The One Prince

It had been several years since I owned a horse. I recently moved back to Indiana where I was born and raised from LA. My sister now had children and I spent a lot of time with them. I was living and working on a small private horse farm at the time and my nephew Noah would come spend the night with me. I would put him on my mare Flowy a bay thoroughbred who came with the farm. We decided he should take some lessons in the area and we found a small farm nearby. Also about this time I decided to leave my position at the farm and buy my own place. I moved into my parents basement apartment while searching so I did not have to sign a lease. It occurred to me while Noah was taking his lessons the I could board a horse there. My friend Shirley had some horses that we’re just hanging out as her daughters had grown up moved away from home. She offered to let me take one of them. This horse was Hadji a beautiful black Arabian stallion just like the one in the Walter Farley books of my childhood. I ended up having Hadji for the next 21 years. He became my best friend, teacher and the love of my life. With him I learned so much about communication , horse behavior and riding. One look and we knew what each other was thinking. I had a fascination for theatrical horse shows like Zingaro Theatre in France , Cheval Theater and Cavalia based in Canada but traveling the US. Because of this I became interested in trick training. Hadji learned to bow, spanish walk and waltz among other tricks. We always practiced to music. Our favorite choice was the soundtrack to Cheval Theater but also Cirque Du Soeil shows , Beats Antique and belly dance music. We also rode dressage style. I learned so much about how to ride from Hadji. I learned how to use my seat to communicate to him and just how sensitive he was to react to my moods and energy.

A portrait of Hadji I did that hung in his stall.

With Hadji I learned to take my horsemanship to the next level. I understood more about horse behavior and psychology. My influences in the horse world are Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Frederic Pignon and Bent Branderup. I admire the way they silently but effectively work with horses. Klaus has a summer training program that would be amazing to do. Someday perhaps !

Before I bought Oz I boarded Hadji at a local stable. They used to joke that he was the best smelling horse in the barn. I was constantly grooming and bedazzling him. I liked to put my belly dance scarves on him so he jingled when he walked.

Sadly I lost my beautiful boy in April of 2023. It was unexpected and devestating. Fortunately I was able to bury him on my property. I gave him a good Viking burial in honor of the warrior that he was.

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