Chapter 2

It was no easy decision. We’d been together since before he was born. I bred, backed, and trained him, and we had a strong bond.

To make the task of selling him less painful, I wanted to try out new horses right away. Finding a suitable replacement would take a long time, and it seemed prudent to start now, before Red Cruiser was sold.

Red’s mom was a lovely little chestnut OTTB who died four years ago, and I still missed her terribly. So I began searching for another OTTB within a hundred-mile radius of home. My criteria were simple: under 16 hands, sound, and not crazy.

After sorting through many interesting prospects, I found Nonette—a little mare billed as sound, with great movement, no issues, and going for a song.

I called Emily, the mare’s barn manager, and was told some people were coming to look at Nonette in the next couple days. But she would let me know if that didn’t work out.