NOTE: ALL NAMES (except for horses) HAVE BEEN CHANGED
Fall and Winter, 2004
Fall and Winter, 2004
October was an exciting month. Teddy had been my horse for a year, and we celebrated by going on a trail ride for HorsePOWER. Magnolia raised more than two thousand dollars and eight of us went, in a group of thirty or more other riders. We navigated cornfields, forests, creeks, and roads. Teddy was terrific and it was a lot of fun. Of course, he was afraid of the creek and had to leap over it going both ways, but otherwise, everything was great.
Two weeks later, Teddy and I went to the final show at Steeplehill that would count toward year-end points. Teddy and I got the exact same placings that we did at the June show, and a reserve champion. However, we missed year-end reserve champion by a handful of points. I was a bit disappointed, but gamely held out. Two weeks later we were back at Steeplehill for its fun show. It was a Halloween party slash a horse show. For the final time, Teddy and I went in Short Stirrup. I had recently turned thirteen, and in 2005, I would be ineligible to show in the 12 and Under division. For the final time showing in Short Stirrup, Teddy and I cleaned up the division.
 |
| Pleasure Pairs at the fun show! |
In November, I decided that because of Teddy's rapidly deteriorating joints, I would only show him a handful of times in 2005. During this month, I agreed to catch-ride one of the newest trainers at Magnolia's horses, "AJ." He was a cantankerous horse, but this show turned out to be terrific. It was a huge, huge county-wide show in Raleigh, and my classes were packed. I placed in the top five in every class, and in our final class, it was about 9pm and it had started raining. I was tired and AJ was worn out too. That class continues to be one of my proudest moments. Against thirty-four horses, the largest class I had faced at that point, we won and went Youth Champion.
 |
| Schooling a semi-retired Teddy |
Spring, 2005
I truly believe that at this point, I started doubting that Teddy's age was factual. He would've been eighteen, but he looked a lot older. His face was almost completely white and he moved so stiffly and had trouble keeping weight. On March 13, we went to our first Horse Trials at TTC. Our dressage wasn't the greatest (a -42, or a 58%. Oops.), our cross-country was a laugh, but we went clear at stadium and earned a seventh place out of 14. Danielle, now more friend than trainer, got a second. Five days later, Teddy's stifle locked right in the middle of a course at Steeplehill and I had to scratch out of the rest of the classes.
 |
| Dressage at the Horse Trials |
 |
| After the awards ceremony! |
We went to the Oak Ridge Easter Horse Show a week later. The only thing that stands out vividly in my mind is this - I had Teddy tied to the trailer. He had finally gotten used to being tied again. I was tacking him up for my equitation class, and there was a girl lunging her horse nearby. Up the hill in the ring, the pony hunter division was going on. Teddy was a bit antsy because he knew he was going to work and he was excited, but he was also a bit nervous because of the whip mere yards away. As I was putting on his bridle, the whip cracked and Teddy spooked, pulled his head out of his halter and took off before I could catch him. He bolted across the show grounds and stopped the entire pony division while my group helped catch him. It took about ten minutes. The people in the ring weren't happy.
 |
| Showing in equitation at the Oak Ridge Show. |
In April, Teddy got his leg hooked through a fence, spooked and pulled out. He had a swollen tendon and a sore foot.
May 7, 2005 was the last lesson I had on Teddy where I didn't have to worry about his soundness and whether he would be able to work. It was with a young trainer who rode on the A circuit, Samantha. She offered many insights and helped my riding greatly. We were able to fix Teddy's speeding up after flying changes or after landing from jumps.
 |
| Final "good" lesson with Teddy. |
Two days after this terrific lesson, I was in the ring schooling Teddy over fences. He landed funny from a jump and immediately bruised his shoulder. He was out of work for three weeks. I rode Kelsey's horse, Dancer, and started taking lessons from Jodi. Jessica was busy giving horse camps all that summer.
Summer, 2005
I remember that summer clearly. It was when our fragile social system at the barn started to splinter. People were dividing themselves up. One of the barn mothers' daughter, Isabella now desired to ride Teddy and prove that she could control him and take him from me. I rebelled and told her that he was mine. (Note: looking back - middle school/high school barn girl drama is ridiculous)
From there, everything went down the john. People were accusing each other of ridiculous notions such as stealing money or tack.
