Tuesday, June 4, 2013

To a wonderful lady who will most terribly be missed

I went and visited my family this past weekend, as they were celebrating my sister's graduation from high school. The party was fun- there was a lot of food, a lot of people, and a lot of chocolate courtesy of yours truly- but for me there was a slight damper in the air because of some news that I had received earlier that morning.

The lady that I credit completely for turning my life, and Chica's life, around at a point when it was going incredibly south passed away earlier this month when she succumbed to cancer.

I last visited her in February of this year in the senior living community that she was in, and I think I talked to her one more time on the phone after that. One of the last things she said to me was, "Don't forget about me," and I never intend to do so.

I met Connie Presnell around my freshman or sophomore year of high school. At that time, my horse, Chica, was out of control, and I was scared to death of her. A friend I was boarding with suggested I come and ride with the lady she took lessons with at another barn and even hauled me to take a lesson with her. Connie had me ride Chica in the round pen to see what was going on, and she was quite surprised when she asked me to canter her and I burst into tears (Chica had been bucking me off whenever I asked for the canter). I don't know what she saw in us, but she took us on as her clients, and she raised my confidence in myself and taught me how to be a wonderful rider in the process. Then, we worked on giving Chica an attitude adjustment- and she went from a brat that knew how to control and intimidate me to a wonderful, (usually) loving companion that I could ride bareback and bridleless.

Connie could not ride due to a car accident, but she was the most wonderful coach I could have had. Even Chica knew to straighten up and behave whenever Connie was around. Connie always told me, in the later years when Chica and I were winning and doing so well, "You did this with this horse. No one else," which may be true in the physical sense, but I could never have done it without her wisdom and teaching. I literally don't know what I would be doing now if it weren't for Connie, but I probably would not be riding horses nor would I still own Chica.

I know that her passing has left a huge whole in my heart and in the hearts of her students. Even though I've been on my own without her for several years now, it was always nice to know that I could call her up and talk to her about any problems I was having with Chica and get her advice and to take the occasional lesson when I was in town. Now I will have to rest assured that she is watching me ride from above, shaking her head in horror at how lax my posture has gotten and saying, "Shoulders back, monkey. Sit up straight!".

When I was riding Sienna a couple of days ago, before I had found out about her passing, for some reason I could hear everything Connie would tell me in our lessons- and I went through my old warm up I would do with Chica, this time with Sienna. Sienna behaved so much better than she had been behaving, and my old confidence was right there in the saddle with me. I don't know if that's a coincidence or if on some level she was still there, instructing me as always. I need all the help I can get with this horse, so I'll take it!

I marvel at how well Chica and I did with Connie for multiple reasons- namely the fact that Chica's attitude sucked and my confidence was long gone- but also because Connie was an Arabian person. Most of her clients had Arabians or Half-Arabians. And here came this kid with this little roan mare who liked to buck, kick, and scare her devoted owner to death. Even around the expensive Arabs and their owners, however, I never ever felt a sense of me or my horse not being equals with them. We were always treated like royalty. Connie had me ride any of those horses that I could for the different experiences, and at shows, I was always to have my horse and myself dressed to the nines, even though the shows were open shows that didn't require it.

I am going to miss Connie terribly. It's going to be weird driving past her house and not seeing her truck out front. It's going to take some getting used to knowing that I won't be seeing her anymore. But someday, if Chica goes before I do, I know that there's not a better person to watch over her until we are reunited. Connie will have her trotting like she did before her surgery and doing flying lead changes in no time. Maybe even doing country pleasure!

Connie, I hope you check in on me from time to time. I could really use the lessons that I used to have with you. I'm glad you are reunited with Glen, Calcan, and all of the others that have gone before you. And I hope that you will keep an eye on Chica, Nita, Norman, Teddy, Georgia, Marie- all of us that were lucky enough to have you as our mentor.

Chica simultaneously cracks me up and creeps me out in this pic

After Connie's influence

One of the coolest horse show opportunities I've had because of Connie

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