Cassius
(1977 - 2010)

When I find myself standing before God asking for something that I don’t deserve, I always say I’ll share.

Twenty two years ago I asked for it to be possible for Cassius to come into my life, thank you to everyone who helped make it happen. And thank you to all of those who believed in Cassius and me during this extraordinary journey.

Yesterday I had to say my final good bye to my dear friend, Cassius. He had another episode of Colic. Brad and I did not feel that it was in Cassius’ best interest to perform surgery on him at his advanced age of 33. We tried everything to fix him to no avail.

I first saw Cassius when he was six years old; showing second level during dressage competition at my local Fullerton Arena. Linda Gottlied and I declared that he was a real live carousel horse. I said, “One day I want a horse like that.” I never believed it could happen. My then boyfriend, now husband Brad spent weekends driving me to horse shows so that I could watch this wonderful horse. I followed him for years. When Cassius was ten I was offered a job at a dressage training barn. I didn’t think I wanted the job until I found out that Cassius was there and I would be in charge of getting him fit for sale.

When Cassius was 11, my dream came true. Thank you to my parents, Margaret and Berniece for everything you did to make that possible. The list is just too long to individually thank all of you who helped us along the way. Incredible opportunities seemed to present themselves to Cassius and I and I tried to take advantage of them all. 

I made it my life’s passion to care for Cassius and learn to ride him well. Cassius has been there for so many milestones in my life. Graduating college, starting my dressage training business, getting married, becoming a certified instructor, training and showing him to the Grand Prix level, being a mentor to aspiring dressage trainers, becoming a sponsored rider; Wow! We have done a lot in 22 years!!

My greatest happiness is that I shared my wonderful horse with so many people. I truly believe that if you met Cassius that you were changed. He just had something special about him that touched those around him. My students learned from him. They were able to feel what only a true schoolmaster can teach. Many of them were able to show him at whatever level they were ready for, from Intro to PSG and Young Riders. In 2008 Cassius was documented as the oldest horse in the USA to show in FEI classes of any discipline!

The day he passed I received over 60 messages from his friends. Brad and I are so touched that Cassius mattered to so many people.

My hope is that everyone will meet a horse like him just once in their life. I was absolutely blessed to have owned him. I will miss him forever. I will try my best to continue to pass on what he taught me.