Posts Tagged ‘flower girl
My Amazing Flower Pony
October 4th, 2008 is a date that holds much significance for me. Not only is it the anniversary of my wedding to my high school sweetheart, but it is also the anniversary of when I became the official owner of Minnow, so I planned a good celebration, with food and great decoration using a party supply tablecloth for this event.
Minnow had been living with me since 2003, when his then owners had decided to lease him out to me to use as a riding mount. In those 5 years I got to know an amazing pony that has since changed the entire course of my life. I knew he was one of those “once in a lifetime” ponies – and in the back of my mind I always feared that someday he would leave me.
When he was diagnosed with Ringbone in March of 2008 and his competition career came to an abrupt end, it became evident that the “backyard tricks” I had taught him were now more important than ever. Not only were they a way for us to continue to interact with each other, but they became something even more special that we shared together.
I knew that Minnow HAD to be at my wedding, he was such an important part of my life, and when my mom jokingly suggested he should be the flower girl, I set out to train him how to toss petals out of a basket. Tossing the petals proved to be the easy part, it was performing in front of a crowd of wedding guests that couldn’t be practiced.
Until today, I have yet to share the “real” wedding video of Minnow wowing my guests (and me). To FINALLY get it up for viewing I had to film it off of my computer and onto my iphone – so granted the quality isn’t the best. But, I’m proud to share with everyone, the greatest FLOWER GIRL PONY there ever was!
Not only was Minnow simply amazing, but he performed for my sister (and not me). Minnow has always been quite sensitive, and most times will only perform tricks for me – after we built a relationship of trust over many years. So for him to perform for my sister (who never works with him) and in front of a large crowd of people, it was an amazing accomplishment for him.
When I returned home from my honeymoon in Nicaragua I opened a very special card from Minnow’s owners. Their gift to me on my wedding day was Minnow! To know that he would be mine forever was one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me. I know that I’m truly blessed to have him in my life and I’m so thankful that we were able to find eachother.
So Happy Anniversary Minnow! I look forward to many more adventures with you, as I know we are just getting started!
And Happy 3 year Anniversary to my wonderful husband :), thanks for accepting my love for the ponies (and Ammo).
The Wedding Guest
Our Wedding
On Sunday (October 4th) marks the 1 year anniversary for my husband and I. 1 year ago I married my high school sweetheart of 7 years and my best friend. From the very beginning we knew we’d be married someday. We spent our senior year of high school together and continued on to college together- both obtaining art degrees. And when the day came that I knew we would finally be married…..there was only one guest that I absolutely had to have at my wedding (well aside from my family).
Me and the girls
And that was Chincoteague Minnow. Minnow has been with me nearly as long as my husband has. My husband was there the day that I brought Minnow home to live with me – as a free lease from a family friend. And for 6 years Minnow has tagged along with my husband and I as we graduated high school, left for college (Minnow came with us), and then started our lives together. Minnow taught my husband to ride and appreciate horses and he taught me more than I ever could have imagined. I’ve always said that Minnow is a once in a lifetime horse, and it was only fitting that he should attend our wedding.
The Boys
So in May of last year I started the daunting task of searching for a wedding venue. No easy task when you want to have a horse as a guest. My mom was thrilled with the idea and we schemed about what Minnow would do/be in the wedding. My mother-in-law was a bit on the fence about the idea, but she willingly went along. I’m probably known as the horse crazy daughter-in-law. Many places laughed in my face when I said I wanted my horse IN the wedding, while others seemed quite willing to accommodate. I finally settled on a place that happened to be right across the street from where Minnow was living at the time – a nature conservancy that had an old mansion to accompany it. And then came the task of figuring what Minnow would do in the wedding.
Minnow walks down the isle with my sister
My mom jokingly told me that I should have Minnow be the flower girl – I don’t think she had any idea that I would take the idea seriously. I decided that I would train Minnow to throw flowers out of a basket as he walked down the isle. I knew that if I could teach Minnow to paint that it would be totally plausible for him to learn this. In fact he picked it up after 2 days of training. Below is a video of the training process that my husband filmed.
