Tiny Dictator - My Dream Horse

The first weekend in May is special to me. While everyone else is excited for the Kentucky Derby, I remember and rejoice the first Saturday of every May for a different reason. The exact details are sketchy and fading from my memory. It was 17 years ago this weekend that I bought my first horse. He was a Colorado bred and raised registered Quarter Horse gelding named Tiny Dictator. He’d been used on a ranch for the first eight years. The rancher knew it was time to give some of the younger stock a chance and sold Dictator to my uncle.

We ended up visiting my uncle one summer and that’s when I met Tiny Dictator. I really liked him at first. The next few times we went out to play with him, I fell in love. (I believe in love at second sight.) My uncle had had other horses but there was something about Tiny Dictator that called to me. It could have been his size, his color, his demeanor; I don’t know. At that point, Tiny Dictator became my dream horse. I know at some point I informed my parents and my uncle that some day I would own Dictator. I was a patient girl and would wait for him.

As it so happened, my uncle decided he would sell Dictator to me (eight years later). With my parent’s consent, I became the proud owner of my dream horse. Of course, in a teenage girl’s world, everything is easy. Just load the horse up and haul him to South Dakota. What a blessing I have to be related to such amazing family. My uncle loaded Dictator and hauled him the 17-hour trip from Colorado to South Dakota, made longer with a flat tire on the trailer.

Dictator arrived that first Saturday in May. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to see him unload. I was at a track meet (but wishing I was home). By the time I finally got home, it was dark. My uncle had put Dictator in the barn so the only thing I could see of him was his big white snip. Oh how I wish it had been daylight so I could see my beautiful dream horse.

I don’t know of many who get their dream horse as their first horse. Oh it wasn’t all good. Dictator was used to men riding him so having a teenage girl bouncing around on him who didn’t know what she was doing made for some interesting trips around the yard. The first six months I swore I was going to sell him. But it was all a learning curve on both our parts. We were both 16 at the time. Dictator with years of experience and me with absolutely no experience what so ever.

But we grew together and learned from each other. Watching Dictator grow old was the prime reason why I switched from rescue to sanctuary. Dictator was one of the lucky ones. He only had three owners. Not many horses can say that. He was well cared for by all three owners and loved by all. Once while Dad was out elk hunting in Colorado, he came upon someone who remembered Dictator from his ranching days. It was amazing to know that Dictator had made such an impression on not just me but others.

Watching a loved one grow old is hard. At the time, I didn’t know what I know now. He taught me so much the entire time I was blessed to care for him. My only regret is that I wasn’t there when he passed away. I will carry that regret for the rest of my life. I had been preparing myself for his loss but when it actually happened, I wasn’t prepared. I should have been with him. That’s when I made the decision to be a sanctuary instead of a rescue. Because I promised myself that I would always be there until the end for each of the horses in my care. Every horse should be worshipped and loved until their final breath. Every horse should be loved and cried over. No one should be forgotten. Of all the lessons Dictator taught me, that’s the one that really stuck in my head.

He’s been gone now for five years. It still breaks my heart to not see him standing in the pasture but I know he lived a full and happy life. I will be silently celebrating Dictator’s and my anniversary tomorrow (even if it’s not the exact date). He was one special horse (as they all are).

I can honestly say I have been blessed. How many girls can say that their first horse was their dream horse? I can.