To often those of us who are blessed don't share what we have and take for granted our every day experiences. For those who have limited capabilities or are handicapped in some way; the smallest act of kindness can mean the world to them. So for all of you who are blessed, please share your blessings. BLESSED WITH A KING OF GOLD In the Spring of 07' we decided to promote our palomino stallion, King of Diamonds, and the mountain pleasure horse breed at the PA Horse Expo in Harrisburg. It was to be King's very first public appearance and only his 3rd trailer ride. We brought King home as a 1 year old colt from the Curren's Mountain Horse Acres where he was bred and raised and hadn't been off our farm until he was sent for training and from training straight to the Expo. King is a trail rider's dream. Short enough that I don't hit all the spider webs that everyone else missed; stocky legs for brush whacking and a smooth 4 beat lateral gait that could rock you all day long. King exemplifies the traits of the mountain horse with his intelligence, gentle disposition and a gait to rock your babies with. King was shown in Stallion Avenue and the Breed Demo to represent the Mountain Pleasure and Kentucky Mountain Breeds. While on display in Stallion Avenue, little children were invited into his stall to pet him and we constantly had lines waiting to give him attention. Late Saturday afternoon, in front of King's stall, I noticed a physically challenged young woman in a wheel chair with her arm in the air as if she wanted to touch him. She wasn't able to articulate but I could tell that this is what she wanted. I asked April Smith, King's trainer, if she would help to bring him out into the isle so that the young lady could touch him. (I hope nobody from the Expo ever reads this, I'll be black listed and never invited back!) King just stood there, calm as could be, looking at this contraption (wheel chair) that was wheeling up to him (he had never seen one in his life) and just looked while this young lady touched his belly and shoulder. With all the people surrounding us, there was total silence. To this day, I'm not sure if everyone was quiet because they were worried he was going to do something or if it was as moving experience for them as it was for us. I'm pretty sure that if I could have seen past the blur in my eyes I might have seen more tears than just ours. The look on her face is something that I will remember for a long, long time. I know that those of you who own Mountain Horses are just nodding your heads as if this is an every day occurrence because it is. I am sure there are other breeds of horses that the breeders would have had the same confidence in their young stallions, but I am sure there are some that would probably have had a very different experience, dancing and shying even going ballistic upon seeing and experiencing something like this for the first time. People surrounding and milling around; but for those of us who own mountain horses, we know that this is typical even for a 3 year old. On this day we know that his sire "Goldfinger's Star" would have been proud to call him "son". We are all proud of his sire as Goldfinger's Star is the official flag horse for the state of Kentucky. We thank God every day for giving us such a wonderful companion to care for; everyone needs one of these gentle giants in their pasture. |