Princess our Pony

For many years I have painted equine images, actually all my life...and bred Arabian horses for 15+ years.

Our daughters were involved in horses, 4-H and Arabian shows in California and Missouri.

I n 1976 after my mother passed away, she left me an envelope with instructions and some money to get back into horses. The first horse we had was given to us by my husbands boss in California, and after that we were given the Pony, she was owned by the Ranch owners where I kept our horse. The owners were so impressed by our daughters way of handling horses (they were only 9 and 6 years old at the time) they thought that the pony would be great with them.

We gave the Horse named Patches to our first born daughter and Princess the Pony to our second daughter...interestingly enough their personalities matched the girls personalities.

Our daughters joined 4-H and I became a leader, so the venture of our horse interest started...having already an established Equine Art business allowed us to enjoyed events that involved horses and art.

Princess turned out to be quite a challenge, she was a typical pony with an attitude, I called it the "Napoleon complex"...so you know where I'm going with this. However this attitude was a great learning tool for both our daughters. They taught me wrong, I really had no idea this could not be done by a child. Sometimes when one doesn't know any different you have no fear, horses and ponies pick up on that. I didn't allow the girls to ride till they could ride bareback and stay on, then they got the saddle...Many times Princess came home from a trail ride, riderless...with my daughter in tow calling her, "that stupid Pony"

As a 4-H leader one of the things I taught was safety around horses, that was first and foremost important thing before I allowed any of the kids to do anything with their horses around me...this was a great responsibility and liability for a leader.

My daughter read this lens and reminded me that Princess did not have this name already, she was called Stardust, so the girls decided to give her the new name of Princess...although it did not fit her personality at the time. She did respond to it when called, and that was a good thing because the arena was one acre in size, a hard place to catch a pony or a horse.

I knew little about her, she was used and shown years before by the Ranch owners, after that she really did nothing but eat in a stall for several years...it was apparent by her belly.

We were pleased with the name Princess, although under my breath (and maybe my daughters) she was called many other names. Yes, Princess turned out to be a Princess, she taught my daughters so much...so for that, we gladly called her Princess.

O ne of our favorite things to do with Princess was taking her to shows and parades, she was good about getting into a trailer and adjusted well in different places.

Below you will see her first show and some of the other 4-H shows that qualified our daughter to Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton, Calif... winning fifth place over many kids with big horses from all over the state, and being the only Pony in the class and the youngest participant...she also won first place in two western classes receiving a Bronze Level and earning a Belt Buckle.

W e moved to Missouri in 1983, bringing with us Princess and our Horses. Our new Ranch had a building that housed a boat and some other items, this was a good place for our hay and grain storage. We bumped out a side wall and added a 8 stall barn, making this building into a T form...designed by me to our liking, with lots of skylights and storage.

Princess was boss of the herd, she was in heaven...unfortunately we only lived there for five years, needless to say leaving behind my dream barn and land was heartbreaking.

In 1988 when we moved to Wisconsin I could not envision bringing all these horses with us again, I sold most and leased out some of the mares...as for Princess, I wanted to wait till I had a place for her. As it stood at that time, I brought Ibn who was then a Stallion and a two year old filly with us.

I found a lady in Missouri who already had a couple of ponies, she said, she'd take Princess till I decided to bring her to Wisconsin. Once I got to Wisconsin I did not hear from her, and after many phone calls, I found out she "GAVE my pony away" I called her and told her that she could not do that, we had a contract and she was to keep Princess until I got situated and a place to keep her. She mentioned that her ponies did not get along and had to get rid of her, then assuring me that she was in good home...but that was also a lie. Because she would not tell me who she gave Princess to, I did some detective work from rumors I heard. This prompted me to sent out fliers to tack and feed stores in her area, included information and pictures of Princess.

I threatened to sue her, because now it was horse theft. She finally told me where she was, so my eldest daughter and her husband went there with a horse trailer to retrieve her. It turns out this place was a shabby trailer DUMP. Princess was out in a small dried paddock with barbwire and steels polls, her halter had been left on and was too tight, she was skinny and had no access to food or water.

My daughter and son-in-law actually butt roped and pulled Princess into the trailer because she was so frightened. The people that had her, claimed she was given to them, this may have been the case, however not legally...My daughter informed them... "just call my mom's lawyer!"

Because Princess was left out on pasture grass and no hay or water, she again foundered. She was prone to founder because she once was exposed to walnut shavings.

My dear daughter took care of her in a new facility, unfortunately the founder got worse and she could no longer stand. Princess was put to sleep while I was in the Hospital for my cancer surgery. I found out when I got home, my poor distraught daughter had to tell me, but the consolation was that at least I knew that Princess had been in good hands, a place with good feed and plenty of water, and especially lots of love....see photos below .

W hen I was working with watercolors I did this painting, you will recognize it from one of the photos listed here.

It had been accepted in many art shows and received a second place at the MHF art show...a memory captured with a great story of real happiness.

If you go to my Miniature-ACEO art you will see a series of Pony paintings, using Princess as my model and muse...ponies in different colors.

It's been a joy to use my animals as muses, especially my horses for 30 years. I'm working on a lens "How to draw animals" hope to have it done soon.

A winning day for the only pony in the class...our daughter indeed was happy knowing all her hard work paid off.

Thank You for the Purple Star, it is very much appreciated!
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Dear Horse Lovers;
Western Montana Equine Rescue would like your Free Vote

to WIN the Shelter Challenge's $1000 price this round, which started on April 9th and will last through June 20th. Winning is dependent on your votes, so please help us help the horses currently in our care, as well as those desperately needing assistance in their current homes.

Note: Recently, we took in 9 horses, some of which required extreme veterinary care, extra supplementation and farrier care. We are in need of funding.....YOU can help these horses simply by VOTING DAILY! If you follow these simple instructions, you will get a daily reminder to vote the same as we do.....And it really does help to have that reminder!

Step 1: Go to The Animal Rescue Site

Step 2: Click on the purple box where it says "Click Here to Give - It's FREE!"so that the sponsor will give a partial bowl of food to a rescued animal.

Step 3: After you have clicked to give the food, you will be taken to another page and in the upper center it will say "VOTE NOW!".

Step 4: In the box for "Shelter Name", type in Western Montana Equine Rescue, then in the box for "State", click on MT, then "VOTE", not "search". Once you have voted, another page will come up to confirm your vote by entering a series of numbers/letters in a box and once that has been done, your vote is done!

Step 5: Now you have reached the point where you can schedule Daily Reminders for yourself. Scroll down to the bottom right hand side of the page and you can click on the Daily Click Reminder, which will bring up a box where you will fill in your information. You are set!!
After doing this, you will get a daily email reminder to vote, just click on a link in the email which will take you directly to the page to vote.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! PLEASE HELP US HELP THE HORSES AND/OR PEOPLE NEEDING ASSISTANCE!

AGreat Fund Raiser project book or just make a Mural for your room or class...click on picture to the link for purchase...Great Gift! Special Price.

Copyright and all rights reserved Delia Pacheco (Delia<><)