Super Ponies

I didn’t take this picture, but I was standing at this exact spot.

It’s funny how some famous horses work their way into your heart. Some, I’ve watched go live; some, I’ve only seen on video or from photos. I’ve met a few famous ones but never laid hands on them and certainly never ridden them.

I saw Karen O’Connor ride Theodore O’Connor around the Rolex cross-country course in 2007. I watched them leave the start box, I saw them fly around the course, and I saw them come home across the finish line. I’d always liked Teddy in the abstract, Karen O’Connor has long been one my favorite riders, but that day I fell completely utterly, head over heels in love with that pony.

I can still remember her jumping off him and into David O’Connor’s arms, cheering and crying and oh, I cried like a baby watching. I tear up now just thinking about it.

I can also still remember where I was when I heard that he had been put down, and how utterly gutted I felt. I cried and cried again. I’d never even officially met him, and I was devastated.

That was five years ago, believe it or not, and even today, a passing reference to Theodore O’Connor in this Eventing Nation blog post has me fighting back tears.

Horses. How do they do that?