Skip-a-dee-doo-dah, Thank you, Lord, for making him for me...
And thank you for letting life turn out the way
That I always thought it could be
There once was a time when I could not imagine
How it would feel, to say...
I'm the happiest girl in the whole U.S.A. ~Donna Fargo

I was belting this song out Sunday on my way to the barn when this last chorus suddenly took on a whole new meaning for me. I will preface this by saying that yes, I do tend to be prone to intense, somewhat dramatic emotion when I am overwhelmed by something: love, beauty, babies, a touching Tide detergent commercial... But as I sang these lines, my voice caught when I applied them to Tuff. A bit of anthropomorphism, you say? Perhaps. Yet hard as it may be for some to understand, it's true for me.

I never thought the day would come, at least not at this point in my life, that I would own a horse. And I certainly didn't expect that the relationship that would develop would touch my soul the way it has. Tuff is not a perfect horse....but I am not a perfect owner. I have a lot to learn and the patience he exhibits (barring any time spent in the wash rack, waiting in cross ties while his grain is poured, and when he's been left out in turnout too long) with me is a gift of which I don't always feel deserving. His eyes are wiser than you can imagine. His heart and will are tremendously strong. And I quite literally thank God for every day that I spend with him.


Our day finally came and after much work with Aleta, Tuff and I entered the schooling show this Sunday. After a disheartening glance at the showmanship pattern, I convinced myself that no matter what happened, Tuff and I would do our best and just enjoy the day. More than that, enjoy what this accomplishment meant -- a horse slated for death had rebounded to the point of not only surviving, but thriving. It was our first show together, and I could not have been prouder. After a trial run through the halter class in which Tuff's head drooped with sleep, we were ready for the showmanship. The first class was ok - Tuff took a pretty big stumble on the 360 turn and I started off in the lineup on the wrong side. We were 5th out of 6, so not last place! Our final class went better. The turn was smoother, and we did our best. I was pleasantly surprised and beaming with pride when we were announced 3rd place out of 8 horses. Tuff got a shout-out from the announcer and we marched out of the arena.

Not bad for our first go. Who am I kidding? He makes me so proud I could burst.