....Lost by not forgotten

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. – Abraham Lincoln

Charming Lad’s Delight
(aka Charm or “The Pete Bell Mare”)

I can still remember it like it was yesterday: I got to skip a day of school, kindergarten, to go look at a big horse for me to show. For quite sometime grandpa had told me when I got to where I could ride my pony at the gaits he called, and then I would be ready for a big horse to show! Well Charm was all that! Charm was my introduction to Missouri Fox trotters thanks to my grandfather O.F. Nichols. With me being the third generation of horses I had all the needed elements just needed the horse. Knowledge from Grandpa and Grandma Nichols, coaching from the professional coach “Dad” and support from Mom, what else could you ask for? We went up to Middleton Stables and they pulled this old mare out of one of the back pens. They said she’s just been begging to be ridden! Needless to say she just fit the bill. Charm taught me everything from going too fast, that my favorite gait wasn’t a walk, on to the great fun of riding double and bumming around at the Ava show grounds with all my friends! She was definitely perfect for me. Charm and I had a lot to learn (mainly I did she knew more than I needed her to know!), but by the time she retired from the show ring we had learned how to accomplish some difficult tasks and how to win together!

Charm produced one filly and two colts before she quit having little ones.

She then went on to college with me at the age of 26 to do therapeutic riding. Charm enjoyed all the little ones and she was tolerant to anything with the children. Charm lived to a rip old age of 30 when she came to rest under her old cedar tree. I don’t think I ever knew what my grandpa and father had found for me when I got her. Not until I got older and looked back to see just what she had been. Charm had had a successful show career prior to her becoming one of our family members. She acquired the nickname of “The Old Pete Bell Mare” and she also carried Judy Middleton to a Ladies Championship while their picture still hangs in the hall of fame at Ava, Mo. We might not have won any big titles or championships, but she taught me the love and desire of the breed, along with the help from Grandpa and Grandma Nichols and my mom and dad. Numerous hours of riding out at my grandparents’ farm in Mansfield, Mo going in circles with questions and comments from everyone: do you feel that, now remember that, hold that right there. I’ll always remember our first show at Norwood, MO, we took a third place. Which wasn’t bad since the first direction of the ring the announcer called for the “Favorite Gait” and I thought mine was the walk! That was until my grandmother leaned over the fence when we reversed and let me know that our favorite gait was the foxtrot! She’ll always be my golden girl!

Southern Belle D - aka Belle
Sire: Southern Jazz Dam: Gracie D

Belle was a special mare for our family and she will always remain close to our hearts. My first memory of Belle was this tall, leggy little bay filly standing in the lot with the stall on the south side of the barn at Grandpa Nichols’ house. She didn’t look like much just a thin built, leggy filly that grandpa had acquired from someone. The next time I can remember I saw her was up at Reggie Wilson’s place. He had started her and she had shown some talent so we went to see grandpa’s mare be ridden. She then went on into training with Curtice Williams that was when he rode at Donnie Crawford’s place that joined land with Reggie Wilson’s place. We would load up Charm and M&M and go ride at Curtice’s with everyone else for those famous “Saturday Night Live” showings! Belle was a unique mare with talent and an unforgettable headshake. Curtice rode Belle for a couple of successful show seasons, and then my grandfather started riding her until his health failed. While grandpa was in the hospital having open heart surgery he told us his mare was up at Curtice’s and that we should start going up there and riding her with Curtice’s help. We did as he asked and needless to say after a trade of a blue mule, Belle just became one of ours. Grandpa made us a deal when he got out of the hospital he said he couldn’t ride Belle anymore, but there was a blue four wheeler that he had seen that he could ride, so came the trade of the blue mule (four wheeler) for Belle.

Belle was not the easiest mare to ride and she taught me quite a bit where I had not had the experiences with Charm. I showed Belle for a couple of years then we decided to breed her, let her raise a foal and then return to the show ring. Meanwhile we lost grandpa and Belle had now become a sentimental part of our family. Belle’s home had always been that lot and stall on the south side of the barn at grandma and grandpa’s, so while carrying her first little one she had returned home to be under grandma’s watchful eye. On New Year’s Eve that year while coming in from the field to her stall Belle slipped and fell. The road to the barn had thawed just enough to be slick, but the ground below the slush was still frozen solid. She stood to her front leg hanging…..broke. With the call from grandma we jumped into emergency mode and rushed to grandmas, where we found her with her front leg broken. We then called Dr.Dane Frazier DVM and inquired of what to do. Dad splinted her leg with a pillow, two 2x4’s and duct tape Belle then loaded right into the trailer, off for an hour ride to the vet clinic in Lebanon, MO. After many x-rays Dane came to us saying her leg was shattered and the success of fixing it wasn’t good odds. No matter the odds we decided to try and cast her leg with the knowledge that she would probably loose the foal she was carrying. After five casts and some long months of hard work and lots of TLC it all paid off, Belle delivered a healthy filly, Belle’s Miss Nicki! Belle’s leg healed as good as it possibly could, it wasn’t pretty, but she could walk and live. She went on to have three more foals after her leg healed: He’ll B Entertainment a buckskin stallion sired by Southern Sunrise, It’s My Time a black stallion sired by The Legend’s Prime Time, and Mom’s Magnificent Sunrise a smokey black gelding sired by Southern Sunrise. Belle then retired to just living out life happy at home with grandma at Mansfield, MO. Belle lived there with the daily enjoyment of being fed by grandma for many years. Her time slowly came to an end this past summer (06) and she was laid to rest down on the farm she only knew as home.

Belle only knew how to live and try which was why she lived the life she had and she instilled this desire into each one of her offspring. I had the pleasure to ride Nicki to the 1999 3yr old Futurity O&T Championship and she has been shown successfully since by Dad and Monica, I also showed He’ll B Entertainment until we started breeding him, It’s My Time had a bit of tragedy in his own life but he resides here at Her Place standing stud, while Mom’s Magnificent Sunrise was sold and went on to enjoy the life of a field trial horse. When Belle was laid to rest we could only think of the coming enjoyable rides that she and grandpa were soon to have. May they be as great as we can only imagine!

"I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." - Winston Churchill