Thank You, Bendigo

Thank you, Bendigo.

It was always our plan to retire Ben from Advanced-level eventing after this year. His giving me experience at the 5* level was pure icing on the cake— the horse was only ever supposed to go preliminary. He made me the rider I am today, and in turn he has done a huge amount in helping me pass on that education to my younger horses. While it would have been amazing to go out on a high of another 5* finish at Maryland, the horse owes me nothing and he’s ready to have an easier job now.

Marilyn (Little) once said to me: “We can only do the best we can each day as we each continue to learn to become who who we were meant to be— and perhaps attempt to go beyond even that.”

The best way I can describe Bendigo is that he has imposter syndrome, ADHD, anxiety, stage fright, and probably several other unnamed demons that he had to overcome to become the horse he became for me. He was never “meant to be” a 5* horse, or even a four- or three-star horse for that matter. He is half-Saddlebred, after all! He (and we) attempted to go beyond who he was meant to be—and he did that not for himself but for me. I won’t ever meet a horse with more generosity of spirit.

Please click here to read the rest of the article as it appears on the Eventing Nation website.

Article written By Ema Klugman