A Memorial to One of the Greatest Quarter Horses in the World
Hundreds gathered at the beautiful Bo-Bett Farm in Reddick, Florida, Wednesday, May 18, 2005 for an official memorial service honoring the late AQHA stallion and two-time superhorse, Rugged Lark. The stallion, known also for his affectionate personality and ambassador work to advance many therapeutic riding programs, died from complications of colic on October 26, 2004. He was 23. The memorial his owner and partner Carol Harris follows:
Every
now and then something or someone from somewhere comes
into our lives that brings to us certain meaning, and
overnight impacts our future. In my case, it was a horse.
He became way more than a proud possession. He became
an inspiration that little by little affected everything
I did and how I thought. At first, many of us didn't
totally understand this horse. He was different only
because he acted differently from all the horses we
had been around. Even as a baby, he was extremely calm
and brave and was so very bright. To be around him made
us all feel like we could easily become brilliant horse
trainers. Best of all, everyone seemed to want to earn
this horses' respect. He seemed to bring out the best
in all of us. His future was to become a show horse,
but then he grew up here in Marion County in Race Horse
country. He was sort of bred to be a race horse but
then he had a show horse mama so I guess he was not
really bred to enjoy a "blue chip" career
in either world.
Lark
didn't know this. He simply adjusted to everything,
and to all of us who enjoyed his beauty and his remarkable
attitude. From the beginning, Lark trained willingly.
His 1st trainer, Mike Corrington, worked for Bo- Bett
exclusively. As a reining horse trainer, Mike was inspired
by the athletic versatility of his student and he grew
to adore him. As a two year old, Mike trailered him
to many shows, just for experience, and while doing
so, easily achieved a superior title in Western Pleasure
and at the same time made him a successful reining horse.
His next trainer, Lynn Palm, soon became known as his
best friend. I believe she and Lark were inspired by
each other. Lynn, built on what Lark had already learned,
then furthered his education to include 9 events along
with some bridleless dressage and a few tricks. Fourteen
years of horse shows and exhibitions kept Lynn, Lark
and his owner, yours truly, very busy. With the support
of our friends at AQHA and Lark's growing number of
fans, our horse soon became an example of what the public
wanted the Quarter Horse to be, a symbol of trust and
versatility, but this one also shined at entertaining
the public. As he traveled from one gig to another,
and I might add, to many cocktail parties, we all tagged
along and I tried my best to share him with every man,
woman and child who wanted to get to know him.
You
who are here today are many of these people, you are
the friends we made and you are absolutely typical of
every good quality that Rugged Lark stood for in this
generation. I want to make sure you know how much I
love and appreciate each one of you for being here with
me. And ---- Please don't any of you dare leave without
signing my guest books. I have several in the office
and one out on the porch.
Something
I noticed about Lark throughout the years was a personality
trait of his. He always seemed to enjoy everybody but
he definitely loved kids. The kids who visited him were
in awe of him and always wanted to touch him and ask
him questions. He never failed to react to them kindly.
His big eyes that sparkled would sometimes grow quiet
which seemed to create a reason for the kids to grow
quiet and respectful also. In 1999, at the Special Olympics
in Raleigh, N.C., Lark had given a touching performance
with Chris Cox. Afterwards everyone attended an ice
cream party in the barn area. Lark wandered freely throughout
the crowd tasting ice cream and socializing. I will
never forget him ambling over to a severely handicapped
woman sitting in a wheel chair. He literally placed
his head in her lap and closed his eyes. Her expression
of surprise and wonderment was something I can never
describe, but I was able to see the effect that my horse
had on a very crippled trusting stranger. This was just
a simple demonstration of how effective horses can be
with those in need of help and therapy. The American
Quarter Horse Foundation's newest effort is all about
this need and they have created a fund named America's
Horse Cares for Therapeutic Riding. Rugged Lark is their
new Poster Boy. Nancy Hughes, the AQHA's Foundation
Chairman, has come to Florida today with 5 Foundation
members, Angelo Bizarro from Maryland, Robin Merrill
from Oklahoma, Peggy CoFrancesco from New Jersey, Becky
Dunning and Peggy Kimes from Arizona. They are joined
here today by Laurie Bruun from our local Marion County's
Therapeutic Riding Association.
"To illustrate the importance of this cause, I
have an (8) year old little guest who had a dream that
one day she would ride Rugged Lark. She never got to
do it but I'm going to make sure she'll be the first
one to sit on Rugged Lark today. I'd like to present
Mary Lisa Dyer who is accompanied by Lark's best friend
and trainer, Lynn Palm.
I want you all to remember that Lark was an American
Quarter Horse, but many of us will also want to remember
that he was a true Florida Bred who did his very best
to bring additional recognition to the country where
he was bred, born, trained and buried.
All of Lark's friends should remember that we at Bo-Bett
welcome your future visits, and thank you for coming
here today.
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