Happy
On the morning of August 31, 2011 our beloved Happy passed away. He was a very special kind of horse that taught riding and confidence to countless people in his lifetime and he will be sorely missed.
Happy came to us in 2007. He had been well cared for but was no longer needed as the lesson program he was in was closing down. The other horses had found homes but no one wanted a 23 year old horse. His loving owner asked us if we could use him and we have never been sorry a day!
Happy was a purebred Saddlebred, had shown, trailed, and been a school horse....and his career of showing and teaching lasted until the day he passed! His sponsors were still showing him in the 2011 season at the age of 27, and he was bringing home ribbons for them, too!
Happy came to us in 2007. He had been well cared for but was no longer needed as the lesson program he was in was closing down. The other horses had found homes but no one wanted a 23 year old horse. His loving owner asked us if we could use him and we have never been sorry a day!
Happy was a purebred Saddlebred, had shown, trailed, and been a school horse....and his career of showing and teaching lasted until the day he passed! His sponsors were still showing him in the 2011 season at the age of 27, and he was bringing home ribbons for them, too!
 Happy and Tammy at Winsum, July 2011  Sunnyside Show, 2009 |  Happy and Tammy steal the show in 2009  Happy LOVES the girls, too! |
Following is an excerpt from the March 2010 HPS Newsletter - a feature on Happy!
A beautiful Saddlebred gelding, Double Tree’s V.I.P. (Barn name Happy) has had a varied and illustrious career. Born in 1984, Happy will be 26 years young this year and he’s still got “the force”. Once a show horse on the American Saddlebred circuit, Happy was a western trail horse until Barb Hurtig bought him for a school horse. Although Barb wasn’t sure he would work out on a school string, Happy soon became the barn favourite. After his ten years on the “string” Barb wound down her program and was looking for a home for Happy that would still be able to use his special talents. Thankfully, he was offered to us. Once again Happy proved to be an excellent teacher and was soon taken on lease by Tammy – her story illustrates just how special Happy really is!
“Happy came to me a year ago, after I had a bad experience with a previous horse and my confidence was almost non-existent. He was the “extra” horse on the farm, not having a particular job, other than maybe to get fat (he wasn’t complaining!) and do a few lessons. Sharon set the two of us up together, knowing that we were just what the other needed. Happy’s a funny old man. With his Zebra halter and his “I’ve still got it!” attitude, he reminds me of an eccentric old bachelor! I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, thinking of Happy as just a temporary means until I found my “perfect horse”. I started out just concentrating on my riding skills, as he already knew what to do. I knew he wouldn’t dump me, so gradually my confidence and skills grew (as well as both of our fitness levels!) He’s the perfect horse for newbies or ‘fraidy' cats. He’s a safe and steady ride and he will never go faster than the rider’s ability. When I started working on cantering, it would take me a few tries to get him going, as if he wanted to make sure that that’s what I really wanted. Even when I started going over cavalettis and small x’s, he’d “power down” and stop the first few times, again, just to make sure that I really wanted to go over them. After which, he’d leap over them like they were three feet high! (or, at least, that’s what it felt like!)
Just recently, after not jumping for a while, I set up a small jump to play around with. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I realized he had not once hesitated going over it. I guess I must be improving! Now, we’ve moved onto Dressage, working hard on our bends and transitions. It might not be as easy for him as it once was, being a bit stiffer and a little swaybacked, but once he’s warmed up, man, what a Show Horse! When’s he’s in the ring and all eyes are on him….WOW! He actually quivers with excitement! I wish I could have seen him in his prime. I bet he was a handful! Now, it’s a year later and we are still partners. And, as I’m riding him around the arena or watching him having a run in the pasture, head held high or as he noses my pocket, looking for his treat, I realize that I have already found my “perfect horse!”
~Tammy Nicol
