10/01/2025
Many of you are new here.. let me introduce you to Hugo.
Hugo came into my life with a halter grown into his face from severe neglect. He was unhandled and terrified. He was deemed dangerous and was slaughter bound after flipping over backwards onto his rider. I intervened and was given the “worthless” pony.
Many people mocked me for seeing potential in him, when I could have easily gotten a horse already broke to ride who was larger and more “suitable” for me. I was only 14yrs old and I had never ridden a horse at that time. I read books upon books about riding etiquette, training and body language. But I was never privileged enough to be around horses until Hugo. What was I going to do with a feral pony?
We learned together.
I took hours a day after school just sitting with him - I would talk to him, groom him, work him in the round pen… anything I could do to earn his trust. After about 6 months of consistent work, I rode him ba****ck (because I didn’t own a saddle or bridle). I couldn’t afford tack, so I saved my money and made do with what I could.
We became inseparable.
He trusted me and would do anything I asked of him.
I would borrow my neighbor’s old, rusty trailer and took him to the fair, rode him on trails, did a few shows. There wasn’t anything we couldn’t do together. I worked hard and saved my money to buy a saddle, his hay, anything he needed. Hugo was my constant companion in a mean world where I was often alone and misunderstood - much like he was. . I named him Hugo after the famous poet, Victor Hugo, and his quote “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”
A couple of years went by, and life happened.
I lost my job, got kicked out of my home. My long term boyfriend and I broke up. I moved Hugo around with me, even when I was living at various places and couches.
Eventually though, hardship caught up to me. I was left with the choice of being homeless or joining the Army. I knew I couldn’t take him with me while I was in basic training and AIT, so I made the gut wrenching decision to sell him.
Thankfully the woman I sold him to promised me to keep his name and to sell him back to me if anything ever happened.
Three long years went by - I had lived in four different states and had gone through all of my Army training when I got the message. “He’s not like he used to be”.
Hugo had become mean. He was kicking at her children, threatening to bite if they came close. He was bucking and refusing to do what was asked.
I was heartbroken all over again.
Amazingly, she kept her word and sold him back to me. A friend of mine brought him to me in Georgia(from Ohio) and what I saw come off of the trailer was a sad sight. Hugo held his head low and had no life in his eyes. He was tired and weary. I hesitated but called out to him and he instantly perked up and whinnied. The black and white photo is our first encounter together again. My boy was home.
There’s A LOT more to our story. And it’s not over yet. But Hugo has given me and all three of my children our first rides over the last 18 years. He became the pony I knew and loved again, never missing a beat or putting a hoof out of place. I promised him that he would never leave me again and I intend to keep that promise. Hugo has traveled with me from Ohio, to Georgia, to South Carolina, to Texas and back to Ohio again. He’s seen me get married, divorced, have three children, live through a house fire and lose everything. He’s kept me whole through it all.
And that is the legacy that I want to share with the world. 💜
