Chesapeake Boomerang
March 21, 2003 – April 14, 2024
It’s hard to know where to start, so I’ll start from the beginning. Boomer appeared in my life in 2007, when I needed him most. Just after my heart pony, Chincoteague Minnow, had been diagnosed with Ringbone and pronounced unrideable almost suddenly – I was left without a mount, and mourning that part of my life with him. Minnow and I went on to share so much more, but I missed riding and that connection it held. So the hunt began, for another Chincoteague Pony naturally.
Boomer’s older (by a year) 1/2 brother, Blitz, entered our lives first – but led us to find Boomer. It was exciting to bring these two siblings back together after several years apart – Blitz was in Maryland and Boomer was still living at the farm he was born at in North Carolina. We drove halfway to Virginia to meet him, and he instantly won me over when he walked me bravely through a wooded trail filled with obstacles he had never seen. His attempted bucks in the arena didn’t derail my excitement as I decided to bring him home to Pennsylvania.
Once home, Boomer (at just barely 5 years old) never hesitated to show me his sass, and agility. His bronco buck appeared (always without warning) as well as his utter distain for any bit in his mouth. But despite his air theatrics, he quickly won my heart with his willingness to try anything and everything with me and we grew to trust eachother more with every ride.
Over the many years together we tried just about everything you can do with a horse, mounted games, polocrosse, archery, mounted shooting, obstacle challenges, ranch sorting, team penning, extreme cowboy races – Boomer did it all! I wouldn’t say he was the most fearless pony (in fact he was always the lowest in the pecking order in the pasture), but he was fearless with me. Or shall I say, this pony would do just about anything for a treat.
Boomer’s love of food (which ultimately is what led us here because of his metabolic issues) made him my most accomplished trick horse. He mastered sitting on bean bag chairs, laying down, bowing (among many more) and his most memorable….flashing a toothy smile. I will always miss his happy grin in the barn, peeking over the stall door.
I still remember his first BIG trick performance in Chincoteague during Pony Penning week – where he was the fill-in for Minnow, who was still recovering from his most recent ankle injection. He was young, and unproven, but we had spent the beginning of the summer practicing non-stop and he knew what to do. I trusted him to do his tricks, but I had not anticipated how he would act with the crowds of people. He entered the small arena on the first night of performances hyped up like I had never seen him, he dove onto his pedestal and as the crowd cheered I asked him to shake hands. I’m fairly sure my eyes popped out of my head as I watched him rear straight up into the air and proceed to give me a high-five during mid launch. Needless to say he was a handful! But as the week went on he began to settle into the routine and by our last performance he just wanted to park on his bean bag chair and never leave.
Not long after I decided to test him again, and in 6 weeks time we would train to complete in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race. He continued to impress me with his ability to learn everything I asked of him, including flying lead changes, rollbacks, and more. Did I mention he was an english pony – not western trained in the slightest? Once again we entered an arena filled with large crowds and as they let out a cheer Boomer spun me around nervously. It was a lot to ask of my young pony, but I settled him (with a treat of course, because thats really all he wanted in life) and we got to work. He tried his little heart out racing around that arena for me, performing rollbacks just like the western ponies, and flying lead changes at just the shift of my seat. We took home 6th, making it into the preliminary and then final rounds against horses that had trained for years to compete in these races and among professional trainers. I was so proud of him.
As the years went on we continued to enjoy our adventures together, and patching him back together constantly as he dealt with lameness issues, and insulin problems and cushings. My mom, amazingly always there to research meds for him, and the very best of care to make sure we had tried every avenue to keep him happy and comfortable. She kept him fit for me when I was busy having my own kids, and enjoyed his company on the trail for many years as well.
One of my most favorite memories with him was on one of our trail rides – happily wandering the countryside with Boomer and my mom on Blitz. As we popped over the crest of a hill we were suddenly faced with an entire herd of loose cattle. With not a sole in sight, we decided to do what any one would have….herd them somewhere! We still laugh at the image of us rounding up cattle on horseback as the farmers eventually popped over the hill on 4-wheelers looking for their herd. I’m sure they could see how much fun we were having so they let us help herd them through streams and fields back to the pasture they had escaped from. Boomer especially loved the adventure as he nipped at the cows – finally finding an animal he could boss around.
In the last few years of his life, Boomer’s kind demeanor led him to be the caretaker of my children’s miniature horses. Himself, no longer able to tolerate eating grass, spent his days in the drylot with his two little minis, much the same that Minnow used to do as well too.
On his last day, he gorged on the lush spring grass to his hearts content, and ate buckets full of the sweetest grain we had. My daughter braided flowers in his mane, and we enjoyed the sunshine. He flashed me one last smile, and went peacefully at home on the farm with a mouthful of grain. Which is really all he wanted.
We will miss you always Boomer. xoxo. Keep smiling.
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