TBT: Cuna-style, Thanksgiving-style

such a fun weekend

I'm taking a deep breath this fall and emotionally processing all the things that have happened this year. Part of that is just talking about Cuna again--remembering who he was and what he meant to me. So here's a quick look back to fall of 2012. Cuna was still in work and doing great at the show barn.

In September, Cuna and I road tripped it up to the mountains for some specialized instruction and (my favorite!) trail riding under the trees. I'm still sad that we only took pictures on the day with little jumps, but Cuna and I did some of our best work ever. I should have been a little more dorky and measured one vertical. I think it was 3'3", but it might have been 3'6". It was bar none, the most fun road trip I've ever done with a horse.

great outfits for both

November got cold fast. I didn't know it at the time, but we were in for one of the hardest winters we've had around here. I guess the snowflake polos were quite fitting.

Instead of worrying about that, Cuna and I were focused on developing really quality connection. I had to figure out how to ride effectively and he gave me some incredible work. It was just a taste of what a well schooled horse can do.

Cuna was really the first time I ever got to spend time on a schoolmaster and learn from the horse instead of constantly teaching. If you haven't done that, I highly recommend it.

Ever the gentleman

December was cold and miserable, but a friend of mine who hadn't ridden in years came out and hopped on Cuna on a horrible, windy day.

He was a fireball for me, but he was sweet for her and even put his little nose down like a proper dressage horse.

I know Courage is wildly more talented at dressage now than Cuna was ever going to be, but that's not really the point. Cuna certainly had evasions and definitely threw fits and always expressed his personality, but day to day, I just loved being around him.

He wasn't a horse to me. He wasn't even "the horse". Cuna was one of the strongest personalities I've ever encountered and we just clicked. Call it BFFs, call it bosom buddies, call it love: it doesn't matter. It was a meeting of the minds and melding of lifestyles.

He's why I can't stand to see ammy owners trapped with horses they're scared of and unhappy with. I lived and breathed that horse and thought about him all the time. I was never, ever afraid of him and we attacked new challenges because we knew we'd come through them together.

He gave courage to me.