I’ve been working here on posting a tribute to Jack, our sweet horse, for most of the evening. It’s very difficult. He died yesterday.
Jack was a thoroughbred with a good pedigree. He was bred to be a race horse. But his racing career all but ended before it began; he was claustrophobic and was not able to cope with the starting gate. When we bought him, he was scrawny, not that the previous owner was mean; Jack’s appetite, and self-esteem, was poor. We believe he just needed some extra attention and a different life path. Dani saw his potential as a trainable show jumper, so we bought him. He balked at trailering. At one time point he almost broke his neck when he threw himself against the trailer ramp; he was THAT adamant about not getting in the trailer. But Dani did not give up on him; she was equally determined, firm, but kind in her approach. He saw a good person in her, and complied.
Jack’s Portrait:
Dani, who was only fourteen at the time, trained Jack. He warmed up to her gentleness, and found a friend in her. He definitely wanted to please her.
Jack did very well in the showjumping circuit, bringing in topranked ribbons.
Jack and Dani on queue during his second show. They looked fabulous together.
Jackjack, whose show name was Wild Talker, did very well in flat equitations and showjumping; pretty good for an ex-racehorse. He had a new lease on life and a new career. He and Dani enjoyed each other’s company; they were buddies. He would come running to us when he sees our car, as we drove up to the ranch..
We have other pictures of Jack during shows, but I need to stop for now. I will post more, but I’m in tears at the moment. Let me finish this post with the picture below, showing how far he had come from his crossrails days.
I’ll be back to update later.
Good bye, Jackjack. We already miss you.
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