My husband tolerates the love that Minnow and I share
Once friends and family began to hear rumors that there would be a “Flower Pony” at the wedding I was met with much skepticism. In their minds it was one thing to have a horse at the wedding (I’m sure they were thinking horse drawn carriage) but to have him actually walk down the isle – and throw flowers? Most people asked me – what will you do if he leaves a stinky surprise behind? and won’t the crowd scare him? what if he runs into the audience? I usually responded with none of that will happen – I know Minnow. And I really did.
My sister and Minnow
If I had thought about having him attend 2 years earlier I would have said there is absolutely no way that he’ll be calm. Infact 2 years earlier Minnow was terrified of almost everything – I could barely even handle him at a horse show. So to think that only 2 years after his trick training and all around clicker training began that I would be having him walk down a wedding isle with hundreds of people was kinda crazy. But Minnow and I pulled it off – as I knew we would. I think he knew that this was important to me.
The Flower Pony
October 4th, 2008 came and I was so excited! Not just to marry my high school sweetheart – but also to prove my friends and family wrong as my little Minnow walked down my wedding isle. I also think I was proving to myself, that I knew this pony, and I knew that he would make me proud. It was sort of a culmination of what Minnow and I had learned together over the years. Clicker training completely changed our relationship – but would it be enough to ward off a horse’s natural instincts and the desire to run from anything frightening. Not only that but I was not going to be the one walking Minnow down the isle – my little sister would. And as much as I try to impress my teaching methods on my sister – she has little patience for the training techniques I use, and she’s not “connected” to Minnow the way that I am.
So as I peeked through the trees that day, I watched as Minnow stepped up onto the stone ledge infront of my guests. I watched as he marched infront of them dropping flowers as he passed. And I watched as he walked up the steps. No stinky surprise, no freak out, nothing. I was so proud.
(sorry I don’t actually have the real wedding video to show you – I still haven’t seen it! If you are reading dad….is it ready YET?)
The wedding party
What made the day even better (well other than the fact that I got married) was that as an EXTREMELY generous wedding gift, Minnow’s owners decided to give him to me. I was so happy. I knew that they would probably never ask for him back, but in the back of my mind I always worried that one day they would want him again. Knowing that he would be with me forever was one of the most wonderful things I could have ever asked for. I found out that he was to be mine while I was on my honeymoon in Nicaragua. So when I returned home the first thing I did was rush to the barn so that I could whisper in Minnow’s ear that he would always be with me.
So thus ends my enchanting wedding story. Does anyone else have a story about a horse in a wedding? Am I the only crazy person to teach their horse to throw flowers down the isle? Do tell.
If this isn’t a convincing enough story as to why you should try clicker training with your horse, I don’t know what is.
Photography courtsey of Daniel Williams Photography. Aren’t they amazing? Hire him!
Flower Pony
I think its safe to say that Chincoteague Minnow was the first ever “Flower Pony” in a wedding. True there have been many horses in history that have made their debut in weddings. We’ve all seen the horse drawn carriages and even the crazy brides who attempt to ride their horse down the isle in a princess wedding gown. Lets just say I wasn’t that brave. No I chose to do something a little different for my October 4, 2008 wedding to my highschool sweetheart.
This post is a little late – but I was just so proud of my little Minnow that its worth mentioning again. I trained Minnow to walk down the isle throwing petals out of a basket as he went. He performed his job flawlessly and even calmly posed for photos afterwards. Too bad there is no use for this amazing trick now that the wedding is over – unless someone wants to rent a chubby Chincoteague Pony to throw flowers at their wedding. 🙂
Chincoteague Minnow walks down the isle with handler, my sister Laurel.
Chincoteague Minnow gives me a kiss. What girl doesn't love her pony more than her husband! 🙂
-KD
