A few months passed since I had finalized the purchase of
Eclipse, and in those short months, my confidence and knowledge of horsemanship
had grown tremendously. I was learning and experiencing things that I never
dreamed possible. Eclipse and I were trotting pole patterns, figure eights,
dressage patterns, and diagonals at both sit and posting trot; I spent every
moment I could in the saddle practicing my balance and strengthening my core
and leg muscles. I believe Eclipse knew I was determined to gain as much
mobility as possible, because he worked just as hard, if not harder, than I did
to complete his job and carry me safely through each ride.
Before I knew it, fall
had passed and the spring show season was coming up. I had never been big on
horse shows, simply because I tended to get very nervous when people were
watching me ride, and even though I knew we are all there to encourage and
support one another, I still had some insecurities. Dayna knew of my fears, but
also knew how proud I was of Eclipse; she knew of my potential as a rider, wanted
to boost my confidence, so she suggested that we take it slow and just do one
class for fun.
“How about the costume class?” she suggested. “It’s only a
few people, and it would be great practice to prepare you and Eclipse for
future shows if you are ever interested. I will even walk beside you if that would
make you more comfortable,” she said with a smile.
I thought about it
for a few minutes and then said, “Why not! Horseback riding is all about having
fun and trying new things. I am in!” I
really wanted to face my fears, but even more than, I was ready to show off my
big, handsome gelding.
Dayna gave me a tremendous
hug and said, “You guys are going to be great!”
Now that I had
committed to competing in the class, I had to come up with a costume idea. I
pondered a few ideas, bounced some around, but nothing struck me as the perfect
choice. My mom called while out shopping
one day and said, “What if you and Eclipse were Mickey and Minnie Mouse?” She
had found a Minnie Mouse outfit for me and offered to make the ears and buy
some red and yellow fabric to make the Mickey costume for Eclipse. I thought
this was the perfect choice, as Eclipse and I were already becoming as close a
team as Mickey and Minnie. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to see the finish
products, watching closely as my mom configured patterns and details, clipped
and snipped and glued with delicacy as she shaped his ears and outfit into a masterpiece
of a mouse suit fit for a horse.
The night before the show, mom stayed up until the wee hours
of the morning putting the finishing touches on the costumes. The next day, we went
to the barn early to try the attire on Eclipse, as we were a little timid about
how he would react to wearing his first set of clothes. Much to my surprise, he
was as cool and calm as a cucumber as we dressed him and looked absolutely precious
in his Mickey ears. I turned to tell my mom it was perfect when I heard her
say, “uh- oh.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked her in disappointment.
“I cut too big of a hole in the fabric for his head to go
through. I think I ruined it,” she cried.
“That’s OK,” I said, “”We
can do it another time. Don’t worry about it.”
I knew she was
disappointed that all her hard work seemed to be ruined, but just as I was
about to call it quits, two of my friends turned the corner and said with a
laugh, “ You are not getting out of
this…just let us take care of Eclipse! Don’t worry—we’ll get you ready for the show.!”
With slight hesitation, I turned the costume over to them
and they hurried off to work. I was astounded by their creativity. They were
sewing fabric and buttons, measuring and working from head to hoof, cutting and
pinning pieces together as if they were professional tailors. While all of this
was taking place, Eclipse just quietly and patiently stood there as if nothing
out of the ordinary was happening. He did not flinch or shy away one time as
they were sewing pants on him, adjusting buttons and suspenders, or tying a
ribbon to his tail. In fact, he seemed to enjoy his wardrobe fitting and seemed
willing and ready to go out and be the best Mickey he could be.
When he was finally fully dressed in his mouse suit, I led
him to an empty stall so he could rest while I watched some of the events. I
came back later in the day to check on him, and to my dismay, his stall was
empty. I panicked as I raced up and down the barn aisle, peering into each
stall, searching frantically for him, looking for his head to appear over the
edge of a different stall. I thought at first that someone had needed his stall
and had moved him, maybe even out to the pasture to await his turn in the
arena. I called for Dayna and some of my
friends to help me look for him, and after a few minutes heard a voice call, “He’s
down here! I found him!”
I rushed back to his original stall where several people
stood in front of the open door. I had not been able to see him with the door
closed, but he had been there the whole time, curled up on the soft hay, perfectly
relaxed and content in his red flannel “pajamas.” I called the vet over to
check him out, to make sure he was not suffering from colic or distressed in
some way from his morning tailoring session, but she quickly reassured me that
he was “healthy as a horse” and obviously enjoying his comfy new clothes. 
When it was finally our turn to compete, I was unsure as we
walked into the arena how we would compare to the other cute costumes. There
was some tough competition and some original ideas, but as soon as the judge
starting humming the Mickey Mouse theme song, I was pretty sure we were going
to place and place high.
I was overwhelmed that day with the support my friends and
family gave to “Team Mickey”. Each one of them wore “Mickey” ears and cheered wildly
for us as we claimed our first blue ribbon. As I walked my horse around the
arena, his gigantic mouse ears bouncing in the breeze and his first place ribbon proudly pinned to his bridle, I could
not help but once again thank God. He was continually revealing His plan for my
life and opening my eyes to the beauty that could bloom from challenges, if only
I would trust him to carry me through. With
a smile on my face, I exited the arena, humming “who’s the leader of the pack
that’s made for you and me,” knowing in my heart that could only be Eclipse,
the best Mickey Horse ever seen, and who had the blue ribbon to prove it.
