Oh Wow ... watching the movie on Secretariat and really reminded me of my love horse Jimmy. He wouldn't fit a mold and everyone thought he was a looser in his younger years...But he had the heart of a true show horse and could 5 gait like no one's business. I remember how the owners came up to me one night to say how amazing it was when I rode him down the lane at a rack. And I only got to ride him cause the "real" trainer was scared lol. A horse who wanted to show but needed a light touch
Unfortunately he died young. At 6 months (way back in the 70s) I was offered to buy him for 500$. a years later with some training I did myself, I was offered to buy him for 5K. I didn't have 5K at 15 years old lol . He went to the fancy trainer and died of colic a few months later. He had crooked legs but he was a great show horse. To this day I miss him and all he had... the fire, the love the showmanship.
I was blessed to have him for the time I did. At a time where my life was in chaos with incest (I wasn't drinking yet), Jimmy gave me a much needed feeling that I could work with things no matter how out of control they seemed. He worked with me He never bucked me off or scraped me on the fence (although it was close at times lol ) When we rode together he was dancing on the wind and I was too! If you've never ridden a horse like that I'm not sure I can explain .... but it was probably the high point of my life. We were together and in the moment, free, happy and powerful.