The Start of the Journey

Trying to recall this time of owning Jake is a little difficult. It was rather uneventful and not anymore unique than a girl getting to know her horse. Since Sebastian was gone I would ride Jake, cause no way was I going to stop riding. I just was going to get over my distaste for riding him. Honestly it didn't take long, soon I started to enjoy his energy, his fiery personality in the saddle that contrasted his calmness on the ground. He was easily handled on the ground, I could saddle up on my own and there was no worries of him pulling back or spooking. I gained confidence in him while Sebastian had established uncertainty. Jake was predictable, I knew what he was going to do and when.

My father started to take me to the arena for lessons in town and I started Jake on barrels. I wanted to go to rodeos and Gymkhana's. I had wanted to with Sebastian but luckily my fathers common sense over rode mine and he had wormed his way out of me going to shows with him. Jake didn't buck or spook and to my father, was a much more reasonable horse to show. So I started training, working on barrels in the only way I knew how. Occasionally I would get lessons from Helen to help point me in the right direction, but the lessons grew more and more infrequent. I spent more and more of my time cruising around the property at my dads house and starting to explore the trails that were behind. I wasn't even aloud to go far. (My father was very protective, after he watched Sebastian dump me once, and another time I came into the house saying Sebastian had bucked me off and was galloping down the road.)

Jake never said no, he would go through any water and go near anything that could be considered frightening to horse. He would barely flinch if a car back fired on the road or if a tarp flew up off the pile of wood. I believe fully that this horse gave me the confidence that I have today, he gave me a consistent start to true horse owning that I will never forget.



Now none of this was because Jake was well trained. He was far from it. He had no give to the bit, he barely neck reined, he had no other walking speed other than fast, he broke into faster gaits, he pranced and had little to no work with lateral control. He was just bomb-proof that was the only thing he had going for him. That and he was an easy handle on the ground. Somewhere here I fell in love with this horse. When I had been younger and played with friends I always wanted to have fiery, barely controllable horses that pranced and just wanted to run, snorting and I wanted everyone to know I was a great ride because I wasn't afraid. Jake was the one that fit the criteria. He was fiery and intimidating to most people, he was a horse that not everyone could ride and was flashy. He was everything I wanted.