1992-2000
He will be forever in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.
"Night Vision", or Jake for short,
was my very first horse, a 1992
Thoroughbred gelding whom I kept at Brookwood.
He was given to me by my grandparents
on Father's Day (June 21st), 1998.
In his early days, Jake was trained
for racing and most likely raced some.
I focused on giving him a second
career.
Jake and I worked on mainly hunters,
but strayed a bit into dressage
and combined work (uncompetitively).
We grew and learned together,
going through many "Firsts":
first away horse show, first High
Point of show, first 4' jump.
He was a very special guy.
Jake suffered a broken leg on November
19, 2000. I was not there when it happened,
but I know he was very well cared
for by all present.
He had been galloping in the indoor
and just stepped wrong through a corner,
shattering 10-20 bones in his
leg.
The damage "could not be repaired
with all the money in the world."
I made the choice to phone the
vet myself and give her permission to put him down.
It will always be one of the hardest
things I have ever had to do, but I know
I did the right thing. In his
case, it was Jake's best and only option.
In the 3 years that I was blessed
with the opportunity to work with Jake,
he taught me more than I can ever
realize.
He was always there with a cheery
face to help me through the worst times.
The bond that developed is something
that no passage of time can take away.
I want to thank my very special
friends Kate and Melody Jowell, as well as all the wonderful people involved
for their efforts in keeping Jake as comfortable as possible and making
the whole ordeal go as smoothly and efficiently as it could,
including the Michelson's, Cynthia
Stotler, Dr. Gillette, and Dr. Crowder.
And last but not least, thank you
Jake!
You were the best friend I could
ever have asked for, and I will miss you so much.
Love,
Amanda
Just so that all his visitors might
have the chance to see Jake as we all did, so alive and full of endless
energy, I am going to leave all my pages intact.
These pictures are from the day
I got Jake.
