Geneva and I first met in 2018 at Mustang Memorial. She had been riding with Sandy all year long and I was a bit jealous of their adventures. I had found myself without a riding horse after Ozzy's passing. At the time, Tango's then-owner had actually reached out and offered the mare to me as a lease. At the time, I wasn't in a position to take a mare. Plus Tango had a bit of a reputation.
Well, things often seem to happen for a reason. In the end, Tango ended up with Geneva, first on loan and then for keeps. The two of them had a hell of an endurance career together!
The next time I saw Geneva, we rode the first few miles of Broxton together in 2019. I was on Dart. She was on a horse named Ghost and he was A Lot. I had no desire to go as fast as they were going so I pulled off of them, but I remember being impressed by Geneva's riding.
We saw each other later that spring at Rabbit Run and Geneva shared her wine with me in the gun club. I should have known then that she was my kind of people.
Our next major interaction was at OD 100; me on Lunar, Geneva on Tango. We were on the same team. It just so happened we were the winning team that year! That was a good year for both of us and we saw each other in passing at a few rides, including Moonlight in Vermont and Fort Valley. We were friendly and chatted happily about this and that, but we didn't know each other super well.
That didn't stop us from getting a little tipsy in the hotel after the OD Christmas Party, in our matching Triple Crown jacket. That year, Tango won OD High Mileage Horse. Geneva also brought me my ECTRA awards after she went to their banquet a few weeks later.
After that, a pandemic hit and the wheels fell off the bus.
The next time I saw Geneva was at my return to distance riding in 2021. We were at Muckleratz and Geneva was doing her first ride with Hopper, a young mare she'd gotten from Dodie. I was instantly smitten with the little gray powerhouse, and I told Geneva as much.
By then, we were pretty friendly online, chatting here and there about this and that. We hadn't really hung out in any official capacity, but we ran in all the same circles and the same sport.
When Geneva posted that she was looking for someone to do a long, fast ride in the sand with, I volunteered. To my surprise and delight, she took me up on my offer. The rest, as they say, is history. We rode together at Colliers Mills in November and I think I can safely say all four of us had an absolute blast. Hopper and Booger went really well together.
Looking back, I only wish we had met sooner.
We packed a lot of adventures into the last six months. We even started Booger's first endurance ride side by side. We rode in the pine barrens, at Horseshoe Bend, and at Baldpate Mountain. We laughed, we gossiped, we cruised down the canal path on our two confident Arabian mares who have way too much in common. We bounced ideas off of each other and shared wild events as they were unfolding in our lives. It has been a fast, easy friendship, and one that has brought me much joy.
And of course, whenever I make a friend, the universe has other plans.
Almost two weeks ago, Geneva moved to Vermont.
It's a wonderful opportunity and I am over the moon excited for her and her boyfriend. I am also 100% planning to crash in on them once they're situated. It's not goodbye forever, but it still stings.
The last weekend she was home, Geneva sent me a message and asked, "Any chance I could convince you to come up for one last ride at the park on Monday or Tuesday after work?"
It would make for a long night. We both work until 5pm. Then I'd have to hook up the trailer, drive to the barn, groom and load the horse, haul up to Frenchtown, tack up, ride, and then do it all in reverse before feeding and driving back home.
I said, "Absolutely."