David, my sister Katie’s husband, passed away in May, losing his battle with cancer. He did get to stay at home, and it was such a comfort to be at home.
David loved so many things, but one of them was photography. One of the reasons we have such an extensive library of horse photos and family photos is because he was always taking pictures! Below is an album of some of his photography work and some pictures of him and our family. I tried to pick horse photos that were recognizable and some that people have never seen. Just click on the photo to see it full size.
The memorial service for him was beautiful, with poems, readings, singing and prepared remembrances. What was surprising and touching though, were the unprepared remarks from the congregation. The service lasted almost two hours with people telling stories, sharing pranks and recalling kindnesses. They said that David continued to show them how to live, even up to the very end. Just the Friday before he died, he made it to the weekly coffee get-together in Collinsville. Living life to the fullest; always an adventure.
The part that got to me though was when my sister read. LOVE by Ray Croft. I don’t know how she could do it. I just bawled. “I love you not for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.” For the whole reading, follow this link. It is beautiful. http://rinabeana.com/poemoftheday/index.php/category/roy-croft/
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Congratulations to new owners of Mangalarga Marchadors here in the Southwest! All great horse homes!
Valarie Giacalone, UT has purchased an SW Future Foal frozen embryo from Azenha de Maripa x La Paz Jivago (pictured left). She made history when it took! This will be the first Marchador foal produced from a frozen embryo in the U.S.! It will be born in May 2013. If it is a filly, the mare will be named Harlequin do Summerwind and if it’s a male, Hemingway do Summerwind. Both Valarie and son Chris traveled here to Colorado (in August, after the breeding) to meet and ride the Marchadors and this is what Valarie wrote: If anyone was wondering, these horses are so much more magnificient in person than in their wonderful pictures! They could not be more perfect, and Chris and I are thrilled beyond words to be part of this family!
Debra Rowley, Dallas TX has purchased Flying Oaks Pegasus. In a joint effort between Flying Oaks Ranch and SW Future Foal, the copper-bay gelding was sent to Ned Leigh of Ned Leigh Equine Focus, my equine transporter and horse trainer extraordinaire. After she lost her mare, Debra has been searching for a versatile horse that she can depend on and thinks Pegasus will be that guy. Pegasus is a 3 year old, but has been climbing the ladder of experience with Ned to do long rides, water crossings, lateral work and will continue on with Ned with some specifics from Debra before heading to TX. Ned says he is so light that he is a joy to ride. Great gait too!
Oma de Maripa
Adrienne Scheck, Scottsdale AZ has reserved the Future Foal of Brasilia do Summerwind and Oma de Maripa! Anyone who has met these 2 parents knows what a special horse this will be! We couldn’t be more excited. Expected late October or early November, code-named Genghis-Khan do Summerind (Adrienne has not picked new names), he/she will be a Mangalarga Marchador! Power! With a smooth and cadenced marcha batida gait, it will be a horse that can perform well at any discipline. And Beautiful! The first OMA foal in the U.S.! SW has retained the breeding rights for the future, whether the foal be male or female, so it will be a shared day of joy for all of us!
Congratulations on getting your very first Marchador horse!!!!
Two very special SW Future Foals remain available for reservation. We guarantee our foals! Expect to be IMPRESSED!!!!
#1 To be born 2/2013 in AZ: Hermes do Summerwind (code name, you would get to name the foal if you decide to reserve it.) The product of Azenha de Maripa, imported MM mare and Ximoio de Maripa, still in Brasil. This will be our sport horse foal in the true tradition of Agro Maripa! Ground covering marcha batida! Add the bonus of the most beautiful features in the head and neck. Almost pure Abaiba bloodlines, this foal will be the one that people will stop to watch. Before it is born, I am predicting it may be the most beautiful Marchador in America.
Reserve Hermes for $15,000 or reserve the foal in condominium with SW Future Foal for $10,000. We are interested in future foals or breeding rights in exchange for the reduction in price.
#2 To be born 3/2013 in NC: Hallelujah do Summerwind (code name, you would get to name the foal if you decide to reserve it.) The product of Elba Cruzalta (Bella), imported MM mare and La Paz Jivago, imported MM stallion. This foal will be a full brother to Tigre do Summerwind, a striped dun, who is still everyone’s sweetheart. This foal will be pure pleasure, laid back, so smooth, but still athletic, a marcha picada or marcha de centro gait.
Reserve Hallelujah and sing Hallelujah for a great price – $6,500. (U.S. Parents)
Please visit the mare and stallion pages for more information about the parents and for more photos and videos.. We would be delighted to talk to you in depth about the Future Foal program, what we offer and if this approach would be right for you!
SW Future Foal offers a 10% appreciation discount on any product to our current SW Future Foal customers and to any Marchador breeder.
The circle of life is hardest to accept when it’s time for your dearest friend to pass on. Today, our beloved dog Mac died at age 13. People will say Lynn and I were lucky to have him with us for so many years, but there is never enough time.
Mac joined our world on St Patricks Day when Lynn surprised me with a border collie puppy. It was particularly sweet, since I had had only one other dog in my early years who also was a border collie called Spike. I lost that dog on the day my father died on my seventh birthday. Looking back I realized that Spike was more my father’s dog then mine, since he stood over my father and shortly there after disappeared. Getting Mac from Lynn was almost like finding Spike and closing a painful chapter in my early life – the circle of life.
Mac was unusually large for a border collie but a gentle intelligent soul that touched everyone that he met. He could outrun a Frisbee, run for hours, and herd anything. He was very protective of his younger brother Jamie. Once when coyotes lured Jamie into the brush at our ranch, Mac charged the pack and brought Jamie back safely.
Jamie and Mac on a hike up Troon Mountain in AZ.
On another occasion, we were at the car wash waiting for our car when a young mother with a baby in a carriage approached and asked if it was safe to pet the dogs. The baby pulled on Mac’s ears, poked him in the eyes, and laughed loudly. Mac sat quietly. A few minutes later a young man with a manly dog came by and the dog lunged at the baby, teeth showing. Mac raced over, placed his jaws over the face of the dog and drove him to the ground. I was fearful Mac might harm him but he just stood between the baby and the dog in that sideways look so common for border collies.
Mac was very smart. I often said he was smarter than most of the people I have met during my life. Back in New England one of his jobs was to get the morning paper. If there wasn’t one on our driveway, he would search the neighborhood until he found one. We always let him out through the garage and he came back in the side door. One winter morning I was out with him and told him it was time to go in the front door. He turned and looked at me oddly but trotted over to our actual front door which we never used. I looked at him and realized I had said the front door not the side door. When I corrected myself, he calmly trotted to the side door waiting for me to let him in.
The family photo
Mac could talk. He just used a different language. I don’t mean that he barked but rather he would make an endless variety of sounds that over time Lynn could understand. He would wake you in the morning, talk to you about how hungry he was, and constantly describe what he saw on his morning walk. It was my problem that I didn’t always understand.
As we grew older together, we became more and more alike. Protective of our routine and less tolerant of others, we enjoyed our time together.
I will miss Mac forever but will be forever grateful for how he explained the circle of life to me. I think I will be better prepared as life and death move on.
