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Starship Ensign
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Thoroughbred |
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March 3, 1996 - January 8, 2011
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Starship, I remember the day I first saw you like it was yesterday. Rich had announced he was bringing back two horses from auction the day before. You came with another thoroughbred, a mare, who soon became the love of your life, Moon. You went into the back barn where all the new arrivals went until they were cleared from any health issues. You were the most handsome thing I’d ever seen. You were huge and sleek, and I could see the definition of where one muscle structure ended and another began. You held your head so high and proud.
Rich had ridden you in private and every day we hounded him for details of how you went. Is he smooth? Does he know commands? How’s his trot, how’s his canter? Then about a week into your stay, it happened. I showed up for my lesson, and waited my turn to find out who I’d be riding. I didn’t even have a chance to ask, when Rich shouted out, “Kell, why don’t you take the new guy!” I thought I’d heard wrong, he couldn’t possibly trust me to be the first student to hop on you. “You mean Starship?” I asked. “Yep! He’s in the back barn, tack him in the wash stall.” he replied. And that was the start of the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I’d never felt so tall before, you were surely even bigger from all the way up there. From the start, my legs found their place, stuck like glue to each side of your narrow, up and down barrel. And it’s a good thing they did, because every lesson I had on you for almost the first 6 months consisted of everyone holding their breath as I clung to you for dear life as you galloped full speed around and around and around the ring with no end in sight. You only knew two speeds. Stop. And GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I remember maybe the first or second time I was on you, we were in the outdoor ring and probably supposed to be trotting, but of course instead you chose to gallop, when we started heading straight at the fencing of the ring. Everyone was sure you were going to bust right through or jump the darn thing. I was positive I was going somewhere, over the fence, under the fence, who knew. And then at the last possible second you darted left, around a huge jump and cut that corner sharper than humanly possible, and down the long side we went again. I’ll admit, you had me scared out of my mind a few times, but for the most part, I found my niche on you early and learned to just hang on tight and we’d get through it.
I’d never enjoyed riding so much in my entire life, you were infectious. I wanted to be even just in your presence every second of every day. I couldn’t get enough of you. I‘d never thought there’d be anything better than that first time Rich asked me to ride you, until the day came when he asked me to buy you. Every little girl dreams of a pony, but this was about to become my reality. I’d always wanted my own since I was nine and I had my very first riding lesson. But never had I wanted one so badly as I wanted you. It wasn’t even a question, whether I wanted to buy you or not, it was something I’d never been so sure of in my life. Bye Bye newly established savings account. Oh well, I would have paid a million dollars to be able to call you mine. So that snowy Christmas in December of 2006, I gave myself the best Christmas present in the world, you. And you got the primo first stall, the big one right in front. (The most special horses get a chance to leave their mark in that stall, as it was home to one of the most beautiful and gentle giants I’d ever known, Stretch. Stretch and Michelle didn’t know it at the time, but as they moved onto their new home, they gave you and I a place to make ours, which I will be forever thankful for.)
I have so many memories from the two years at Silver Horseshoe. Every ride we had, all the friends we’d made, all the territory we got to explore. When I used to take group lessons with you, I might as well have been wearing a sign that said, “Passing on the Inside” because that is all I shouted when we rode. Every one of your strides was like 5 of another horses, therefore we always caught up way too fast. I remember the first time I jumped you. Just a small cross rail to me, but apparently you saw it as a 3 ft oxer, because that’s how you took it. No matter how much we rode, we just couldn’t wear you out. I used to love to let you out back in the huge paddock when there was no one else out there. You would go crazy, running and bucking and kicking, and rearing. It was like a comedy show. Your body twisted and turned in ways I never even knew possible.
I remember the first time I fell off of you. We had gone with the Wednesday morning lesson to the park; it had rained or snowed the day before so it was a bit slick. Most horses would have been fine at any gait as long as they were held together and collected. But we were a different story, you’d take sharp corners and go where you pleased despite what my legs and hands would tell you. I’d say slow down with my knees and seat and hands and you’d just move up to the next gait. And you did not like when you were clumsy. One sharp turn through the middle of the ring at full speed, your back end slipped out from underneath you, you got mad at yourself and threw a buck and off I went into the wet ground. But you turned and realized I was off and slowly strolled back to check on me.
