In memoriam: Gladys Night

A Big Heart

We always said that Gladys had a big heart. I think I knew that the very first time that I saw Lyndsey ride her. Here we were up in Woodstock, Connecticut checking out this big thoroughbred/warmblood mare, hoping that she might very well become Lyndsey's first horse. The minute Lyndsey got on her and picked up a canter, I knew that we had found a match. Gladys tucked her head and took Lyndsey on a ride that certainly changed her life, and throughout the four years that Gladys was in our lives, she continually proved to us that she had a heart as big as could be. She was truly our gentle giant.

Looking back now at all the chances that Lyndsey took with Gladys, I realize just how special that mare was and how much Lyndsey's riding skills grew because of her. I'll never forget the first time Lyndsey breezed Gladys on a big open field after owning her for only about a week or that Memorial Day parade in Durham with cannons going off, fire trucks blaring their horns, and fighter planes buzzing the parade route. In both cases, I knew that Lyndsey would be fine on her because Gladys had that way of always being there for Lyndsey, protecting her. Even when they were practicing for jumpers, going at what seemed to me to be breakneck Indy speed and going over jumps that I swore were six feet tall, I knew that my daughter would be safe on her back. The confidence and skill that Lyndsey acquired from riding Gladys was quite obvious.

Gladys's teaching did not stop there. She definitely taught Lyndsey the meaning of patience and the reality that owning and caring for a horse is not always an easy thing to do and that it takes a special person. They both endured two summers of what seemed to be endless medicated baths and sulfur lime dips to battle the dreaded fungus that invaded poor Gladys and spent many sleepless nights at the barn dealing with yet again another bout of colic. Lyndsey also learned how to give injections, clean out wounds, and deal with thrush. Through all of this, their bond strengthened, and their love for each other deepened.

Our time with Gladys was certainly too short. I had envisioned Lyndsey riding Gladys for many more years, but that was sadly not the case. I think we knew this after the colic episodes in September that our time with her was coming to an end. The last ride that Lyndsey had on Gladys was the day before she got sick, and it was one of their best rides. They were taking jumps with ease, delight radiating from both of them. I'm happy that Lyndsey has this memory in her heart to cherish forever.

Gladys really told us when it was time to let her go; we could see it in her eyes. She had been such a special friend and had given us so much that we had to do this for her. Shortly after her death, we learned from our vet that Gladys did, in fact, have that big heart. Imagine our surprise when he told us that her heart was one and a half times bigger than the average horse's heart! That certainly explained her drive, her strength, and her love!

It is comforting to know that she is not alone; Fleet and Jesse are with her. It is also comforting to know that she will always be with us in so many ways as well. Gladys- our big girl, the Gladiator, the horse with a huge heart. Thank you Gladys for all that you gave us!