Dallas is 16!

Ya know I don't think I have ever said too much about Dally here so I think I will now, as he turns 16 today.

I started working with Dallas when he was 4years old. My mom told took me to pick up Taylor one afternoon. It was Taylor and Quade's birthday. Half way there I asked my mom "Where is Taylor?" and my mom told me that she was taking riding lessons. How I didn't know this I still don't know! Soon after that I asked the woman doing lessons if I could help with the horses for ride time. She let me and I soon took a shine to a 4 year old 3/4 Arab, 1/4 quarter horse gelding named Moses. He belonged to the woman's daughter and she was loosing interest in horses as she grew up. I continued to help take care of the horses and eventually My parents told me that unless I started getting paid cash I would not be allowed to work there any more. I brought it up with the woman and she started to pay me a small amount as I didn't want to stop. Eventually the woman stopped giving lessons and I became the only one to really ride Dallas. I rode him as often as possible. Up and down the roads, in parades, in gymkhanas, we even did team penning one summer, I still miss that. When I graduated High School and was planning to attend college with all equine classes, I started working 2 part time jobs and working for the woman who owned Moe so I could own him myself. My mom advised very strongly that I not buy a horse, and when I made it clear that I was going to she told me she would never pay a dime to help me care for him. I was fine with that :). After a full summer of working 3 jobs the woman who owned Moe went back on her word of taking board, shoes, and shots off the cost of the horse and I had to return him to her. I was heart broken. When one of my bosses found out what happened she insisted I give her the woman's number and she paid off the rest of the money owed for the horse. I am still more than thankful to that boss who gave me the greatest gift of my teenage years. When I took him to college with me I changed his name from Moses to Dallas Star, which I was told was his name before he was purchased by his last owners. Though I tried for years I was never given any paper work or bill of sale for him. Dallas was 8 when we left for college together, and I made a promise to myself that if there was ever a time I could not afford to keep him the way he deserved to be kept I would sell him. He was my best friend in College...

He stayed home when I went to VA for a summer but then went to a ranch in Greer with me..

He went to Sierra vista with me to work at a boys ranch where we had tons of fun!

He got to meet my husband the day after I did, he was being tried out as a hippo therapy horse and James and I went to pick him up the day after James came to meet me....

He moved to Albuquerque with me and our new puppy Cowgirl....

He was the first horse my daughter ever saw...

and rode....

He did 4-H with my little sister...

Then came home to Albuquerque again.

Dallas and I have been together for 12 years now. We have been in parades, done gymkhanas, team penning, we have lead trail rides both for work and for fun, we have learned and grown together, we have worked at ranches together, we have camped together, he has done 4-H, we have gone on cattle drives, and now he is teaching my little girl. He grew on my family who helped me care for him for months when my little family was having trouble getting our lives back together after a deployment. How do you say just happy birthday and thank you to a friend who has helped you get from High School through college, jobs, bad relationships, moves, a deployment, getting married, having a child, and after all that he still loves you just as much as the day you met....? Happy Birthday Dally, you are the best horse a girl could ever ask for.