Ollie Ollie Oxen Free
This post is a continuation of a three-part series:
- Part I: Expecting the Unexpected
- Part II: Trusting the Team and Making Hard Decisions
It was a term we used to use as kids, playing cops and robbers in our suburban half-acre backyard. The playhouse my uncle built served as our mock jailhouse and when we’d break free, we’d yell “Ollie Ollie Oxen Free!”. We used to shut the sun down in the sticky summers, refusing to come inside until the moon was the only light left in the sky.
After Dixie successfully stood up after surgery, I knew it was time for me to get myself home for a much needed shower and rest in a proper bed.
“Ollie Ollie Oxen Free,” I thought to myself, a soft unheard victory cry that would mark a moment that I couldn’t yet comprehend how much it mattered. Few people on this planet understood the connection and the bond that I have built with Dixie. That is, until they saw it in our darkest of hours.
What came to mind was that old saying (and infamous song lyrics) — “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone" — I refused to be a person who didn’t show the proper gratitude for the magical mare that had become the center of my universe when it mattered most.
For better or for worse, she was the the horse that I chose to pursue this wild dream of mine. I owed her every opportunity to keep defying odds and proving people wrong.
Just like every time before, Baby Dixie delivered.
Dixie arrived home safely on July 2nd.
The first 30 days were the worst. She was stuck in a stall, only allowed outside for 10-minute walks in the morning. I work early hours which meant I've missed many of the the opportunities to work with her. I've been battling my own physical challenges, and I'm trying to take this opportunity to come back correctly.
Our first big milestone was the removal of 21 staples from the incision.
Absolute precision, I was amazed at how well it healed.
Beyond expectations.
The University team did an excellent job from the moment she arrived to the moment she left the property.
Only 14 more days before she will start the real work and hopefully begin back under saddle. This month, her focus will be on building back stamina and getting her to engage her core muscles.
She's properly rested, and now it's time to re-engage.
The night that I slept in my car with the sunroof open under the stars, I couldn't help but hope for the best. I'll never forget the first time I lessoned with Janet over fences, and it was like something magic happened in that arena.
"Oh yeah she's not lazy, she just doesn't like flatwork!" she laughed.
I laughed, too. "Exactly!"
Seeing distances is something I have, but I've always lacked the consistency of an upper-level horse or a canter comfortable and adjustable enough for me to excel at the higher levels. With a body that has taken a beating over the past few decades, in many ways I'm not the rider I used to be, but I am learning to be a better rider in the body I have now.
Dixie has one of the best canters I've ever ridden.
She is magic in motion.
When she turns her head to a jump you can feel her fire ignite. She is set, point, match. Up we go.
Tenacious, confident, adjustable. She is a Thoroughbred that loves to work and loves to jump. She is going to dazzle in the most beautiful hunter arenas this country has ever crafted.
Our journey doesn't end here.