The Perfect Horse for Me by Jonathan Beck

The Perfect Horse for Me by Jonathan Beck

Hard lessons can lead to success. Everyone experiences heartbreak in some form or another, whether it is the loss of a friend or family member or a beloved pet. When I was sixteen years old I experienced heartbreak in a big way. The death of my roping horse Snuffy was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced; yet it had a meaningful impact on my life.

Late one afternoon on a spring day I pulled up to a friend’s roping arena with my parents. I was there to try out a roping horse. I got out of the truck and went to meet the man with the horses. He took me over to his trailer to show me a nine-year-old dark bay Quarter horse gelding. I saddled him up and led him to the arena. After thirty minutes of roping off of him, I knew this would be the perfect horse for me. Accompanied by my parents I went to work out a deal. A few minutes later we were loading him in the trailer to take him home. The rest of the spring and summer I roped constantly on him; I entered Ropings and Playdays; and I did not do half bad. At the end of the summer I entered Snuffy in the Gaines County Horse Show. It was the first time I had ever competed in a horse show, so I was not expecting much. To my surprise I ended up winning the Reserve Grand Champion Gelding, which included a small sum of money, a banner, and a belt buckle. I was on top of the world for weeks. I was roping all the time and I knew I had one of the best horses in the county. I did not think anything would ever go wrong with my horse. I was in for a rude awakening that would really impact me.

It started out like any other day: I got up, ate breakfast and got dressed. Then I went and fed the sheep and horses like any other day. After school that day I went and fed the animals, and then I went to get horse feed. Once I got the feed, I went and messed around with my friends. My friends and I were walking out to my truck. We were going to drop off the feed I had bought earlier that afternoon. Right as we made it to my truck, my mom pulled up crying. I got in her car and she told me that Snuffy had died. I jumped out of her vehicle and got in my truck and raced out to the horse pen, the whole time not believing that he was really dead. I pulled up to the gate and ran to the pen and I saw him lying in the corner of the pen. I went in the pen and gave my horse one last petting. Feeling over-whelmed with emotion, I took my friend’s home and I went for a drive. Then I returned to the horse pen to drop off the feed. I had my mom cut some of his tail hair off so I would have something of him. I took the tail hair and tied it with a piece of bailing twine. I then returned home and I hung the tail hair on the banner that I had won with him. Then I began the process of emotionally healing and the search for a new horse.

After a few weeks I decided it was time to get a new horse. So the search began and it did not last long. I bought the first horse that I found that I could rope well on. That was a big mistake. The horse turned out to be a dud. He got hurt constantly and all the talent I had in roping went sour. All of these things made me very bitter. I could not get along with my horse when he was well, and I ended up quitting roping for about a year.

Just recently I felt that it was time to start roping again. I sold the horse I had and got one that is very similar to Snuffy. I feel like I have Snuffy again. I started roping very well and I am no longer bitter about roping. All of this has taught me to be a stronger person. It made me see the impact that a person or an animal can have on someone’s life.

I can say that although the loss of Snuffy was very painful and heartbreaking, it was one of those hard lessons that young people have to learn. I will always be thankful for that “ole horse” because he has had one of the greatest impacts on my life.

Jonathan Beck