The horse memorial building
How CAW will honor horses
The future Companion Animal World (CAW) memorial site will honor many species, with horses being one of them. In this series of posts over the coming months, I will outline the vision God has given me specifically for what will be built at the CAW memorial site. To begin, I will share my personal history with horses, the five life lessons I learned from them, and my vision for the Horse Memorial Building.
I love horses. I mean, of all the companion animals I cherish, they hold a close second place, dogs come first, with cats tied alongside horses. Many chapters of my life have been shaped by horses, and over the years, they have taught me countless life lessons.
What Horses Have Taught Me
Here are my most memorable horse-related life lessons:
LESSON #1: When I was 19, I went to the movie theatre and watched The Black Stallion. The film was based on The Black Stallion, a young adult series by Walter Farley that I had loved as a child. By the time the movie ended, I had fallen in love with horses all over again. I prayed and asked God to bless me with a horse, something that felt like an impossible dream at the time. From this experience, I learned that God can use anything, even horses in feature films, to inspire me and help shape my future.
LESSON #2: As I continued to pursue my dream of owning a horse, I received an unexpected financial blessing. I had enough money to choose between buying a new car or purchasing the horse I had longed for so deeply. I chose the horse and, for transportation, drove a family hand-me-down, an outdated 1966 Studebaker. I drove that car to work every day at Foster’s Freeze, fully aware that my coworkers might laugh at it. Through this experience, I learned that it is better to make life decisions based on love rather than fear of what others might think or say about me.
LESSON #3: My first horse was a three-quarter Arabian chestnut named Junior. To put it kindly, he was a bit of a nut case. He nearly killed me several times, including once when a passing big rig spooked him while we were riding along the road, and another time when he panicked, fell off a wooden bridge into a canal, and required a three-hour rescue by animal control officers. From this experience, I learned that life is too short to ride deranged and dangerous horses.
LESSON #4: My second and last horse was McDuffy. He was a gentle, kind soul who simply loved to jump. An Appaloosa–Percheron cross, he stood 17 hands tall and was the largest horse at the stables where I boarded him.
I showed McDuffy in both Dressage and Three-Day Eventing, an equestrian sport that tests horse and rider across three phases: dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. I loved the sport because I loved taking risks. In 1981, however, I fell from McDuffy while jumping a large obstacle. When he landed on the other side, I lost my right stirrup. On his next stride, McDuffy veered left as my weight shifted to the right, causing me to fall hard to the ground. I felt immediate, excruciating pain and was rushed to the hospital, where I learned that I had fractured a vertebra in my back. From this experience, I learned that being off balance can lead to pain in your life.
LESSON #5: Because of my injury, I was bedridden and unable to work for a month. During that time, I leased McDuffy to another equestrian who rode him regularly. About a month later, I received a heartbreaking call that McDuffy had fallen seriously ill with colic. After hours of attempting to save him, the veterinarian explained that the only options were to transport McDuffy to a specialized clinic for a $6,000 surgery or to euthanize him. I did not have the financial means for the surgery, and my beloved horse was euthanized. From this experience, I learned that when you deeply love someone or something you may ultimately endure a tragic loss.
In 2024, God gave me a vision complete with a map of a massive memorial and tourist destination to be built for companion animal lovers. One day, I hope to memorialize my beloved McDuffy in the Companion Animal World Horse Building. Here is what that vision included:
Horse Memorial Building
There will be beautiful horse artwork at the entrance to the building—statues, stained-glass windows depicting horses, horseshoe art, and other creative works that capture the essence of the horse. If we are lucky, we may even acquire the giant wooden horse built for the movie Troy (I might need to ask Brad Pitt in person for that one).
The overall spirit of the Horse Memorial Building will be love—love for the majestic, beautiful, and steadfast presence of horses across generations.
The walkway leading to the building entrance will feature memorial tiles engraved with horses’ names and their owners’ information. Outside the entrance, wooden hitch rails will be adorned with horse halters donated by owners wishing to memorialize their horses.
