KHAN

THE PERFECT PONY

I strive to be the person my animals think I am, and I think Khan thinks I'm pretty awesome. So yes, he's just my perfect pony!

Khan, owned by Annie Palmer, is a Thoroughbred bred by Coup De Grace out of a mare called Dark Journey, who is by Black Minnaloushe.

In Annie’s words, "I had Blubby since he was four, and he passed away very suddenly at 11 years old. I'd only ever had horses who had been old and became sick, but Blubby's death was entirely unexpected. Blubby was going to come to Australia with us when we moved. So, when Blubby died, I was devastated. He really was my heart horse.

A month after Blubby died, Laura Scruton called me. She loved Blubby, too and she said that she couldn't stand to see me so upset. I work with racehorses, and she came to work with me for a few days. She has a very, very good eye for Thoroughbreds as sporthorses. She takes everything into account - from conformation to temperament and everything in between. It was actually Laura who picked my Junior horse, with whom her daughter competed first. He was my top competitive horse and got me into the team.

Anyway, we went to five different racehorse trainers, and she looked at various horses that were coming off the track. The last trainer we went to was Tony Rivalland, and I was treating a horse called Desolate Road, who is Khan's brother and was stabled opposite him. Laura was sitting on a bag of shavings outside Khan's stable, and he was loving her and giving her kisses. She told me she liked Khan, and the next thing I knew she told me we were fetching Khan on Sunday, so that is how I came to have him.

Ultimately, I met Khan when I was very sad, but having a horse in Blubby’s old stable in that barn again gave me a reason to go down there again and continue with the routine I've had since I was eight years old. I go down and check Khan in the morning, and I do the night check. Having a horse again has kept me motivated. It makes me want to get back to see him and earn good money to care for him in the way he needs to be looked after.

Mandy Prince actually put it best when she said I needed something to love again and something to care for. And when you've had horses your whole life, you can't just cut them out, especially when you've lost one so tragically. There's just this huge hole that's left in your life. Losing Blubby was probably the greatest heartache I've ever known, and Khan has brought me out of that place. Just how gentle, sweet and forgiving he is makes me want to be a better person every day.

He's also brought new things into my life. He's opened my eyes to liberty now, which he is so good at and loves. We also event, and he's placed at all his shows and won two, and we're doing SA Champs in November in the 70cm class.

There's a ten-year-old girl who has been riding him with me, who won her first eventing show on him. My long-term goal is for Khan to come to Australia with me, but in the meantime, he has this little girl and family that will love him.

Everyone who meets him falls in love with him and his markings. I've never liked the flashy horses, and sure enough, I've ended up with the flashiest oke. A lot of people ask me about his marking, and I tell them that he was a unicorn sent from heaven by Blubby and that his horn fell off when he landed on earth. The hair grew back dark in the scar because the opposite of what happens for horses happens for unicorns."

He is one of the biggest blessings in my life. He is a safe place. He is a friend. He's my motivation.