Let me tell you a story about a little cow pony. In 1993 we brought home a young miniature stud colt. We had a scheduled appointment to have him gelded and plans to make him the kids pony. Rema, our founding cowbred mare was an own daughter of Docs Remedy out of a own daughter of Bueno Chex.
This mare brought the love of cutting and cowhorse to our family, then later began our breeding program. While at a club cutting my mom felt a rumble. Though she looked a little fuller, Rema was supposed to be open. As time crept along she began showing more and more symptoms of being in foal. Rema wasn’t bred the previous spring, so that left one young miniature stud colt in question. You would think his odds of covering a 14.2 hand mare would be slim, but the foothill terrain must have given him a boost.
Saint Patrick’s day 1994 Rema foaled the cutest little sorrel filly with a strong resemblance to her dad, the miniature stud. Though Coco was a mistake, she was a genuine cow pony. Started along with the other colts she was trained in the likes of reining and cutting. Being the same age as my older sister it was a given that Coco would end up being her show horse. Coco was a spicy thing, she was athletic, cowy and made Brooke find a deep seat in her saddle. Coco finished out at 13.2 hands and became the wonder pony. She showed in 4-H winning many championships. Some days she would enter over 25 classes bouncing back and forth from western to English. One year she won state in jumping while packing sliders on her hinds to take reserve in reining. She consistently made the fastest times in multiple speed events of our area, all while popping in at club cuttings. She even gave Brooke a taste of taking a cow down the fence. Being the ultimate all around broke pony, Coco never failed to remind us she was in deed a pony. She would put Brooke on the ground weekly, sometimes daily just for the fun of it. As the years went on Coco gave many kids their first rides. Teaching most the art form of riding a well broke horse. Even now at 28 years old, there are days Coco still needs to be lunged before putting a kid on.
These days she is extra careful to keep the young kids aboard, but still carries the fire of her younger self. Just yesterday she packed around some little ones in the morning and later worked a cow for my little sister. Tough as nails and still completely sound after years of work and a fractured coffin bone, Coco still struts her stuff and puts the yearlings in check. Her beautiful show coat from glory days has been replaced with thick long wholly mammoth hair. She might not look like much standing out in the pasture but that ragged looking old lady has seen more miles on the road than most show horses. Her days of traveling and being in prime show condition are gone, but she still holds one of the most important roles on the ranch. Watching her age is bittersweet, her place in our hearts is irreplaceable. One could truly make a book of Coco’s life story, here I have given you a glimpse. Accidents may be troublesome at times, but they can turn into the best of things.