The second time I fell off of you was much more comical. I was attempting to ride you bareback in the indoor ring, while Rich taught a quiet private lesson. It was always hard for me to get on you bareback because you were so tall and the mounting block was so short. I was determined not to ask for help though. I positioned you where I wanted, held the reins tight so you wouldn’t stray and hoisted myself halfway over you. Of course, you had a different agenda in mind. You took off at a trot then broke into a canter, all the while I’m dangling off you with one arm, half of a leg, and a quarter of my trunk on top of you. What made it funnier is that Rich was down at the other end of the ring with the rider just at the walk, not paying attention to me whatsoever. Until of course, they look up and see a crazed horse with a rag doll dangling off the back cantering straight toward them. Rich kept yelling for me to just let go, but I didn’t want to let you win. Finally though, I just couldn’t hang on any longer and fell into the dirt. I was so embarrassed for all the commotion we’d caused in their lesson, but it still gives us a good laugh to this day.
I guess I could also count the time in between these two instances as “falling off” as well. You had worked up a pretty intense sweat during one of our lessons and while we waited for our turn to jump again, you started to paw at the ground. I wasn’t sure what you were up to, but I didn’t have much time to think about it because before I knew it, you were laying down on the ground. I somehow jumped off just in time to not get squashed. Turns out you were hot and itchy and you were going to roll in the cool dirt with or without me, my saddle, and bridle on you. That’s when I also realized, you roll like a circus elephant, and it has become your trademark to this day. One side down; front legs spring upward, sit on your butt, walk your way around yourself with your front legs and down on the other side. One of the funniest things I have ever seen.
I loved to watch you pick your friends out in the paddock, and even more so, your girlfriends. When I first started riding you, there was no question of working if Moon was outside. I was invisible to you and my commands meant nothing. You spent all your time calling back and forth to her. It got to the point where we had to bring her inside for us to have a productive time riding. Then came Tellulah. I remember the first day she came into your paddock. You were gaga over her, and wouldn’t let another soul anywhere near her. So protective. Every day I’d come to get you and bring you inside and you’d be filthy with mud from chasing the other boys away from your girlfriend. That’s when we realized there’d be no turnout with girls for you. Your two best boyfriends were Ziggy and Sport. You and Ziggy would pull each other around by the halter for hours.
I used to love to take you over to the park to ride. It took me so long to get you over there and not spook the entire time, but we did it. Even a few times alone. (Just in case, the first few times, Rich would follow me in the truck to make sure you didn’t dump me off on the way.) You never really calmed down completely, but it was definitely a milestone to go over there a few times. I remember heading over with Freckles once, which was great until the end, when the two of you decided to race home. That was one of the scariest rides I’d ever had. Thank God for the dog park fence to stop you or we’d have been out on the road before I knew it. A much nicer time was when we went with Nash and Joe. We tried to get you to swim in the river with them when the water was high, but you were having none of that. Luckily, they were great friends and came back for you and took the dry road home.
You taught me so much in those first two years, you turned me into a true horse owner. Especially with your nine million medical issues. You sliced your face open and needed stitches, you blew out your deep tendon from kicking down your stall, you got lyme disease for the first time. The vet and I became best friends. Thank goodness for overtime. Anything to keep you healthy and happy.
Then came our second chapter and shortly after our third. Our second barn. Not a great stay, but we made some great friends and got to go all together to our new home. Through all our moves, we were so lucky to have Nashy and Sampson by our side. Family that stuck together through thick and thin. Our second barn brought us your new best friend, Tobias. And it was the first time you got to be turned out with Nash and Sampson. You were all from different paddocks back at Silver Horseshoe, but came together here. Sampson would make the funniest elephant sounding noise at you when he was mad, and then throw his front foot out. You weren’t phased in the least. When we first arrived, you were in love with Nashy. Sampson got jealous, though, and took the upper hand on that one, but you were okay with it. Nashy had such a strong personality and almost couldn’t be bothered by either of you. She was busy involved in girl talk with her new friend, Frannie.
Here is where we also met Cheri. Cheri opened up a side of you I never knew existed. You finally started to use your body more than you ever had. We did a clinic day which was one of the best experiences I have ever had with you. I learned how to walk you in way that allowed me to lead and you to not be pushy. I learned how to calm you down by rubbing certain places on your body. We did an obstacle course and you did amazing! You jumped the tarp and went in between the poles and around the barrels. And the best was the round pen. I felt like I had a remote control and could turn you on and off as I pleased. We conquered your fear of the guinea hens and any other weird animals that came from the farm down below. We went out on the trails and Cheri taught me to not be afraid of just letting you go and using your energy. And we actually trailered off the property to ride; though it was a short ride, I was a panicked mother as usual, wondering how you would trailer, how you would be when we got there? But you were amazing and the airport was so much fun. We also learned how to be a bad ass. Things were not going as expected there and your health was declining. So we did just what we had to do. Pack you up, grab our things, and make a getaway J. And so starts our third chapter, at the serene Stoney Brook Farm.
