The Chase is Dun, fondly known by all as Buddy, is a registered Half-Arab foaled in July 2004 in Pebble Beach California. Much of his early life is unknown to me, though I believe he may have been started in reining training. He ended up with an injury to his pelvis during his younger years, whether from training or just playing as a baby I never found out. At age five he was listed for sale and a trainer I would later ride with purchased him under the impression he would make a good addition to her lesson program. However, upon returning home, she discovered he had been drugged during the trial ride and Buddy came out of the trailer wide-eyed and in a panic. When she rode him a few days later, he attempted to buck her off in one direction and spin her off in the other. Buddy spent the next several years getting passed among different riders at the barn, some doing well and working to improve his training, and others only managing to hit the dirt.
In 2012, I started working as a volunteer at the barn. I'll never forget my first day, taking a tour of the property with the other newbies and spotting the gorgeous golden dun with his head hanging over the grey gate. It wouldn't be for another two years - when the mare I had primarily been riding was put down after a bad colic, and I was in need of another horse to fall in love with - that I would finally get to ride that handsome horse. Buddy had been out of work for a while and I gathered up my courage and asked the barn owner if I could start riding Buddy. She was skeptical at first and understandably so, I can't claim to have been an excellent rider and trainer at the time and Buddy had a certain reputation. She agreed to a trial ride and I excitedly saddled him up and hopped on in the round pen. That first ride was something magical, not because we did anything magnificent but because the instant I swung my leg over his back we just connected. Buddy, thanks to his hip injury, didn't have a strong right lead. That day he picked up both leads as easily as any of the lesson horses on the property. The owner was impressed enough that she agreed that I could work him on my own, to my great delight!
A few months later I was certain Buddy was ready to join the drill team, something that had the owner once again a bit nervous. He hadn't made for the best drill horse in the past and had bolted more than once in terror, not liking being squeezed in between nine other horses. I, however, was positive he was ready for the challenge and (nicely) badgered her until she let me try him. Not long after, we led the team into a performance at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo's Mane Event, the biggest performance that team had ever done. It was after this that the stable owner approached my mother, announcing she wanted to give Buddy to me, something I will always be grateful for.
Being the first horse I had ever owned Buddy went through a lot of trial and error and survived all kinds of crazy events with me before I knew any better. We rode in several harrowing parades, including the Stock Show in Denver which I'm still not entirely sure how we made it out alive. We also rode our very first Cowboy Dressage test together, a disastrous affair that ended in frustration and tears because I had been sent into the ring woefully unprepared. The moment of humiliation was not in vain however as Eitan, the founder of Cowboy Dressage, stopped the test midway through and came out to help me. At the time, I was embarrassed I had needed the help but incredibly touched by his kindness. It was this behavior from someone who I didn't expect to give two hoots about the struggling teenager in over her head that led me to attend one of his clinics a few months later. I've been hooked on Cowboy Dressage ever since.
My journey of equestrian education, and Buddy and I's exploits, tie closely together. He went to every clinic with me, tried out various boarding barns, and endured any and all of my shenanigans with a positive attitude. We've done everything: groundwork, Liberty, obstacles, La Garrocha, Mounted Archery, gymkhana, drill team, freestyle performances, Cowboy Dressage and more. When in 2018 I was given the incredible opportunity to travel to California and intern under Eitan for two months, I'm pretty sure that first words out of my mouth after "Wow! Really?" were "Can I bring my horse?" and yes, yes, I did. That was a trip of a lifetime that I won't get into detail about here, but Buddy made the perfect adventure partner to have with me. That year we showed at Cowboy Dressage World Finals and came in as Top Scoring Professional and placed 5th in the Top Hand competition, a difficult event that involved passing a qualifying test and then riding an intense mystery test and swapping horses. Buddy truly gave me 110% throughout the entire competition, I couldn't have been more proud of my little "crazy horse."
Since then, Buddy has been with me as I have started my own lesson and training business and has endured losing his only child status when I purchased my second horse, Apple, to use as a lesson horse. It took him a while, but he finally decided having a sister to pick on had its advantages. He's even started filling in as a lesson horse himself, when needed, for more advanced students! He's playful (he loves to steal your whip!), but he's no longer the explosive and fearful horse who got off that trailer from California.
We've done so much in our time together, but we are by no means done. Buddy receives regular chiropractic for his old hip injury, but besides a mild irregularity in his step, he is sound as can be. I still believe we have many exciting adventures ahead. I plan to keep riding him until the day he tells me he wants to retire. Judging from what I've seen lately, that won't be anytime soon! This special horse will always have my heart whether he's running in my pasture or my memories. He's my best friend, my partner in crime, my therapist, and my heart horse.
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