~A Chestnut Filly~

~Written on August 1, 1998~

I had been thinking of buying a new horse. I ride long distance competitive rides with my horse, Chippy, and he is now 18 years old. Not too old to keep competing, but old enough for me to start thinking about getting a young horse and starting it while he continues competing for a few more years.

I was looking through our horse trader magazine in December of 1997 when I spotted her. There was no photo…just a short paragraph on her, something like this:

"2 year-old chestnut filly with flaxen mane and tail. Well bred. $1000"

Well, the ad caught my eye because the first horse we had ever owned was a flaxen chestnut. A chestnut horse is a shade of brown, usually reddish. A "flaxen" chestnut is one with a blonde mane and tail. They are not as common as regular chestnuts who have a brown mane and tail. Well, this filly was the right age and the right price. I would have several years to work with her before she was ready for competition. A phone call was made and soon after, the filly's registry papers were faxed to my mom at work.

When my mom came home from work with the filly's papers…boy did I have a surprise! She said that the filly was related to my Chippy…I said, "no way"…I thought she was joking! She wasn't…The filly is Chippy's niece…Chippy's mother is her grandmother…

When I realized this, I knew that I was supposed to buy this filly. I also noticed her registered name was "Ariela"…this also caught my attention since a someone I once felt close to, but am no longer friends with, owns a cat named "Ariel"…I thought for sure I'd have to change the filly's name if I got her since I wasn't sure I could stand calling her "Ariela" as it would remind me of this person who had hurt me badly…

Well, we made an appointment to go see "Ariela" and brought the horse trailer with us…I also had my mom convince the owner to take $900 dollars for her in cash if I decided to buy her on the spot…

As we were driving to go see her, I was singing a song called "Let That Pony Run" by Pam Tillis…just as we drove by a river, I was singing the following lyrics: "She got a divorce, and a chestnut horse, and a barn with an old hayloft…and sometimes she rides down by the river, says it makes her feel reckless and young…she just closes her eyes and she holds on tight…then she lets that pony run…" I just smiled as I realized this was meant to be…

As we neared the farm…I was shocked to see the name of the town we were entering where the filly lived. The town's name was "Renton"…the last name of the above mentioned person with the cat named "Ariel"…I thought, "Oh man, this is hard…"…

I loved the filly the moment I saw her and after looking her over, I bought her…we weren't able to get her home that day as she wasn't trained to trailer yet either…her owner tried to force her on and she just got even more scared…we left her there…

Her previous owner tried to load her a few days later and ended up cutting her leg open on the license plate…not good…

I came up to get her about a week later with some family friends and my mom and dad…instructions were simple…I had researched a way to get her on the trailer using the "John Lyons" method and it would take a maximum of five hours…I told everyone who was coming to be prepared to spend five hours without getting impatient…with no fuss, I had my filly standing quietly on the trailer in 45 mins…I know this was another lesson from God, teaching me the value of patience and kindness…

For a long time, I couldn't figure out why God had chosen a horse for me with the name of this old friend's cat and in a town that was her last name...I thought it was to hurt me…I know now it was God's way of making me stronger and to show me all the good things that may come of those things that do not turn out the way we want them too!

I still call Ariela by her original name and I am so very thankful of this beautiful filly who has never given me any trouble…I trained her quietly to ride and she rewarded me by letting me sit on her the second day I set a saddle on her back…she has never bucked…she is absolutely amazing and astonishes people all the time…she is the softest, most gentle horse I have ever met…and she loves to cuddle…

Thank you God, for my angel…my little chestnut filly…