Avi (Elwood Blaze) adopted by Victoria

When I adopted Elwood Blaze from the MidAtlantic Horse Rescue in December of 2010, my first task was to rename him. Because I am an avid chemistry student, I decided upon Avogadro’s Constant, a number used in chemistry equal to 602200000000000000000000 parts to a whole. Not to sound incredibly cheesy (even though that’s exactly how I feel!), but there are, in fact, 602200000000000000000000 ways “Avi” changes my life for the better. In consideration of time, I will share just a few amazing Avi anecdotes.

In February of 2011, I had owned Avi for just 2 months. I took both him and my “competition pony” to Aiken, South Carolina for a winter training trip. The first week went entirely smoothly, but my pony fell ill at the beginning of the second week and Avi really stepped up to the plate and became my main man for the rest of the trip. He was a star as we went to our first cross-country schoolings together and schooled daily, rain or shine. There were other babies at the boarding barn, but no one could believe that Avi was the least experienced of all of them, let alone that he had just come off the track in November.

We finally made our eventing debut together in May. Avi blew us all away. Dressage judges saw a diamond in the rough, Avi bailed me out of jumps in Stadium, and cross-country was an absolute breeze. In June, we made the transition into USEA Recognized eventing. At Plantation, our first Recognized event, Avi jumped around like a pro to place second and qualify for Area II Championships!

We trained and competed all summer, making steady improvements in both dressage and jumping. By October, we were ready to move up to Novice. The entire day, I just could not believe I was on top of a horse that had raced only eleven months prior. The dressage judge was pleased even though it was not our best test, we cleared all of the Stadium jumps with room to spare, and cross country was uneventful. In the end of October, we made the trip to Area II Championships at the Virginia Horse Center, Avi’s first “big deal show”. After the halt in the dressage test, I was so proud of Avi that I skipped the halt and went right into a gigantic hug. Needless to say, the judge did not appreciate that much, but she appreciated our test enough to place us in first, even with a rider error! Incurring just 2 rails and a few XC time penalties, Avi and I were the 4th place pair in our Beginner Novice Junior Championship division. Aside from his very successful first season as an event horse, however, Avi also assimilated into our family superbly in this one year.

Everyone around our boarding barn loves to cuddle Avi because he will truly cuddle back. Spending just a few minutes with Avi, one quickly realizes that he is not aware that he is a horse. It is common knowledge around the barn that, if Avi could curl up in your lap, he would at the first chance he had. He will follow me like a puppy dog, beg for treats, and get into just about any type of mischief around the barn. He has the most endearing personality, and reads people better than anyone I know. What's better than a horse that always knows when you desperately need a hug?

Not only is Avi a fantastic friend, though, he is also just about the best teacher I could have ever asked for. I have put Avi through challenges the race track did not prepare him for, no doubt. He has had to deal with teenage drama without ever going to high school. In just one year, though, Avi has taught me more life lessons than any educator I have ever had. Before Avi, I expected everything to fall into place on its own. I never really knew work or perseverance. In working with Avi, I finally came to the conclusion that there was no way to force things to happen; I had to be patient, I had to work hard, and I could never, ever give up. Through every rough time I’ve had with Avi, we’ve come out stronger as a team and more ready to tackle the next challenge.

I am undyingly grateful to Bev for matching Avi and me together. In one year of being off track, Avi has wiggled his way into my heart and into his career as my rising eventing star. I wouldn’t trade the experience of working and bonding with him for anything in the world, and look forward to many happy times with him to come.

PO Box 407
Chesapeake City, MD 21915

For information call: 302-376-7297
or Email: Bev@MidAtlanticHorseRescue.org
MidAtlantic Horse Rescue is
a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
©2002-2012 MidAtlantic Horse Rescue

MidAtlantic Horse Rescue is a Federal 501(c)3 organization, that buys slaughter
bound ex-racehorses and adopts them into good homes as pleasure and sport horses.