10/31/2026
Seventeen years ago today, I said goodbye to my best friend.
Traveller was my go-to guy. We grew up together, navigated the eventing world on our own terms, and shared more years and memories than I could ever put into words.
He wasn't the picture-perfect event horse. He was a pigeon-toed, long-backed Percheron/Morgan cross with a personality all his own.
He was perfect to me.
As he aged and his body began to fail him, our relationship changed. The horse who had carried me for so many years became the one who needed me to carry him through his final chapter. Even when he could no longer get up on his own, he trusted me to help him. I never took that trust for granted.
His retirement opened my eyes to something I hadn't fully understood before — how few options existed for senior horses when their working years were over. They had given so much, yet finding a place where they could grow old, be loved, and receive the care they deserved was remarkably difficult.
In 2004, the farm was purchased so Traveller would have that place.
I never imagined that one horse would become the reason so many others would find sanctuary.
Since then, horses have come into my life, and far too many have left. Each has been special, each has left a mark, but none has ever filled the void Traveller left behind.
Some days, this work is heartbreaking. I take in the old, the broken, the forgotten, and those nearing the end of their journeys. I love them, care for them, and eventually face the hardest part of loving an animal—letting them go.
There is comfort in knowing they leave this world loved, with dignity, and without fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Traveller taught me that a horse's worth isn't measured by what he can do for us. Sometimes, the greatest gift we can give them is simply being there when they need us most.
He is why I do what I do.
Seventeen years later, I still miss my best friend. I miss his presence, his trust, and the bond that only comes along once in a lifetime.
You may be gone, Traveller, but everything I do here carries a piece of you.
Traveller is the WHY. ❤️
October 31, 2009 — Forever loved. Never forgotten.
