Nikki

My beloved, gentle mare Nikki passed on to greener pastures Friday night. I say "my" but I mean it loosely as I had sold her to my best friend Shannon a year and a half ago.

In the fall of 2002 I decided that we needed a horse that I could ride and that S could move up to. Yugo, bless his soul, was getting too old. I asked my friend and adviser Tammy to let me know if she knew of anyone who had a 20ish year old Arabian for sale. I'd always dreamed of owning an Arabian and Yugo was at least half Arabian, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. She got a list of older Arabians but the one that caught my eye was the Morgan cross. A nice lady had owned Nikki since birth. She loved her dearly and even had her senior picture taken with Nikki. She told me her name was Princess Nikolai something or other (memory is bad), but they called her Nikki.

On a crisp fall day we ventured off to test out this horse. She seemed a little hard mouthed, but otherwise a good horse. N and I both rode her and liked her, so we loaded her up and brought her home.

That next year, I swear I was on her back trail riding as much as the girls were on their horses. We took her to the speed shows we attended and S rode her a time or two as well. As things went from bad to worse on the horse N was riding she took over riding Nikki at speed shows and low and behold she not only knew barrels and poles, she did reasonably well for N.





I even took her in a few Egg and Spoon competitions and won reserve high point at then year end banquet.













N continued to use her off and on during the next year and I continued to trail ride her. The girls took her twice into town to trick or treat with her. One year N was the headless horsemen with her and the next she was a cowgirl.















In the spring of 2006 I offered her for sale to my buddy, so that I could purchase N a pair of Appaloosa barrel horses (one being Classy). That spring I more than once wished I hadn't sold her, for she was just SO dependable and my new mount was a bit spooky. I never doubted she was loved at her new home and that she was content to continue to teach her new family her style of riding. (fast trotting!)

This spring she came out of winter hard as old horses are apt to do. She continued to be the tough all broad we all knew she was and worked hard at installing confidence in yet another young rider. Two weeks ago she won third place in trot barrels in a class of at least 25. Little did we know she was battling an infection somewhere in her body and the fight just became to much for her. A few short days after going off food, she left her dear friends both equine and human and finished her journey here on earth. I know in my heart Kelzon was waiting and calling her home in those last few days, as she passed peacefully. They are together now happily grazing on a lush pasture and avoiding at all costs being caught!



Thank you dear Nikki for all you gave me and my family, you will not be forgotten.