Sparky's Last Photos

Ellie and I did a show at our lesson barn this past weekend instead of taking a lesson. I would have done a lesson on Saturday before the show, but my instructor went to NEDA Spring with her eldest daughter, who was able to get her last Grand Prix score for her USDF Gold Medal!!! So that is a good reason to not be able to lesson haha.

I admit I was a little bummed about our low scores at the SMDA show two weeks prior. I know a score of 6 (60%) is called satisfactory, but I really thought our performance was better than a low 60%.
I was determined to ride well and even though Beth was not there, I had her youngest daughter as my back up if the wheels fell off the bus LOL! She was already in the warmup and at the show ring with her actual students, so it was nice to have her there to remind me to breathe and not hang on the left rein! ;-)
Ellie unloaded and was totally calm. Honestly, she loves her lesson barn and knows it is her second home haha. She was much calmer tied to the tra…

Sparky's Last Photos

When I made the appointment with my vet to put down my old sweet mare, I called my childhood friend, A, who is a talented photographer. We grew up together riding at the same barn, she had known me before Sparky, and was a huge part of my horsey life for many years.

We made an evening date of July 1 to take what I thought would be amazing final photos of my girl. Unbeknownst to both of us, I ended up having to put Sparky down the very next morning, so it was such a perfect evening in so many ways.

I could never thank A enough for these photos. I cherish each and every one of them.

Senior photo (left) 1997
Last photo of us together (right) 2014
~ same spot ~

She looked so good, it was hard to come to terms with the idea that I had to put her down.

Being the horse savvy friend she is, A was wise enough to take photos of how Sparky stood. She knew that while I might not be able to look at these specific photos immediately, it would help if I should ever doubt I had made the right choice. This mare's hind end was literally giving out on her. And I DID NOT want her to go down and never be able to get up again.