From the Publisher: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
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By Tom Grabe
The Roman poet Sextus is credited with the earliest version of the proverb “absence makes the heart grow fonder” which describes the feeling of greater affection between friends and lovers who are kept apart.
It is unfortunate that these words are so true; for all of us, at one time or another, have taken someone or something we love for granted. It’s easy to do. We all have so much in our life that we hold near and dear, yet our schedules are so busy that we don’t take a moment to think about how special they are. So it goes with horse shows.
Everyone who competes at horse shows, no matter the stage, does so because of their love of horses. It’s not for the money, the fame or the glory. It’s because we have a raging passion for all things equine. We spend much of our spare time–and money–on our horses and horse shows. We don’t even think about it. You say, “What do you want to do this weekend, honey? The weather is supposed to be great!” Honey says, “There’s a show in you-pick-the-name City. It’s only 4 hours away and several of our friends are going.” You say, “That sounds great. Let’s get the horses ready, load up the trailer and go! I can’t wait to see them at the show.” And so it goes.
So, we were all stunned, then depressed, when the world as we know it came to a screeching halt due to something we never heard of–COVID-19. Although it sounds like a NASCAR team or the title of an action movie, we all found out it was nothing of the sort. Horse shows, along with everything else in the world, were cancelled… everywhere. Visits to barns were by appointment. We all learned what ‘PPE’ stands for, what ‘social distancing’ means, and what it’s like to only see our friends on a computer screen.
