A New Addition

Many who know me know that I have felt the pull for a Thoroughbred for some time.  I lost my first horse, an Off Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) mare on May 20, 2006.  Her name was Molokai Fire, and it was a very fitting name.  Molokai (also known as Moose, Moosey-Poo, Moo-Moo and Molly along with some others that aren't rated G) had an attitude and enjoyed rearing, but she also taught me a lot.  I learned to never stop riding, and to always grab made when I ever had any doubt.  I learned to sit deep and to be optimistic, as well as to be brave, even if you have to fake it.  I learned never try and use force to accomplish anything with a horse (especially a Thoroughbred), and I learned the importance of Dressage along with many, many other things in the 5 short years I owned her.  It's so weird to think I've owned Kidd as long as I had owned Molokai...

Anyway, what feels like many years after I lost Molokai, I met my [now] husband.  Back then, as I galloped my x-race horse across an open field, I never would have thought I would ever marry into a horse racing family.  I have learned so much since I lost Molokai 10 years ago about Thoroughbreds and the training involved in Horse Racing. For so long I have wish I could have Molokai back to do things differently. Correct. Not by feeling blindly in the dark. Not by guessing. Not by frustrated tears because I didn't know how to achieve the results I wanted.  Don't get me wrong, I rode with some fantastic coaches but it was only one that I felt like I truly progressed with.  She was a local girl only a few years older than myself, and following High School she went to Europe to train with some of the best Dressage trainers she had access to.  Many discredit young riders and instructors, but out of the thousands of dollars spent on multiple clinicians and lessons over the years from all over Western Canada, the one I made the most progress with was a 'just a young local girl'.  She also gave me fantastic jumping lessons to top it all off.

In March of 2016 I began looking for a new Thoroughbred.  I finally felt like Kidd was broke enough that I could share my time with more than one horse, and I really wanted to fill the void I've always felt since I lost Molokai.  If there's anything I have learned in the Horse World thus far, Thoroughbreds are tough.  Thoroughbreds are stubborn.  Thoroughbreds are hard headed, do-gooders and dig in and push back.  But with that, they're incredibly determined, loyal and worth the blood, sweat and tears.  Molokai was very much a one-person horse, and I think that's true for a lot of Thoroughbreds.. but I am okay with that.

I finally concluded that I wasn't going to buy a new horse this year.  I told myself I wasn't going to replace Molokai this year, and thus my clairvoyant nostalgia of replacing her in the 10th year of her passing was laid to rest.  Recently as I was scrolling through my Facebook, a particularly gorgeous filly was listed for sale on the lower mainland of BC.  I went out on a limb and messaged the seller.  What I can only describe as a chaotic, stressful, exciting landslide of holy screwery, I bought a new horse.  If filling the void of my Dark Bay Thoroughbred Mare with a new Dark Bay Thoroughbred wasn't enough, my new mare's name is Kai (note: my first horses name was Molokai).  There has been an incredible amount of things happen in a very short amount of time that have this entire situation feeling so surreal.  I've been holding back from introducing her publicly at this point because she doesn't arrive for roughly 2 weeks yet and a lot can happen in that amount of time, but I have paid her board for the next 2 weeks and the Sale Agreement is signed.

While she doesn't come without a little bit of baggage that I will save for another Post, I am so nervous but equally excited for this new adventure.  This isn't an end to "Spotted Dressage" just yet, but Kidd has a new little sister and I can't wait to get started on this journey with her!