When Barbara Long moved to western North Carolina, where the mountains and cold winters would not have suited Commander, she offered him to me in return for a loving and caring home. I was still struggling financially, teaching as an adjunct professor after earning my MFA, but I had to take him.
He taught me about aging with dignity. I knew that even with the best feeding, supplements, shoeing and exercise, Commander could not remain sound forever. Then it happened: he colicked. After being tubed and receiving Banamine, he was no better. I stroked him as the vet gave him the injection that put him to sleep. I was devastated but also grateful he had never had to endure debilitating lameness. After his death, I rode friends' horses.
Finally, I found full-time work halfway across the country in Moorhead, Minn. I moved with my Corgis, Caley and Zak, to an old Victorian home in Fargo, N.D. Again, I had to build a new life. I made new friends and was invited to ride their horses.
In November, I bought my own horse, an almost 6-year-old chestnut Half-Arabian gelding, Starfires Orion. Orion goes back twice to Man O' War on his dam's side, so he seems connected to both Schreek and Commander. Orion and I are best friends. We spent our first months together on the foundations of the Training Scale: rhythm, relaxation/suppleness and contact. At our first schooling show recently, Orion was Champion Open Dressage Horse with scores from 65 to 68.461 percent in Training Level, Tests 1-3. Best of all, the judge commented on our "good basics" and said we were a "great combo!"
This spring, my term appointment as an assistant professor of English at Concordia College has been converted to a tenure-track position, and I'm finishing up my second novel. Although I've never remarried, I have a rich life, filled with good friends, colleagues, students, neighbors and family back East. My Corgis and my horse are my immediate family now.
My first few years on the Northern Plains--a dramatic change from Southern coastal living--have not been without challenges. But Orion has helped me find my balance in the long, cold winters and amidst the politics of the academy. He reminds me of the many transitions that have brought me to this exciting new phase in my life. He reminds me to ride from half halt to half halt.
