10/12/2026
Empress Lisa xx - “Angel The Hunt Horse” 😇
Storm Boot x Marquetry
2006 - 2026
Let them go a day early before it’s a second too late. Angel somehow injured a sesamoidean ligament in her LH ankle during a hunt in February 2024. We did all the appropriate rehab and then let her be turned out. But the more we watched her, the more we realized she just wasn’t going to be comfortably pasture sound anymore. So, on this beautiful warm sunny day, we laid her to rest up with her buddy Marshall and her boyfriend Concerto.
Angel The Hunt Horse was a $1 purchase in 2012. We hoped she would be a nice sale prospect, and even though she was a PERFECT field hunter, nobody wanted a cribber. So she stayed here instead, and I was not mad about it. I always joked you could have ridden her backwards with your eyes closed and she’d still do her job exactly as needed.
She hunted all over the country with us, in at least 10 different states, for 12 seasons. She would happily ride in any hunt field, and safely packed around most members of my family and many of my friends and clients. She was reliable, careful, catty, and athletic. You could ride her with one hand bridged on the reins of her snaffle and one hand on your neck strap, no matter what you were doing.
She had enough of a presence on social media that people I didn’t know would recognize her first and then introduce themselves to me. My little ice-breaker!
She gave me two wonderful colts in Chinggis Khan (Concerto Grosso) and Raven Skywalker (Raven Sky), both of whom have so many of her best traits.
Angel has enriched all our lives more than we expected from a little 15.3hh red-headed mare. Her absence is going to take some getting used to, but I know she’s so much more comfortable now.
✨ If you have one, please share your favorite Angel story. ✨
I’ll start!!
😇 In December 2021, my mom, Rosie, and I drove out to Kentucky for the Long Run Woodford hound performance trial. My mom was scheduled to judge and I was going to ride in the field to follow.
When we arrived for the welcome dinner, Fred Berry informed me he’d really like me to apprentice judge for the weekend. My eyes got really wide and I said, “Fred, I would have brought a staff horse if I’d known, but I’ll see how it goes.”
On day two of the hound trial, Angel and I ended up leaving our guide and were the only ones to follow one half of a split pack, jumping coops by our selves and traversing trails and creeks on our own. We got so many great scores because I could rely on her to do the footwork while I hollered off hound numbers into my phone. I had no idea she’d be such a great judging partner, but after that, she was my NUMBER ONE judging mount until she couldn’t anymore.
Just funny how some things are revealed because of necessity. 🥹
