A Magical Moment
Welcome to Unicorn Meadows and our story. In 1978 I left my home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and began an amazing life-changing journey. I had been selected as a teacher for the Department of Defense Overseas Schools. Thus began the first of 23 wonderful years living in Europe. My career enabled my family and me to travel and experience so many cultures first-hand.
I had grown up during the days of TV cowboys, and as a child I had wanted a horse of my own more than anything. I wanted a horse to share my life's adventures with me as Trigger had done with Roy, and Champion with Gene. Unfortunately, my parents were not able to give that gift to me.
I grew up with friends who had horses, and I spent many hours enjoying those. A high school friend had two Tennessee walking horses, and since she couldn't ride both at the same time I was always available to help by riding the other. When I graduated from college and got my first teaching job, I found a state park with a riding stable and developed a wonderful relationship with a quarter horse named Sugarfoot. I decided to go back to school to work on my Master's Degree and moved back to my university town. I wanted to take Sugarfoot with me; alas, on my beginning teacher/part time student salary, I was unable to locate a boarding stable that I could afford. Thus I had to sadly say farewell to my dear friend and companion, Sugarfoot.
Five years later found me headed to Europe to live and work. The demands of a career and two daughters to raise left little time for pursuing my dream of owning a horse. Secretly I had always hoped that my girls would possess the desire to ride as I had. I took them to farms to see horses and ponies, but the interest just wasn't there. Then we moved to a beautiful village in Germany, and our house was located a few blocks from a riding stable. One day on our drive home from school, as we were passing the riding stable, my youngest daughter said, "Mom, do you think I could take riding lessons?" I immediately turned the car around, found the instructor, and signed her up. Little did I know that this day would be a pivot point in our lives.
My daughter proved to be a natural. She loved the stable; the girls who fast became her friends; and the special horses that captured her heart. One day she came home and explained that there was to be a horse show on Sunday and that the instructor had issued a special invitation for me to attend something about a performance by "special horse." When Sunday arrived, I entered the riding hall and found a seat up front. The smells and sounds called to mind my childhood dream.
Suddenly the back of the arena opened, and the most beautiful, fascinating horse I had ever seen in my life galloped in with the daughter of the riding instructor on its back. The hair oh my, the hair was flying everywhere! At first I couldn't tell where it was all coming from, and then I began to see the long, thick flowing mane meeting the feathers on his legs that spread over the ground, and as this twosome rounded the corner the massive tail was caught up in the breeze.
I couldn't move and my chin was on my chest. I could find no words to express what I felt. The beauty, majesty, and power of this animal were indescribable. A thousand questions were running through my mind: What kind of horse was this? Where did he come from?
Even as my head was spinning, the back of the arena opened once more, and to my even greater surprise and delight, four more horses of equal beauty cantered into the arena. I just sat stunned, overcome with total amazement. When the show was over, I ran to find my daughter's instructor. The smile on his face said it all. "So, you liked my special horses," he asked. The questions were flying as he quickly responded, "They are gypsy horses very special gypsy horses."
On our many trips to England we had seen gypsies and their horses, but none were like these magnificent creatures. I learned that my daughter's instructor made several trips each year to England to purchase horses. He had developed dealing relationships with several gypsies. He initially purchased for himself, but as he took his horses to local events he was discovering that people were as fascinated with them as he had been, and in this way he discovered there was a real demand for these animals. Being quite the businessman, he began to make more frequent trips to buy and bring back more gypsy horses. Each time he returned, I would excitedly check out the new arrivals. I became quite puzzled. He would bring back anywhere from eight to ten horses on each trip, but more often than not the beautiful, rare look was not there. Many of the horses had the same coloring and they had some feathering, with nice manes and tails. But the total package of extraordinary thick, flowing mane and tail with abundant feathering, full, bold body, coupled with a beautifully refined head simply was extremely rare.
My questions multiplied. Why were the "rare" horses so captivating, while the others looked like "remnants" from cross breeding? These less imposing creatures possessed some but never all of the truly unusual traits that set the special horses apart.
My daughter progressed quickly in her riding, and her trainer soon explained that it was time for her to have a horse of her own. We both knew it had to be a gypsy horse one of the "special" ones if possible. When her trainer returned from his next trip to England, we went to look over the horses. None of these horses was truly striking in appearance, except for one that my daughter was drawn to in particular. Her pattern was beautiful, and she possessed the sweetest temperament. My daughter fell in love with it, and so the purchase was made. This lovely mare became ours, and my daughter named her "Magic." This name suited her to a "T" because it was like magic for us to have her.
Owning Magic simple increased the desire to know more about these wonderful horses. The interest in gypsy horses was growing in Germany, and more were being imported. However, there did not seem to be a clear understanding as to why some of these horses possessed a truly magical look while others were not as interesting. Even more confusing was the variety of names by which all buyers, importers, and traders referred to these horses: Irish Tinkers, Gypsy Cobs, or simply Gypsy Horses.
The popularity of these horses led to the formation of clubs and associations for the purpose of enjoying gypsy horses. The Irish Tinker Association was formed in Germany and Holland. These groups did not recognize that a breed existed, but rather grouped all gypsy-bred horses together.
It was amazing to me that no one with whom I spoke really saw the "special gypsy horse" as anything other than a "good" gypsy horse. My observations indicated to me that somewhere in the breeding process horses were being produced with a truly unique set of characteristics that set them apart from other gypsy horses. It was those horses that I wanted to learn about and that I wanted to have in my life.
One night, as I was sitting at my home computer, I decided to type in the search box "gypsy horse." To my surprise, a Web site in the United States came up: "The Gypsy Vanner Horse Society." As I read the story of Dennis and Cindy Thompson, I became ver excited. They described how they had encountered Cushti Bok and then established a registry for a horse breed without a name. Tears were streaming down my face as I read. I quickly sent them an email expressing how grateful I was for their efforts. Finally I had discovered someone who had also recognized that a rare, captivatingly beautiful horse had been genetically engineered by the Romany Gypsies and was a definitive breed in and of itself!
I continued to talk with buyers, traders, and owners of gypsy horses in Germany and Holland. I also began to research the Romany culture to better understand how these horses came to be. We were so enjoying our Magic, and I finally decided that maybe we needed another of these magical creatures. Thus began our search for Vanner number two and the answer to a childhood dream. And we found him. I named this horse Bandit because he stole my heart.
Our family of Vanners is growing. Please check out the section entitled Our Vanners to see and learn about the horses that are continuing to amaze us daily.