A few months back I posted pictures of my horse, Champ, and commented at length on the condition he was in. Well, it turned out that that on October 31, 2013 he was put to sleep. My dad called me last night while I was at dinner with my boyfriend and so many other friends. I broke down right there. I ran towards the nearest spot to just kneel down and cry. TJ, my boyfriend, rushed to my side and held me for a long while as I just wept.

Some people might not understand the bond between a Rider and her Horse. Most never will. But that bond, from the moment it is formed, is a wonderful thing. There is nothing like it and there can be nothing that will duplicate it. Feeling the raw power under you, moving with your thoughts and your own body, being one with the other... It is something that you truly must feel in order to understand.

The first time I meet Champ, he was at my school's October Fest. The woman that brought him ended up being someone my Dad went to high school with. I met her daughter, Angela, and we just.... clicked. I loved Champ from the moment I saw him. This huge, powerful, palomino gelding. Muscles jumped under his skin at the slightest of landings from flies. He was the leader. He was so amazing to watch. So much so that Ms. Ginger asked if I wanted to help out with them giving pony rides for the rest of the day and the day after.

You could say it was then that I was hooked. I became not only passionate about Champ, but about horses. I soaked up whatever information I could. Champ was not always the best horse. I spend the first six months that I owned him reminding him that I was the one that would make him listen. That he would not buck me off. And if he did, I was getting back on him and going again. There were times that I came off his back and that horse stood over me to make sure that I was not trampled by the others behind us. There were times that I came off of him and he would just keep going. No matter what, I returned to his back.

I did this for ten years. In that time span Champ became a horse that I not only loved, but respected. He became the horse that I would put children on that were nervous or upset about riding. He is the horse that made the confidence of his rider grow. By the time that rider moved on to their own horse, whom I had been working with while they rode Champ, they were a much more confident rider and it was just magic.

As time went, I became an adult. I had to spend less time working with my old horse and more time working on... work. Then I moved. I last saw Champ at Thanksgiving 2009 when I went back home. That was the last time I saw him. I am going back home for Thanksgiving this year, and I was so excited to see him again. I mean, I was like this little girl in the puppy store picking out her first pet. For seventeen years this horse has been a part of my life. He listened when no one else would. He was my shoulder to cry on at times. He even dealt with me showing up at the barn at 2am and going for a ride bare back with on the full moon as light to guide us.

He touched so many peoples' lives, and he was such a huge part of mine. I would not be the woman that I am today without him having made me a better person. I love and miss him so very much. One day, one day I'll join him. And day comes we will burn up the sky as we race through the clouds. Everyone says they have a guardian angel. Mine just happens to be a horse named Champ. I love you old man.

Forever, Your Rider.