I Believe In Magic – an EC Blog by Julia S. Adams

If you’ve ever loved and lost a horse, then had to give what was left of your heart to another, this blog is for you. 

“It felt like a door was cracking open that had been shut tight for a very long time,” writes Julia S. Adams after winning with a new horse, Pleased N Dynamic, at the 2023 IBHA World Show.

If  you’ve also been a longtime follower of our page, you likely remember the stories of Houdini, aka The Hottest Breeze, Julia’s World Champion with a club foot. His complications finally caught up to him in 2022, and we were devastated to share the news of his passing.

Thanks again to Julie S. Adams, who has been blogging for us about her experiences battling the club foot and later with Houdini’s loss, we have another beautiful blog to share with you, entitled, “I Believe In Magic.” 

Read her heartfelt blog here and find the links to his earlier stories, great reads for owners of horses with a club foot.

(Scroll to the bottom to view the 2021 and 2022 blogs about Houdini and Julia.)

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I Believe In Magic

By Julia S. Adams

There’s something special about certain horses. Just like I believe there are angels masquerading as people on this earth, I believe there are some animals here who are sent to us for a reason. They are here for us at just the right time, maybe some higher purpose, I don’t know, but I do believe in their magic.

The last time I sat to write something, it was with tears pouring down my face as I grappled with the loss of a member of my family who was my child before I had a child. Houdini was my heart horse, and he was magic. His courage and his story of his young life was followed by friends and family who wrapped their arms around us with support as they watched us overcome hurdle after hurdle in every attempt to keep him sound and healthy. He touched more lives than I could count. When he told me it was his time in October of 2022 I felt like my earth had shifted and if I could have crawled into his grave with him on that day, I would have. But he trusted me and told me as clearly as if he’d spoken that he was ready, even if it had just been six years on this planet and I was not ready to let him go.

Houdini changed my life, pure and simple. Growing with him and raising him was one of the greatest joys of my life. My intent and hope was to make him into a horse that my daughter could grow up with, but that was never to be. When Houdini died I felt like a part of me died with him, yet I can still feel him around me every day. His magic lives where I live, and I know he lives within me somehow. He’s buried beneath his favorite tree in his paddock, and though his stall door has remained closed since he died, I feel him in the barn, too. On his last days, I asked him to tell me the right thing to do, and to show me he could come back to me somehow, because I do believe that even though someone or something passes, that energy never leaves us. And because I believe in his magic, and he knew I needed him- he did.

It was a relief to know he was no longer in pain, but I’d forgotten how to live without him. My routine was different, I had a newborn human baby to care for, and life just felt bizarre. I could hardly walk in the barn without crying for the first three months after he was gone, but I knew I needed to do my homework to find the perfect fit for my family. I thought about giving it a couple of years, I even almost posted my show saddle and equipment for sale, but in the end I knew I needed to look to the future and I trusted that he would make it happen as it was supposed to.

In November after Houdini died, I reached out to family friends that had raised his half-brother in Ohio. I had seen him on FaceTime that summer and the girls who owned him had said he would make a great kids horse. They said he was quiet, gentle, and loving. They said even as a yearling, they thought he’d be good for a youth. He was my instant gut feeling first choice. I knew the family, I knew the bloodline, and I knew my friends would not steer me wrong. But when I asked about him they said they had decided to retain him for the time being for their daughters. I totally understood this and began my broad search for my next unicorn.

Now, let me tell you, this market is no joke. Its prices are Inflated and I was determined to find a deal that was close to home and something I could start and train myself; it’s what I could afford to do, especially with a baby at home.

Over the winter from November to March I searched and networked and looked at a couple horses in person, but nothing felt right. I kept thinking about the one I instinctually wanted but couldn’t have. Then, just when I was thinking that maybe I should really just give up and take a break from horses, one of my best friends called from Ohio. She had a planned breeding to get a full sibling to her mare, and the little yearling gelding i’d asked about. She offered me that breeding in a selfless act of kindness. Because I knew the cross would be great and the time would be right, I jumped on it. My friend Brianne took it upon herself to haul the broodmare to all her appointments between March and April, and even though we did all we could to get her bred, she didn’t take.

I felt like an idiot for getting my hopes up. It was soul crushing. I sat in the snow at Houdini’s grave and just asked for some sort of sign that I was doing the right thing, or if there was something that was supposed to happen, to let it happen so I knew I wasn’t just wasting my time. And then I got the message I’d been waiting for.

