
He had said that Reba had been acting colicky, so he had taken
her to the vet. They had treated her, but when the bloodwork came
back, her white blood cell count was extremely high. Our
vet put her on massive antibiotics.
"Joe" showed in the Senior
Hunter Under Saddle and made the Finals. I tried to be excited, but it was
in the back of my mind that my little girl was at home and not doing very
well. The vet said that she was still eating, and they were doing everything
they could for her. On Monday when I called, Reba had just lost her foal.
The vet told me that she was down quite a bit on Tuesday. On Wednesday, her
weight continued to drop. At this point, he was talking about euthanizing
her if she didn't get better. All I could think of was, "This
can't be happening!" I was trying to figure out a way to get back home so
I could see her. I had no idea how sick she was, and I surely didn't want
them to euthanize her without being able to say "goodbye" to her. It
was so hard not being there for her. I had to find a way to make it back
to North Dakota just as soon as I could.
Thursday morning came.
It was to be one of the happiest days of my life. The Senior Hunter
Under Saddle Finals were going that evening. At 7am, my cell phone rang.
It was my vet calling to tell me that my little Reba had lost her valiant
fight. I was absolutely devastated. It was all I could do to make it to the
barns that afternoon. When I did get there, I just went into Joe's stall
and buried my head against his neck and sobbed. My trainer got him ready
and I made my way to the stands. I sat there watching the class, holding
back my tears. When the class was being placed, my tears turned from
ones of sadness to ones of joy. Joe ended up 6th and was the crowd
favorite.
I didn't want to come back
home, as I knew Reba wouldn't be there. I talked to my vet and
the autopsy had revealed an ulcer in her large intestine that had abscessed.
We lost her when the abscess burst. There would have been nothing anyone
could have done for her. The vet sent me back her halter along
with some tail hair. I would love to have a horsehair bracelet
made, but can't bring myself to open the box. Her rubbermaid tub
still has her slinky, leg wraps, monogrammed sheets and her
cooler. I'll always keep her "Box Of Stuff", as I often called
it. I always find myself wondering, "Why Reba?". She was
so young, and I was looking forward to many more years together.
I wanted to watch her foals grow up to be stars just like she was. I wanted
to be able to give her a wonderful life for everything that she
had done for me. The last year of her life was good. She enjoyed
being able to be a horse again. I take some comfort in knowing
that.
God had decided that it
was her time. God Giveth and God Taketh. I was lucky to have her in my life
for those few short years. She will always have a special place in my heart.
Losing her was like losing a very good friend. We spent so much time together
on the road showing. She always gave me her all and she LOVED to show!
I know one day, I will see her again. Until then, I will remember all of
the good times we shared.