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[RC] Rebel and Nicole - Nicole WiereI wanted to send out
an email thanking all who have expressed their sincere sadness for the loss of
my best partner of all time, Rebel. It is amazing how close we all are in
endurance and it is only you (endurance people) who truly know what it is like
to loose your riding partner. I have saved all of your thoughts and emails
and wishes for a file that I will keep to look at from time to time. I
plan to make a special scrapbook of all of our photos to remember the good
times. This has been terribly traumatic for me and very hard to believe
that he is gone.
The morning of our
ride we were supposed to ride from Robinson to Foresthill however due to another
person being late we decided to go from Deadwood to Foresthill. While
waiting in Foresthill, Ray Baylie, a fellow endurance rider who I have not seen
for quite some time stood by my trailer where Rebel was tied and already saddled
and admired him. He asked me of his breeding again and just said "You sure
won't ever find one like him again. He sure is a neat horse - such big bone -
just a big guy." On the way to Deadwood I told Shawn and my mother, Pat
Chappell (our driver that day), that I was going to go for it on Tevis. I
said "I certainly have the horse to do it." "I also plan to get him his
3,000 miles in 2006 since we were so close and I plan to go back to the east
coast to the AERC National Championship in Virginia since I enjoyed meeting new
friends on the east coast last year (Meg Sleeper and Dave Augustine) and it was
so beautiful to see new races." My how your plans change in an
instant.
I have 10,000 or
close to it miles in this sport and of all the 20+ horses I have competed on he
was by far the best. In April, while cantering through the Square
Nail 50 mile ride with Barry Waitte I remember commenting how much fun it is
when the horse does it so easily as Rebel and how it would be hard to start all
over again. Until Rebel, I competed in this sport because I enjoyed the
horsemanship that I developed and the sense of accomplishment you get from
riding many horses many miles. Rebel due to his natural athletic abilities
took me to the International level of riding and winning and top tens and
learning to train to be the elite. Now, since I do not have another Rebel
nor a horse of age to do the sport for some years I think it is a sign and a
reminder for me to get back to the roots of endurance since it will be
a long time until I am competitive again. Although I did not raise Rebel,
I rescued him from abuse as a late 8 year old who had done nothing. I was
the only one who ever rode him and he is the only horse I rode the years that I
had him. We were truly a team probably similar to a horse that is raised
or "home-grown". Many of you who knew him called him "the big grey horse" and I
know you will remember us and it is so special to me that so many of you have
shown me your support.
My message is to
remember what riding is all about and enjoy the glory while you have it but
remember how you got there.
Thank
you.
Nicole Chappell
Wiere
AERC#2826
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