My wife, Cathy, has a new love in her life. After 41 years of marriage, I guess this doesn’t surprise me. I think I’m mostly a good husband, but I’m also aware of my shortcomings. There are some ways I’ve just never kept up. After all these years, the love of her life is Katy, another female.

For those not aware, Katy is a German Sport Pony. In height, she’s 14.2 hands, and a horse technically needs to be 14.3 hands. Katy’s a beautiful animal, and Cathy and she are a great match in size, temperament and demeanor.

As I think about Cath’s passion for horses and riding, I’m always a bit amazed. This sport is her lifelong joy and devotion and is entwined with almost all of our time together.

Cathy first received dressage lessons in Germany in 1980. The weekly lessons were in a neighboring town, Klein Ochsenfurt, and lasted almost 3 years. The instructions were in German, and the instructor treated her the same as his German students (you haven’t lived until you’re called a “Dumme Ei” (dumb egg) during a riding lesson).

When we returned to the States in ‘83, she bought her first horse, Tonja. Tonja travelled from Georgia to Ohio with us and Cathy spent the next two years competing with her. In ‘85, we returned to Germany and had to sell Tonja. There were more lessons in Germany, and we finally returned home in ‘89 and settled in Virginia.

In 1990, Cathy bought Arthur, and she resumed competing here in the States. Over the years other horses came in and out of our lives. Tucker, Crescendo, Gwen, Todd, and Sailor all proceeded Katy. Of course, this doesn’t include Red, Arthur’s companion horse, or our two brood mares, Longstocking and Adancer, and their six foals – Larry, Archie, Jazz, Hanny, Queue and Andy. In case you are counting, that’s 17 horses in all.

During the past 39 years of riding, Cathy has broken bones, suffered a concussion, and had multiple cuts and contusions. In 1985, she delivered water to a barn in Ohio when the pipes in the barn were frozen (-25 degrees straight temperature). Here at the farm, she was once locked in a shed by a horse for over an hour until I realized she was missing and went looking for her (don’t ask). Two years ago, she walked through waist high snow to feed the horses (I was unfortunately detained at a business meeting in Key West.) We’ve rescued a horse who busted through the ice on our pond and was in neck-high water, and the police once helped round up horses who escaped our pasture and were wandering on a nearby road.

Nothing is too good for our horses. They get new shoes, or hoof trims every five weeks, and Imelda Marcos has nothing on them. We are on good terms with several different vets in the area, including a chiropractor and an acupuncturist. Our hay is imported twice a year from Pennsylvania, and we are sworn to secrecy on the source. Katy has a custom saddle and new equipment, while Cathy’s boots and breeches are over a decade old.

…..which brings us back to Katy. The thing about competing in horse related events is it truly takes teamwork between horse and rider to do well. Katy may be the best partner ever. Cath’s had her two years now, and this year, they’ve done three shows, with two more scheduled before the end of the season. I’m only a layman when it comes to horses, but even I can see how well they are matched.

The truth is, I’m not jealous of Cathy and Katy. I both envy and love Cathy’s passion for riding and horses and am a bit in awe of her dedication and focus. I’ve never had this level of passion for anything, or anyone, except Cathy herself. I’ve enjoyed many activities over the years, including running, hiking, cooking, bread making, reading, travel, baseball, and collecting wine, but this level of passion? Never. We should all be so lucky.

Addendum:

We currently have four horses at the farm. In addition to Cathy’s pal Katy, both Sailor and Crescendo are retired here. We also have one guest – our neighbor keeps her retired horse, Noggin’, here.

I’m also proud to say that after 20 years of farm life, I am now the morning feeder and waterer for our horses. Unfortunately, I still haven’t learned the art of mucking out stalls and Cathy only employs me in that role in an emergency.