School had just started and I was bummed that me and Duke hadn't been able to go riding together like we had been doing in the summer. So everyday after school I'd hurry to the farm he was boarded at so incredibly fast to make up for the hours of school we were apart. He was the most beautiful horse in my eyes. Duke was a well built Quarter Horse gelding with a chestnut body and a big heart. His mane matched the gentle color of his eyes, and the color of my hair. He had the most gorgeous face. It was a very big head with a large white blaze that matched his four white socks. I groomed him so well everyday that there was not one hair out of place, and not one tangle in his tail. He was absolutely gorgeous, and he was all mine. He was a small horse of about 15hh which was perfect for my short 5'1'' body. We had competed and won championships in shows together, and he had such a personality. He always came over to me when I called him from the pasture and greeted me at his stall door in the barn. He liked to butt me with his head like a donkey to tease me, and take playful nips at my pants. Sometimes I'd just hold his giant head in my arms like a baby and he'd fall asleep. In return he'd let me bury my nose in his coat and I'd rest leaning on him, just smelling him. We treated each other good, and I loved him very much.
Our happiness together lasted seven years. I got him when he was six and I was in third grade. Our happiness together lasted until yesterday. Only yesterday, but I call it that day. I'm trying to get over it. It's impossible though. I just keep calling it that day.
Duke had been out with the other horses all morning, eating hay and playing halter games with his friends. I thought about how much fun he was having while I was stuck in algebra class. As soon as that 2:10 bell rang I jetted out of school like the human cannon ball from the circus. Jake, my boyfriend, picked me up at the corner in front of the school. We had been going together since the day we met at his barn during the summer. He was a rider also, and a very good one. His father was a vet and his mother a breeder so he had been around horses all his life and knew a great deal about them. His horse's name was Ebony, a completely black quarter horse mare. She was absolutely beautiful. Our horses looked great together and so did we.
I hopped in the car with him like I always did. We went to two different schools but his gets out earlier then mine and he always spent the extra ten minutes to drive over to pick me up. I got in the car like I always did, we talked and stuff like we always did, and we drove to my barn like we always did.
We sped down the street and talked about the summer, riding, racing, anything to do with horses. We were kids who complained about school, teachers, principals and that's exactly what was on our minds that day, well, yesterday. We didn't know that we would have much more to worry about in the hours ahead. But nobody can predict the future.
Chapter 2
This story was written by Katie who has been gracious enough to let us post it on our site.
Please do not take this story with our her permission first.