While all of this was happening, we got a new boarder named Becky. She was an A-circuit jumper who had sold the barn manager several of her horses. She casually mentioned that she used to own Teddy. Every time I got alone with her and encouraged details, she was coy. She would only say that she had done jumpers with him in the Level 2s and 3s, and that he had won some classes. She told me that her very heavyset brother, Peter, had ridden him in dressage and trained him to do some Grand Prix. At this time, Teddy was just recovering from some very painful hoof abscesses. Becky offered to give me some lessons on him. I jumped at the chance to know more about him.
I grew more and more suspicious. Teddy had reverted to his panicked, nervous behavior that he had exhibited after he was rescued. One detail that stood out in my mind - Peter had offered to show how Teddy could perform upper-level dressage movements. He tacked Teddy up in a very ill-fitting saddle, and tightened the girth all in one go. At that point, I figured out where the scars on Teddy's back and stomach had come from. Teddy freaked out, slammed into one of the beams in the aisle, and flipped over and stayed on his side. I rushed forward to undo the girth and was pushed aside by Peter. He braced his back against the beam that Teddy had just smacked into, and pulled on the lead rope. Teddy was dragged around on his side via the lead rope which was attached to his halter. He was basically dragged on his side by his head.
I figured it out then. My poor, poor horse.
Soon afterwards, Becky and her brother left the barn. I was allowed to enjoy my last few months with Teddy. The barn scandal simmered and cooled off.
At the end of August, I received a mare called Seeker, and I knew it was almost time for Teddy to retire. He was formally retired from the show ring on September 24, 2005.
 |
| My Tedster napping at his last show ever. |
The Retirement
Teddy continued to be ridden for the rest of the year, and in February, his owner and I agreed to retire him fully. His shoes were pulled and he was turned out to pasture. I had the honor of the last ride on my beloved horse, my best friend. Unfortunately, what we hadn't known in account was how bad Teddy's feet were. His coffin bones in both front legs rotated and nearly broke through the soles. He hurriedly had shoes put back on, with extra padding on the soles. Teddy was completely retired at this point, and Dawn started looking for an appropriate retirement home. We found a good home for him, and on August 1, 2006, we hauled him and left him there.
It was and still is one of the worst days of my life. I left my horse at a strange place and never saw him again. The deal was a trade - we traded two of her horses, Skippy and Sport, so that she could get Teddy and Lucy. The look in his eyes stabs me in the heart every single day, when he realized that he wasn't going to show or go on a trail ride or do something exciting.
 |
| The last picture I ever took of Teddy. |
The Sickness and Death
On March 14, 2008, I asked Teddy's owner if I could get directions so that I could go and visit Teddy the following month, because I was going to get my driver's license then. She denied my request. Through lots of drama, I found out why. Teddy had cancer and looked awful, and she didn't want me to see him. Every time I asked Dawn how he was doing, she would just say, "He's doing okay."
One day in December, Sport was given back to the retirement home. I didn't think much on it - he did have a bad leg and it turned out he had an inoperable cyst that made him virtually unsound for riding. I had high hopes for a while - that Teddy would come back. He never did. I found out why a month later.
Teddy had been put down on December 18, 2008. Upon examination of his teeth and bones, it was discovered that Becky had lied to the barn manager about his actual age. He was about fifteen years older than previously thought. The cancer had spread to his brain and he had gone blind, and the most humane thing was to have him PTS. My best friend died, and nobody told me for a month.
Epilogue
It was a twist of fate that spawned into a story that changed the life of a young girl - me. Reading this story, you don't see the twist of fate until you see this one little statement my friend, Annette, told me. Paraphased, this is what she said.
"We went to Becky's farm to try out a horse for me. I was supposed to ride Teddy, but we couldn't catch him so Beth offered to let me try another horse. Imagine! If I had gotten Teddy, Dawn would've bought Larry and he would have been yours."
Fate does strange things. Larry is Annette's horse in a million. Teddy was my horse of a lifetime.
Teddy
April 22, 1974 to December 18, 2008
0 comments