The family who owned the broodmare, and the yearling (now two year old) named Billy that I’d asked about had decided to offer him to me. It took me a quick second and I accepted. I wanted him from the beginning, and in a roundabout way it ended up being the right time and the right place for him to come into our family. We decided to leave him with the Schliesser family until we could get him over the summer at the world show where we would drive out, meet him, show him, and then bring him home north to Vermont. They agreed and the plan was set in place.

Before we left to drive to Ohio I sat at his grave again and laid flowers where he rests. I told him I would always love him and that his brother was coming home to be Ellie’s new buddy to grow up with. I told him I believed in his magic and that he made this match work. It felt like a door was cracking open that had been shut tight for a very long time.

When we arrived to meet Billy it was first thing in the morning after driving all night. I strapped Ellie onto my front and we went to the barn. The reaction between Ellie and Billy was the sweetest thing. They acted like they’d been waiting for each other for their whole lives. She grabbed his muzzle and he nuzzled her and smelled her hair. It was instant friendship and everyone who was there was witness to the genuine care they seemed to have for one another. It was like magic. It all just seemed to fit.

We moved into the world show the following day with the Schliesser’s and I took over his care. He was mine now, but their daughter Addison was the one who raised him from a baby. She did everything absolutely wonderfully from the ground up. He was quiet, respectful, and sweet. He had known nothing but love and gentleness from her and he is the animal he is because of her.

She helped us as we formed our new partnership and figured out each other’s ways as we entered our first classes together. I had zero expectation going to the show. I thought we would participate since we were out there, but the goal was to just simply meet him, go in a couple classes, and get him home. I was relieved and pretty emotional to put Houdini’s show halter on him and have it fit, and we entered in hand trail, 2 year old lunge line, and halter. He pulled a clean pattern in the trail and we got 5th overall which I was tickled with. Trail was Houdini’s favorite class so that was something I was glad to see Billy seemed to enjoy as well.

And then we went in for the lunge line.  Of the 12 in the class we were 10th to go. He gave me a good clean go and was a completely quiet gentleman. I was happy with his run. I knew Addison had worked with him more in lunge line so I was happy that he was able to show off everything she taught him. I was so proud of both of them In that moment.

When they called for the judges’ placings I remember hearing that we got a 3rd. And then a 1st. And then a 2nd. And then I started to feel like something good was coming. I could feel the magic around us. And then we were called for another 1st. And I held my breath and waited… and the final judge had us 1st. And we knew it was ours. I think I about fell over.

Billy is his own animal, he is his own soul, but I know on some level, he’s part of the magic, too. Animals know when you’re hurting, and they know just how to fit into your life to make it better. They are their own angels here to remind us of grace and goodness and purity of spirit.

Winning a world title with my heart horse’s little brother is something I’ll never forget. I’m beyond proud of him, and proud of Addison who trained him and raised him to be a champion, and the perfect fit for my little family.

People, horses, things… they all seem to have their own place and time where they fit just right. But I think a little magic sprinkled in is always helpful too.

As I hugged friends and family there, they all said the same thing, “Houdini is here. He’s here with you.” And because they believed in his magic too, I know he will never truly be gone.

I’ll always miss my horse; I doubt that will ever change. I’m blessed to have known him and to know that kind of love and commitment. Yet I’m thankful and excited for our new future with his half-brother knowing that it somehow it’s all ok, and he made it happen the way it was supposed to.

I want to thank the Schliesser family for all they’ve done for us in this match. They raised a wonderful boy and have been so gracious and patient in our exchange of this little boy.

I need to thank my mom and husband who supported me in taking on another horse while I have a baby at home. Having a baby, a puppy, and a two year old horse is going to be wild, but they’ll grow up having each other.

And to my friends and family who supported us and cheered us on along the way, especially Brianne Mathews who acted as the matchmaker from the get-go.

Here’s to new beginnings, and magic that never dies.

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This is our first blog in 2021 from Julia, “How You React When Everything Falls Apart is What Defines a True Champion.”

How You React When Everything Falls Apart is What Defines a True Champion | Equine Chronicle

 

Read their 2022 story of loss – Julia has a way of sharing her feelings that resonate with the horse owner in all of us:  EC Blog: Join the Club – The Hottest Breeze Loses His Battle With His Club Foot | Equine Chronicle