Luckily we got to take all our friends with us. You had the most amazing stall at Stoney Brook, where you got to hang your head out the window and watch the world go by. Sometimes, I wondered if you’d try to jump out. You had your own mini-paddock that was filled with grass when we first got there. You took it down to dirt in about a week. After some shuffling around, you got to be between your two best friends, Tobias and Billy, the gentle giant and the tiny little pony. You loved them both so much. Billy used to somehow sneak between the boards and get into your paddock. I loved finding the two of you together. It was so funny.
You continued to blossom at Stoney Brook. I learned to take you in the field to ride and have you not run away or spook. Even when the four lost sheep came charging out of the woods at us one day. You were sound and looking healthier than ever. Cheri would always call you, “the handsome boy” and that you were. Everywhere we went everyone thought you were the most gorgeous thing they’d ever seen. See, I’m not biased.
You didn’t have much of a girl interest at Stoney Brook, that is until Spellbound showed up. Once again, we couldn’t get through a lesson or ride when she was turned out. Most of the time, though, you were too busy off with Tobias, starting all the way out back and running full speed at the barn and stopping every time, just in the nick of time, gave us a heart attack to say the least.
Unfortunately, when I moved, Oxford just got too far. You were the most important thing in my life and I needed to have you closer to me. And so begins the final chapter of your journey. I stumbled upon Horseshoe Hill online and fell in love. I went for one visit and knew this was the place for us. In the eight months we had here, I think you were the happiest. And we came so very far as a team. Your demeanor was so quiet when we got there, almost like I brought you to a horsie vacation spot. You made fast friends, Zippy being your first. He was like your mini-me. And of course it didn’t take you long to find a new girlfriend. Your heart now belonged to Quinn. It didn’t matter if you were separated by an electric fence, you’d take your chances to peck at her neck or go muzzle to muzzle with her.
I remember right after we moved, I had done something strange to my left foot and couldn’t ride right away. I asked Kim to hop on you and see what she thought and what we needed to work on. You gave her such a hard time, but she worked you through it. She read you so quickly and put us to work immediately. That’s when I started buying all my new equipment for you. Kim opened us up to draw reins, side reins, circingles, dressage bridles, etc. And it worked amazingly for you. You got so strong and developed muscles in all the right places. You were finally starting to come underneath yourself and finding a frame. It was so exciting.
I’m so glad we got to spend the best two seasons there together. The summer was beautiful and it never got too hot; there was always the best breeze. And our fall there together, it was so beautiful and to be able to take you in fields and just let you open up was the best feeling in the world. We did our first two clinics there as well. The first was tough, we were just starting out and both still learning. But our second clinic was great. You made a liar out of me with all your energy that day, but I was just excited you were so into it. I almost forgot too, I gave you one of your best haircuts here! I learned quickly after I had given you a very ugly “beatles lookalike” mane numerous times in the past, that I’m not the best at pulling manes. But I am great at the Mohawk look. You were the most handsome I’d ever seen you. I developed more confidence with you here, and learned it was okay to show you that I was in charge. And I had to win, for both of our own good. I taught you to cross-tie which I thought I’d never do. We both grew so much in these eight short months.
Now it is so hard without you. You were my everything, my good days, my bad days, all my spare time. Without you, I’m lost. I won’t ever feel you beneath me again, we fit together like a puzzle. I’m confused wondering everyday why it had to be you. I’m mad because it was you and it’s not fair. Not fair to you that it wasn’t your fault. Not fair to me that you’ve been taken away from me all too soon and all too suddenly. It makes me sad to know we had so much left to conquer and we were really and truly just getting started. You invade my every thought and moment in time. I’m so incredibly sorry you were hurt and it forced me to make the hardest decision of my life. I hope and pray everyday it was the right one. I hope you're safe and warm and comfortable. I hope you have endless fields to both graze and gallop in. I hope you think of me too. And lastly, I hope it gets easier someday, but one thing is for certain. You have a place in my heart no one else could ever reach. It’s untouched and all yours forever.
I miss you and love you more than you could ever know. You’ll always be my baby boy.
Kellie
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Starship 
