This is Eddie. I was looking through some photos on my computer when I found this photo of Eddie from last year. I love this photo so much because it’s just a perfect photo of a horse that means the world to me. Allow me to tell you a little bit about Eddie and why I love him, and then we’ll get back to the photo.
Eddie was the school horse at the barn where I rode during most of my formative years, but our history started before either one of us found ourselves at that farm. Eddie and I first met when I was around seven years old. My dad was a freelance instructor at that time, and one of his clients owned Eddie, I believe my dad even helped her find Eddie. In one of his other past lives Eddie was a Children’s Jumper for a young boy. Not many people who know Eddie now are aware of that fact.
Eddie shared the client’s stable with one other horse: a “husband-safe” horse whom I was allowed to ride. I remember very clearly one trail ride my dad and I took. My tall, lanky father on the short-statured Eddie, and little seven-year-old me on the 16.3 husband horse, we explored the local hillsides. My father rode Eddie because he was considered to be too spirited for me to handle. Ironically, it was the husband-horse who later bucked me off for the first time in my life.
The client eventually moved and my dad helped find a new home for Eddie with one of his former students who had just opened her own barn. During the next couple of years, my dad’s involvement in the horse world was very limited, and I had little opportunity to ride. Then, as a birthday present, my parents got me riding lessons with the trainer who had been his student. When I showed up for my first lesson, anxious and unsure, I was surprised to learn that I would be riding Eddie who was now a school horse. Even though I had never ridden Eddie before, it was so comforting to be around a familiar horse in a place that was filled with strange horses and intimidating people.
In that first lesson on Eddie I jumped, even though I didn’t realize it, for the very first time. Eddie consistently packed me around at every lesson. I consider Eddie to have given me the gift of jumping. He was such a great partner, and I never doubted that he would take care of me. Towards the end of our partnership we started doing some equitation courses, which is when Eddie seemed to come alive.
When being groomed, Eddie would pin his ears in irritation and assume a sour expression. He is not a cuddly or overtly affectionate horse. When he was being hacked, his ears were still pinned backward and with a swish of his tail Eddie will let you know how thrilled he was at any given moment. Now in his twenties, Eddie is a little bit “Walter-Mathau cranky” and a little bit “Danny-Glover-as Riggs too old for this sh*t!” Eddie is the quintessential grumpy old man. The funny thing is that it’s all a sham.
While he pretended to hate the kids he ferried around, he really loved them. He pins his ears when being brushed but secretly he loves the attention. I discovered this by relentlessly smothering him with affection and adoration and ignoring his outward protests. A couple of times, always when least expected, Eddie has rewarded me for my devotion. Once, while grooming him, as I was switching sides, he lowered his head and gently placed it against my chest. For a brief moment, the grumpy façade fell away, and he let me ruffle his forelock, then he reverted to his normal attitude.
Eddie loved doing jumper turns. Maybe it reminded him of being a young, fresh, impressive jumper, but Eddies eyes would take on a new gleam; he would snort; the tail would swish more and he’d start dragging you to the jumps. Another thing that not many people know about Eddie is that he could turn on a dime. There’s another favorite picture I have of Eddie and me in mid-turn. His coat is shiny, his braids immaculate, his eyes alert, and his every muscle is being used. He doesn’t look like an old school horse, rather he looks like he’s in the ring at Harrisburg.
But let’s get back to the first photo of Eddie. Look at the Rip Van Wynkle whiskers on his muzzle. Eddie is now twenty-seven and officially retired. His shoes have been pulled, his whiskers never again to be clipped the morning of a show. I love the lighting in this photo. He’s looking intently into the sunset, which seems so appropriate somehow, like he’s viewing the sun setting on his long career. Look at the alert eyes and pricked ears. He’s simply beautiful.
To me, all school horses are beautiful and precious. They teach us to be better riders and repeatedly give us so much of themselves. Many riders, like me, have Eddie and school horses like him to thank for our continued passion for horses and riding.
