Remembering Duke. Highlights from a Memorial Day weekend parade; the Locust Blossom Festival Parade in Kendrick, Idaho. A first for both Duke and I, as neither of us had ever been in a parade, until that day. This journal entry was originally posted as a note to my Facebook page on June 5, 2015. It popped up in my Memories today. I knew I had to share it here, as well.
For years I have chased a feeling--an elusive feeling--of being one with my horse. Four feet, two hearts, one mind. Buck Brannaman talks about chasing that and reminds us it may take a very long time before we find it, but it's a good thing to chase. Pat Parelli reminds his students, "There's nothing you can't do, when the horse becomes a part of you."
On Saturday, May 30, 2015, on a street lined with hundreds of people--some friends, most strangers--I understood the feeling the words of these two horsemen.
We met at 8:00 am on the west side of Kendrick in the Primeland grain silo parking lot. Duke came out of the trailer with that "Where are we?" look, high headed and a wee excited. Rather than tying him next to the tack room, I tied him to the other side so he could see all the other team horses. The horses were all calm and quiet as the team members set about their tasks to get ready. Mounted and ready to roll by 9:00. Parade started at 10:00 on the east side of town, so we rode through town in the alley. This was our chance to practice and Charlene, our coach and team captain, wanted us to maintain one horse length spacing at all times. We had two walkers with us to assist if someone's horse got troubled, and Charlene reminded everyone if we had to correct our horse, to turn the horse inside toward the other horses and away from the crowd. Charlene paired Duke and I with a young rider named Nella and her, paint gelding Tonto, the only boys in the group of eight that day. Duke and Tonto got along very well.
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| Duke tacked up pre-parade. |
Duke remained calm, but occasionally pressed forward to close the spacing. Rather than pulling on his mouth the whole time, I used half-halts (thank you Jodi Simpson) to encourage him to slow down. Only had one tense moment behind Phil's Family Foods when Duke heard the sound--make that the roar--of the refrigerator unit fan. It was pretty loud, and he danced and jigged a bit but settled down straight away.
And then there were the bagpipes! :) LOL. They must have been with the Kendrick Fire Company because I never saw the pipers, but the second Duke heard them playing, his head shot up, his ears pricked forward, and he looked in the direction the sound came from. What is that?!?! I had to laugh out loud and told him those are bagpipes and I'm part Scottish, so bagpipes are a good thing! He got over them immediately, and it was refreshing to hear the pipers playing the song over and over.
While we waited for the parade to start, we practiced some maneuvers, and Charlene went over the different whistle cues to signal each maneuver. Our number in the parade was 73, and there were 74 entries, so we were at the very end. Oh, and our horse group won 2nd place!! We received the ribbon before the parade began. :) About 10:20 we started moving toward the parade route. Duke was mouthing the bit quite rapidly. As we neared the starting point, I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer and surrounded Duke and myself with white light. Over and over, I told myself to relax and sit deep in the saddle and keep my knees out of his side. Duke is a reliable horse, but he's a horse, and I truly had no idea how he would react. I've seen enough to know anything can happen. He's got shoes on now, and metal shoes can be slippery on asphalt. I'd never ridden him on the streets, or around large crowds of people. One of the walkers advised the riders the horses might spook when we passed the announcer's booth because of the sound, but Duke's had exposure to that from our team penning nights. And there's the cheering and clapping, something I've not exposed him to. Bubbles and plastic bags and hoola hoops and streamers and music and pop-up canopies...yes, got all that covered. But not clapping and cheering.
Turns out, I needn't worry.
Minutes before we turned on to Main Street, I took the reins up just enough to 'feel' him...make light contact with his mouth. And there I held the reins.
Moments later, we became one.
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| Duke and Tonto at the beginning of the parade route. |
I always wondered what it would feel like when I crossed that bridge and felt that harmony. Walking down that parade route, I lived it. The crowd was sparse at the beginning but as we made our way closer and closer to the park the crowd grew larger and larger. Duke took it all in stride, like a seasoned pro. I was so relaxed I found myself waving and smiling at people, whether I knew them or not! And Duke was drinking it all in. He loved it!!!
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| One of our maneuvers called The Tractor. |
Along the route we performed several maneuvers, and everything just flowed flawlessly along. Duke maintained the spacing and didn't rush. We approached the announcer's booth without a hitch, but at the park someone either had a bubble machine or was blowing a lot of bubbles and the group got a little out of order for a second or two but quickly recovered. I had previously exposed Duke to bubbles plenty of times so we rode through the cloud of the bubbles without breaking stride.
And it was over before I knew it. It went by so quickly! Funny thing, the only time Duke acted up was at the end, as if he was disappointed it was already over!!! LOL! What a character that boy of mine is!!!
I really need to give him more credit.
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| Photo op time, Duke and I are third from the left. |
Back at the trailers it was time for more pictures and Duke copped an attitude about one of the mares and was giving her the stinky eye...to the point that she didn't want to stand next to him. But Mitzi got her to come alongside him; not sure what that was all about but the photos were taken, and we arrived back at the trailers to find ourselves pretty much blocked in by cars. Apparently, people don't realize that parking next to a horse trailer isn't a great idea. I had cars on both sides of my trailer and a very anxious horse who, for some reason, didn't want to stand still now. At first, I considered tying Duke next to the tack room so I could get everything off in a hurry, but as soon as I tied him up, Duke wedged himself between the trailer and the black pick up next to it. Got him out of there before a stirrup got hung up in a side mirror and took him back over to the other side. If he pooped on the white car, well, maybe that would be a lesson for them.
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| Getting blocked in by vehicles. |
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| Duke watching all the happenings. |
Duke was more excited and "on his toes" after the parade than before. He didn't want to load up (he gets that way sometimes at the end of an event...trail ride, show, team penning, whatever...it's as if he's afraid he's going to get left behind). Interesting... Got him in the trailer and we headed home. I was so very proud of my boy, and yes, I cried on the drive home. I couldn't have asked for a more rewarding, enjoyable and validating first parade experience! Duke carried me proudly, true to his Morgan bloodlines. Brave, courageous, yet calm and levelheaded.
We did several other parades after that: Culdesac Shebang Days, Lewiston Round Up three times, and Veteran’s Day. He always took good care of me, and never gave me cause to worry. He truly was my heart horse--my once in a lifetime horse. I feel his absence every day. Life just isn’t the same without him.
Losing Duke reminded me even more than before, to savor every moment we live with someone. And to treasure those moments, hold them close and take time to journal about them because someday when the moment becomes a distant memory, you may want to look back and relive the feeling.
