My Friend Missy

My Friend Missy
by Boots Wickstrom

On the Redmond farm
The first foal to come
On a chilly March morning
Nineteen eighty one

A filly was born
To Lulu and Khat
We named her Miss Khatrina
How fancy is that?

On the farm
Missy did grow
Not pretty enough
To go to the show

I trained her myself
That three year old
Nothing to it really
Her heart, solid gold

We rode the trails
Of the old watershed
Just me and Missy
The half Arab-Saddlebred

We bred her one time
She was a great mother
But that filly of hers
Was like no other!

All beauty and no brains
Those "pretty things"
Are damn hard to train!

I got busy
Having babies and such
And didn’t have time
To ride very much

So to Emily and Lael
Missy would go
Down more trails
And to 4-H shows

Emily grew up
Lael was real busy
Not much time
For ridin’ on Missy

So she came back
A little older and wiser
And then my two boys
Learned how to ride her

Missy hated to be in a stall
She’d weave and whinny
And climb
All the walls

A move to Ellensburg
We would make
Missy, one of the three
Horses we’d take

No barn, no stalls
That Missy so dread
Just corrals and pasture
And an old run in shed

We rode on the ranch
We rode on the trail
Until Missy’s health
Started to fail

Dozing in the sunshine
Gave Missy such pleasure
She was enjoying retirement
A life of leisure

Her legs grew old
She was tired and sore
She let me know
She couldn’t do it anymore

On a bright fall day
With tears in my eyes
My dear friend and I
Said our goodbyes

To Heaven, she was guided
No pain anymore
The last great trail ride
October 15, 2004

The sweetest mare
No horse will take the place
Of my good friend
Old Poo Face

Happy Trails Missy

I love you.

Boots

Boots & Erik Wickstrom, 11670 Manastash Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926
(509) 933-2738
1-866-4WRanch (1-866-497-2624)