05/28/2026
Throwback Thursday, Equus Couture Style
I don’t know when it started, this deep desire to have a horse. I don’t know how long I prayed, but I prayed ardently for a horse, I believe for several years.
Dad’s uncle had bred Davenport Arabians for years & so he reached out to Uncle Jim to find out what we would even need to look for if we started horse shopping. I didn’t know this then, but now in my 40’s realize mom & dad didn’t have much money. I don’t even know how they were able to make this horse crazy kids dreams come true, knowing how expensive horses are now. It was truly a miracle that this even happened for our family. I was fortunate to have an animal lover as a dad & a mom who invested in her girls.
Uncle Jim gave dad some tips & then I can’t remember if it was a year or so later called dad back to see if we had found a horse yet. We hadn’t even started looking. Uncle Jim had bred one of his top mares & she lost the foal, which made him start to wonder how old she was, so he pulled her papers & was shocked to realize she was 23. He wanted her to live out the rest of her days being loved in a sweet retirement, so he gave Confection to us. We called her Connie. I was 11, & she was 23, she became my best friend & the greatest babysitter we could have ever asked for.
Connie came with a western saddle/bridle, loads of horse books, etc. And she was famous! She had been on the cover of Smithsonian magazine in September of 1975 (she’s the flea bit gray on the far left).
We knew next to nothing about horses when we got her on May 23rd of 1990 (I celebrate that day in my heart every single year). I read every book I could get my hands on, talked horses with anyone who would humor me, so I could learn. I was hungry for all the horse knowledge & we sure had a lot to learn. More to come on that in another TBT post!
That day changed the trajectory of my life, all thanks to dear Uncle Jim & parents who were willing to help fulfill the dream of a little horse girl. Do you remember your first horse? Pop their name in the comments so we can all honor the first horse, who dealt with all our mistakes, & loved us through our learning.
**enjoy my diary entries from the month we got Connie! Wild I still have these and was able to find them!**
