It is with a heavy heart that I will not be in attendance at “my boy’s” tribute ceremony this evening at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Florida. As always in the horse industry, our priorities fall to horse management and responsibilities over our social calendars with predictable and sad frequency.

Calecto V is truly a horse who will forever stay with me, and taught me so much while I was lucky enough to be employed by him. Tina was involved in there somewhere, too…

They are our mascot, our loyal follower, the life of the party, the team’s cheerleader and companion. You’ll find them asleep in the tack room, under the truck (despite your repeated encouragement otherwise), or ringside in the shade…or anywhere you are, if we’re honest. They are the kings and queens of the rig, have their own personal seats and pillows, travel hours and miles beyond your average couch-bound canine.

This is my tribute to one of the universal favorites; the barn dog.

Wearing many hats is the short summary of a groom’s job description. We are caretakers, personal assistants, technicians, chauffeurs, and babysitters—just to name a few. Being a multi-tasker is an appreciated skill in most every job field across the world.

It’s never a surprise that in the middle of any big challenge, at some point you ask, “Why am I doing this again?” or the not-so-casual, completely-exasperated, end-of-your-wits exclamation: “People do this for fun?!”