& Here's to everyone who thought I was Crazy.

Yankee, ohmygod, Yankee. How to I even begin to describe him. Well, I guess I could begin at the begining of it all.
I don't come from a family with a lot of money, I had a mare but she wasn't going to carry me anywhere. I wanted a challenge. Our farrier recommended the racetrack, we have a pretty nice reliable track who doesn't really try to scam people. My mom and I considered it, because there was no way we could afford a 5,000 eventer. Now keep in mind, I had never shown before, and I was only a beginner.
We decided to take the opportunity. Mom went to the track first, and came back with two possible horses for me. One was a 17hh chesnut gelding, and the other a bay 16hh gelding. A day later, mom took me up to the track to show me the two horses. The chesnut was shakey, and spooky. That obviously wasn't what I was aiming for. And then we got to the bay, he came walking up to me, begging for attention. He'd follow me around in the pasture, and walk with us as we walked away. He was ordinary, he wasn't something that exactly 'popped out from the crowd.' but he was honest, and his eyes only showed me kindness. We bought him the day we saw him, without telling my father, he would have.. aha.. flipped out.
I got alot of crap from people, ALOT of crap from people. "That horse will kill you." "Those horses are dangerous!" "They don't care about your saftey, he'll run you straight over." "You're not a good enough rider, you can't handle THAT." I was never discouraged. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I was on a mission now though, to prove that I could do this. I found everyone funny though, all their comments. This horse that was suppose to want to kill me, only begged for my attention, begged to be petted, and brushed, and washed. He had a personality, and he soon fell to be my best friend. I broke my leg 3 days after he came home, so I didn't start riding him right away. That gave us a chance to bond, and I think those 4 months of bonding helped us out, alot.
When my leg was healed, I began riding an Arab/Qh X at my riding instructors. I had him from January until June, unfortunately his owners took him to another state. I was devestated. All I could think was, now I have to ride Yankee. It was like I took 3 steps forward, and 5 back. I had questioned god why he made Gideon leave, but he answered me very, very soon. Then I started with Yankee, in June '09. Yankee was smart, he was just brilliant. He learned quickly, and soon I was jumping much higher on Yankee then I ever was Gideon. Gideon shattered my confidence, and yankee was there to pick up the broken peices and mend them.
Now here we are, over 6 months later and Yankee has gotten me my d3, and c1 in ponyclub. I was lucky, unbelievably lucky. And to give you the honest truth, now that I'm older I wouldn't go back to the track to buy another OTTB. I was very lucky, and I wouldn't want to push it.
So here we are, and thats our journey. Although, it's not halfway over yet. He still has his track moments, especially in the cold weather. He loves to jump, but he still enjoys running. His head sometimes gets stuck in race mode still, and it's a hassle to ring him back into the real world. Yankee though, he takes care of me. He really does, and that's all I can ask for.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Yankee
• amazing ottb
• eventing
• 4'
• 3'9'
• 3'6''
• Thoroughbred
• Jumper
• Cross Country
• Flat

[iloveubarbaro]

Aw you two look AMAZING.

Perfect pair! <3 He's SO cute.

How'd he win 10k?!

[HorsesXareXmyXlife63]

In his racing career!! :D

[jumpingpacino]

wooooow :}]]

and i didn't know u could do that stuff!

i wanna do that now and buy a horse

lol

i need a project, but the next fall i have, can make me stop riding, so I can't risk anything :|

but are u going to the shows in feb. and stuff?

[HorsesXareXmyXlife63]

Thankyah! And yep!! I'll be back In Feb and on and on. Even though I event, I love the tall pines hunter shows.(:

[dodisandperky]

great riding ! :)

[pebblalypoo]

Wow. he goes over those jumps like they're nothing!!

[megnt123]

your an amazing rider and you too look like you guys were made for eachother! (:

[allyssanicole94]

I really think you both are a prefect pair :) I was also lucky with my track thoroughbred, but im training dressage. you have a very cute horse :)

[Kamiezk]

I love horses (: I have 2 a miniature named Buster and a quarter horse named Copper But, We cant afford to keep Copper :'[ He is a rescue horse and I dont want to lose him. Because he was abused in the past. But I think he will go to a good home. You two look very happy together and I wish you best of luck (:

[Kamiezk]

I love horses (: I have 2 a miniature named Buster and a quarter horse named Copper But, We cant afford to keep Copper :'[ He is a rescue horse and I dont want to lose him. Because he was abused in the past. But I think he will go to a good home. You two look very happy together and I wish you best of luck (:

[PoloTheWeirdo]

Wow, what a horse! :D Really amazing story, and I can certainly relate. :) Good for you for proving all those people wrong!

[HorseDreamer262]

Great video! You guys are really cute togeather! I know just how you felt! I own a 6 year old OTTB that's been off the track for less then a year (about 6 months I think) and I'm a begineer. A lot of people thought I was crazy and that I should get a 26 yr old QH instead. But my boy Devon is so sweet and the perfect horse for me. I've had him for a little over a week but so far so good!

Sorry for the novel!

[saraluvspaints101]

OMG! haha i havnt been watching a lot of videos recently and i havent seen one of urs in awhile and i honestly thought he was another horse. you guys have come so far!

[malialove333]

aww u guys look so cute together, and my horse Malia is a off the track thoroughbred and yeah they r crazy but they are soo loving :)