Rodeo Romeo
1983 - 2007
Teacher. Companion. Champion.
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved horse Romeo.
Romeo passed away suddenly and quietly in the pasture of his retirement home in January of 2007. The most likely cause was an aneurysm. It would have been quick and (hopefully) painless.
My heartfelt thanks go out to the Partington family, who most graciously allowed me to be Romeo's guardian for the latter part of his long and storied life. Having him has been a gift I fear I can never properly repay.
My thanks go as well to Donna Cutler, who's acreage Romeo spent his golden years at. She gave him everything he needed for a healthy, happy and much deserved retirement. Thanks also to Judy Wood, who as a fan of Romeo chronicled his life in photos and cherished artwork. Thanks to her I have more than just stories to remember him by. Sue Ashburner of the WCVM was his vet, and I'm forever grateful to her for keeping him healthy.
Romeo was born in 1983 on the acreage of Dallas Mackie near Kimberly, BC. Elaine Partington acquired him before he was a year old. On his sire's side, he was the grandson of the famous quarter horse Rebel Cause, and going back through Top Deck all the way to Man 'O War. On his Dam's side, he was the grandson of Paint legend Cherokee War Chief.
Romeo participated with Elaine and Terry's daughter, Shawna, in jumping, dressage, and three-day eventing. Terry had an interest in him as well, and trained him for the emerging sport of combined driving. Eventually, he was traded to Arlene Flegel, a well known trainer at Saskatoon' s Marquis Downs racetrack for a thoroughbred named Banker. Arlene used Romeo as a pony horse, a role his attitude was perfectly suited to. He was known to be a bit of a tough ride, and Arlene only trusted him to one rider. When that rider moved away, arrangements were made for Romeo to return to the Partingtons.
Terry asked me one day if I'd like to accompany him to the track to pick up a horse he was to trailer back to Ebon Stables. I went along, and when we got there I was introduced to Romeo. Arlene had a big soft spot for him, and you could tell. He was spotless, and smelled like he just came from a high-priced salon. She took his cooler off, and I got my first good look at him. He was beautiful, and you could tell that he knew it, too.
I wasn't able to ride Romeo right away, I was nowhere near the caliber of rider that he needed. Truthfully, I'm still not. Over time, however, as we spent time together in the paddock and I took him out the odd time on the longe line, we grew accustomed to one another. Eventually, but against advice, I saddled and mounted him. To my surprise, things went well, and before long we were racing across the indoor arena as if we'd been doing it for years. After that, Elaine allowed me to keep riding him. He and Elaine, Terry, and Shawna, with patience, taught me to be a better rider and horseman.
Romeo and I participated in combined driving, mainly, but we also took long ditch rides, and entered parades. He took part in the Battle of the Breeds at Spruce Meadows twice, once with Shawna, and the next year with me. We drove during a performance of the RCMP Musical Ride at Sask Place, and in various events at Ebon Stables.
Romeo's drive to win and his good looks garnered positive comments wherever we went. Many of the Pony Club girls at Ebon over the years told me just how lucky I was to have him, and I could never disagree.
As Romeo got older, his front legs began to give him some trouble. During training for an upcoming combined driving show, he bowed a tendon. It took quite a while to nurse him back to health, and when he got there, I found that I could no longer ask him to compete. Perhaps he would have been okay, but I didn't have the heart to risk injuring him further. He had given enough, and it was time for him to retire.
I had always longed for a place of my own large enough for him to live out his days close to me, with lush grass to eat and plenty of room to roam around, but it wasn't to be in his lifetime. Instead, he would spend his last days with Donna Cutler, who's place just South of Saskatoon had what he needed, including some horses that he knew from his past. Donna took special care of him, even feeding him separately from the herd at first when he needed to put some weight on. I took a job in Alberta, and we were separated by an 8-hour drive. I knew he was in good hands, and visited whenever I was able to make it to town. I saw him near Christmas 2006, and he looked great. I fed him a bag of carrots, talked to him, gave him a hug. It wasn't long enough, but I had to go.
That January, he was gone.
He was cremated at the WCVM, and I have clippings of his mane and tail as keepsakes.
I'm going to leave his website active indefinitely, as a memorial tribute to his life and accomplishments.
Goodbye, old friend.