March 22, 1986 (When Maggie came to live with us)

Today, 24 years ago, my parents bought my friend's horse, Midnight Magnolia aka "Maggie" for me. She was a registered QH mare, solid bay, 7 years old. Little did I know how much I would come to love this little mare.

Here are some photos of Maggie through the years.

1986

1987

(Later I learned how important a hard hat was)

The girl on the gray (in the saddle) is who I bought Maggie from (we just re-connected recently after many years!). The girl riding double in back is now a Nationally Ranked Arabian Sporthorse competitor (and still one of my VERY best friends of all time).

One of the few open shows I attended on Maggie. We did everything from English classes to ride-a-buck, to the arena race. She was game for anything!

Ha - I didn't have nice leather boots until the later years. These old rubber boots were great though! (and I still have that saddle and bridle...)

One of our many early morning rides:

I sold Maggie in 1989 to move to a bigger horse who I thought would take me through the ranks of Pony Club. He was wonderful, but proved to be a bit too much horse for me. I'll have to blog about him one day...

Thankfully, after I sold Maggie, she stayed in the area where I lived, so I was able to keep track of her. She changed hands several times and ended up at an eventing barn behind our house where I worked. She was a wonderful lesson pony and taught so many people how to ride. Once Maggie got older and it was time to retire her from teaching, the barn owner kindly gave her back to me so I could retire her.

1998

These photos were taken after Maggie came back home:

(I love, love, love her dapples every spring)

Here she is grazing with her best buddy, Buck. Buck and Maggie were the first 2 horses I ever owned. Buck was very sad when Maggie left in 1989. I still had Buck when Maggie came home in 1998. I led her into the pasture and just unclipped her leadrope. She and Buck ran up to each other, sniffed noses and Maggie sighed a huge sigh. They immediately dropped their noses and began grazing together. It was like Maggie had never left.

Here they are waiting on dinner:

Maggie being a trooper and graciously giving rides to my oldest:

(I know - no hard hat or shoes...He got a hard hat and paddock boots soon after he decided he wanted to start riding!)

2007

I believe this is about the last time anyone rode Maggie. Her eyesight and hearing are fading, so she is just a pasture pet now. This is her little buddy Tonto. Buck passed in 2001 and we went 2 years before buying Tonto. Maggie needed a buddy because she was getting lonely.

The photos below were taken on Maggie's 29th birthday:

2008

Maggie's 30th birthday:

2009

After her bath:

Winter 2009:

Maggie is one of those "special ones" that folks talk about. She has always been such a kind and gentle soul, never balking at anything I asked of her. She was never fancy, or had the best conformation, but the lessons she taught me growing up were priceless. She taught me patience, trust, kindness and gentleness.

Maggie is really beginning to show her age now. Amazingly, she will be 32 years old on May 8. She spends a lot of time sleeping, frequently laying flat out on her side. My poor Mom fears she is going to find Maggie dead any time now. But you know, that's the way I had rather her go. I'd rather not have to make the tough decision of putting her down, I had rather her pass peacefully in her sleep. Our wonderful vets check on her regularly and they always say the same thing, "You will know when it is time." I know I will, but again, I just really hope I don't have to make that decision.

Maggie was certainly one of the best decisions our family ever made.