Julie's and D'Artaneya's story starts out before the two even met. D'Artaneya was professionally broke and trained for 30 days. Then, she was left out in the pasture until her owners were contacted. Stan Keeter heard about my (Julie's), desire for a horse and decided to help my family out by finding me one. I still don't know what went into the deal, but somehow Stan got D'Artaneya for me.

A few days before Christmas, I went to the farm. I thought I was just going out to help out and brush some mares. Stan and Fidel (the farm helper), both pointed me towards a stall. As naive as I was, I didn't even notice the large amount of people gathering to watch (my mom, dad, sister, Stan, Preston [Stan's son], and Fidel). There was a special sign on the door and when I opened the stall, there stood a slightly damp, very cute, fuzzy mare. She was still drying from her bath. :-) It was love at first sight!

Stan was nice enough to give me a bucket full of horse care items. It had a brush, a rubber curry, lead rope and halter, and a card which contained her pedigree. I uncoiled the lead rope and took D'Artaneya for a walk around the farm. She was perfect!

This special day was captured on video by Mr. Jeff Little. He put together a tape and it was presented to me a few days later. I still enjoy watching my reaction! It seems so juvenile today, but I know it was truly a realization of my life long dream.

Today D'Artaneya and I are doing so well! I practically started her from scratch, as she hardly remembered any of her early training. She learns extremely fast and has a wonderful temperment. We show at numerous local schooling shows, and I ride her almost every day.

To read daily updates on D'Artaneya's progress, read her training journal.