This is MVP Maggie May.  We call her “Maggie.”

This could be a long one, since there’s a lot to go through with Maggie.  I’ll keep back a few topics for farm blog posts to shorten Maggie’s introduction length.  Owning Maggie has taught us a lot of things.

I always have a list of “chase horses.”  Maggie was one of those.  I watched her being offered for quite some time.  She was my #1 choice.

Several overtures from a horse consignor that we have a good relationship with came and went.  She knew that we really liked her.

Our trainers sent us a link to her profile, which was a rare thing.  They never do that, and it was coincidentally the horse out on the market I liked the most.

Family farm discussion, and we decided that she was worth it, especially with all the signals we were getting for this being the right decision for our farm.  Our focus for our farm for this past season was expanding and improving overall broodmare quality, and she fit that bill.

I loved the expressiveness of her large, saucer-like eyes.  I loved her hair and overall physical stature.  She was the image of what a Gypsy Horse should be in my eyes.

The best half of our partnership, Jen, was up in Pennsylvania picking Maggie up on the same weekend that our colt, Lucky, fractured his tibia.  She had the truck and the trailer.  We found the services of what can be described as a “horse ambulance” driver from near our large equine veterinarian hospital who was able to get Lucky and his momma, Liza, over to the hospital two hours away.  That was nerve-wracking.

Jen’s trip home with Maggie was also eventful.  She stayed at the horse layover farm version of “The Bates Motel,” after a storm had come through and knocked out all the power…with a new mare that acted a bit stallion-like…in the dark with 20-some sets of glowing horse eyes from within the stalls…with the assigned stall being at the far opposite end of the barn…complete with hallway welcoming donkey and gimpy dog and hoses that looked like anacondas all over the pathways everywhere outside and inside the barn.  Good thing she had her keychain flashlight with the lumens of a bic lighter (haha!).

They survived, and the next morning Maggie was relieved that this wasn’t her new home.  That experience helped solidify my wife’s relationship with Maggie.

Maggie was only at our farm for a short stopover before she went on over to our trainer’s place.  A week after that, she was at her first show!

This past year was also our first year participating in horse shows with our Gypsy Horses.  I have a lot of mixed feelings about horse shows after giving them a try for a season.  Lots of possible commentary here, but I’ll choose to be brief.

Maggie was a classic Cinderella story.  She was a broodmare all her life, and then she had her moment in the limelight for just one summer.  We believed in her, our trainers believed in her, and she did have her day.

While at the trainer, Maggie was bred with a magnificent stallion named TMR The Mane Attraction, “Floyd,” who is owned by George and Mary Nelle Cox, owners of Hickory Ridge Gypsies.

Maggie attended The GHRA North American Championship show in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  She had a fantastic showing at this show earning her the title of 2024 GHRA North American Grand Champion.  Her husband horse, Floyd, was also titled the 2024 GHRA National Driving Champion.

Champion plus Champion, and this foal should be something special here in May or June.

After all the fanfare of her summer as a show horse, she returned to our farm for a quiet winter of cooking up that foal.

We love this mare, and we plan to retire her from being a broodmare after her 16th birthday.  Only a few years away, sweet girl.