Cob Jockey

A scene from Nappanee, IN, where I spent the last two days.

Though it was hard passing all the horse trailers leaving the event I was supposed to have been at as my husband and I drove home from the funeral today, I absolutely made the right decision to scratch.  Nick's grandfather was the only other horse lover in the family, having grown up in Amish country and being well-respected by the Amish, and was one of my favorites of Nick's family.  He always handed me the Amish trader magazine to read through when I came to visit, to see what kinds of horses they were selling and for what price.

The first time I met him, when Nick and I were dating, he insisted that Nick's aunt drive the long way to his favorite Amish buffet so that we were driving through the heart of Amish farmland, so that he could point out all the Belgians and harness horses to me - and trust me, there are a lot of them in northern Indiana!  At his funeral, they described the things he liked and didn't like, and two of them were: "Computers, no, long rides being pulled by a team of Belgians, yes."  Rest in peace, Max, you were awesome!