Dear Friends,
Many of us have had the honor of working with, getting to know and love the mighty, gentle being that is Twist. He is and will remain a talisman for all of us who love Blue Rider. And now, I am sad to report, Twist has taken his final journey.
Will you join us in funding a Memorial Arch over the animal graveyard in Blue Rider? Here is a link to our GoFundMe page:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/blue-rider-rainbow-for-twist
Our board member and long time friend of Twist, Grace Jeffers, wrote this moving tribute.
Twist: In Thanks by Grace Jeffers
He stood head and shoulders above the rest, literally. He was twice the size of the other horses and he had a heart to match: Gentle giant. Fun. Hard Working. A patient deep listener. Forgiving and loving. …and these are only some of his qualities. The very first moment I walked into the Blue Rider barn eleven years ago Twist walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with me. After a while I felt that a part of me that had been long holding an unfulfilled wish had suddenly been satisfied. I had a horse friend. It was instant and it is immortal, because love outlasts all things. As Christine said “It’s as if there was a place for you and we didn’t even know it was empty until you showed up and filled it and now here you are!” And that’s how it is at Blue Rider Stables, you come as you are and there is a place for you. As a girl it was my only wish to be a rider. When I was eight years old and someone came to interview my third grade class and ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up, the other children answered lawyer, stockbroker, fireman and I bluntly said I wanted to be a horse. I had to repeat myself because the adults just didn’t get it. I rode on and off until I was 13 and my sister got very sick and things changed. 27 years later as I cared for my dying father I made a promise to myself was that I would learn to ride, I would return to horses after he passed. Twist was the foundation of the fulfillment of the dream of this little girl, now in a big girl’s body. Twist was the anchor of my relationship to the horse world. No matter where I roamed I always returned to him. I told him all my secrets and dreams. He was my mountain, the epicenter to which I returned to find my center. I showed people all over the world pictures of him. I told them the story of how Anna Seagull rescued him when she was the same age I had to give up horses. His commanding presence and power was matched by his gentle loving nature. Whenever I needed to be strong I thought of being with Twist and how his four pie-pan sized hooves were rooted to the ground. Last winter I was diagnosed with stage four cancer, a scary fast growing kind of cancer. I had to go through many procedures. I told my Doctors each time they gave me anesthesia, “Do you know how to gallop a horse? You grab the mane and go. ” I grabbed Twists mane in my mind and he carried me through and I know that Twist gave me his strength and pulled me through to health. Knowing this creature profoundly impacted my life. He has long been a rock steady mountain in my inner world. I am a better, stronger and more balanced person and I shall carry all I learned out into the greater world. Twist you will always be in my heart. Thank you.
Thank you and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
