In Loving Memory

Sampson's Good Girl Delilah

I rescued Delilah when she was five from an abusive situation. She was a challenge to train and rehabilitate, some said she was untrainable or not worth the trouble. She was my inspiration for starting with the Parelli program. While studying Parelli I combined that with my knowledge of horse training and riding and customized my approach. It took three years of foundation training to get her to not be afraid of being handled and ridden, it was rather frustrating but I learned more in those three years than many trainers learn in a decade.
After we finally created a bonded relationship she became a quick learner and picked up anything I gave her to learn. I regret not getting pictures of her in her prime showing all that she was capable of.
She was a schoolmaster. The type of horse that isn't trained, but comes to you. She could adjust how she carried a person based on how she felt your riding was. She was capable of helping teach from training level through level four. Something that most grand prix level dressage horses are incapable of doing; they tend to get confused by the beginner rider's unclear signals, not Delilah.
Her favorite part of training was the Spanish Walk; she was excellent at it. The time passed too quickly. She was well loved by all our students and family. She finished her training as a classical dressage horse and schoolmaster; and had my utmost trust and respect (I could trust her to "babysit" any child).