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[RC] LD Mr Valentine Obituary - paulIt bothered me that we only have heard about the riders involved, and so little about the horses who died. So here is what I know about one of them.. Feel free to add to this if you know more. LD Mr Valentine was born February 23, 2001 in Iowa. At the age of three he was consigned by his breeders to the Addiss Sale in Oklahoma City. At that sale, he impressed me with his calm demeaner, open kind honest eyes and athletic confirmation. I purchased him although he was too younfg and green for my own personal needs. He wound up owned by Katy Tynes, and after some refresher training in Arkansas, he was campaigned in 2006 by Kathleen Prescott. Kathleen did an excellent job of slowly bringing "Val" into the sport of endurance riding. By years end, they had completed 14 Limited Distance rides and one 50 mile event out of 15 starts. This earned him the Top LD Award in the OCER 2006 year end results. In 2007, Mr Valentine was sold to Teresa Wilcox as an eventual replacement for her current horse. As Teresa had planned to ride him in the Greater Santa Fe Ride, she began to condition him for that. With his added maturity, he had blossomed into a handsome 15plus hand bright chestnut horse. While not a immediately striking horse at first glance, the longer you looked at him, the better you liked what you saw. Clear open honest eyes, lean athletic confirmation, and when he moved it got even better. He was a smart horse, but not so smart as to cause trouble. Just smart enough to try and figure what you wanted him to do for you. He had a long smooth stride and shifted easily into a ground eating canter. For those who rode him, he did exactly what you asked. It is ironic that he died racing across a finish line, as he did not have a "race brain". He only had a huge heart and the desire to please his rider. Mr Valentine was only on this planet a few short years and deserved more time.. He will be missed. LD Mr Valentine Born 2/23/2001 Died 9/11/2007 Rest In Peace =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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