DefinitelyDressage.com

Saw on Facebook that Kathy Johnson's Chicho died. You may remember him and Kathy from the Medicine Horse days. Chicho was 33.

Good old age. Is Kathy here?

Oh - I do remember her posts of Chicho. Godspeed to a lovely horse who was loved by many.

Hugs to Kathy...

Sorry for your loss Kathy

losing old friends is hard! ((hugs)) kathy

Kathy - I'm so sorry for your loss.

Aww. So sorry to hear it. One of my favorite horses that I never met. That is how old my horse was when he passed too.

Godspeed Chicho
{{{{HUGS KAthy}}}}
Susan

So sorry for your loss Kathy (((hugs)))

Chicho was such a gem from Kathy's stories. What a grand life. Godspeed, Chicho, indeed.

Just reading his name I can "see" some pix she posted on the board(s) of them. So sorry to hear the news. Godspeed Chico and peace for his people.

Sorry for your loss, Kathy.

awwww...that is very sad news.

Thank you for your kind thoughts! I am not around much, as I'm taking care of my parents in Michigan. And I've had to slow down on the riding, but I'm also slowly picking it back up again. And I'm writing a novel which is taking an outlandish amount of time, but I'm loving the process.

Here is Chicho's obituary. You only get one once in a lifetime horse.


CHICHO
We lost our beloved Chicho on March 14, 2017. His companion of over 25 years and our former Executive Director, Kathy Johnson, had the following to share about Chicho:


I lost my beautiful friend Chicho AKA Narcisco Caballeroso. He was indeed a big, vain cowboy and whoever named him as a long legged, dark newborn must have instantly seen his pride and power. He was 33 years old and lived a grand life. More than anything, he loved to dance to music, in parades, exhibitions and with his friends. I think his favorite song was "Americano" by Lady Gaga, but he also loved the jazz version of "This Little Light of Mine." He was such a great schoolmaster, students called him "The Professor." Hundreds of people rode their first piaffe and passage on Chicho. He was the 224 th horse in America to be inducted into the Dressage Foundation Century Club with our friend Janet Wingate, combined age of horse and rider over 100 years old. What an inspired ride that was!

Chicho was all business and did not suffer fools lightly. He was the grandson of Jet Deck out of an Andalusian mare and was the fastest Azteca ever. He once blew the shell right off my helmet during a gallop. With his Andalusian blood, he was a fan of the airs above the ground and during one particularly powerful capriole, I grabbed my "Oh Crap Strap" and ripped the dee rings off of my saddle with a "pow" so loud it sounded like air brakes. I learned the value of Dee Ring Savers. He loved Spanish walk and when my son CJ was little, I was leading him on Chicho. CJ said, "Look, Mom, a double Spanish Walk!" and Chicho was frozen in a perfect levade. Children never rode him after that.

But he loved teenagers. As we got older, I rode him less and allowed teenagers to ride him. Over the 25 years we were together, I can't count how many teenagers rode, loved and showed Chicho. And in his final years, he was the oldest horse at Medicine Horse Program, where he continued to serve as a therapy horse. Not many people ever see a horse that old and his lessons continued. He taught people to look beyond the pretty, shiny coats of the young and into the wise eyes of the aged. He helped girls with negative body images see that beauty comes in many forms. Every year he danced to Glenn Miller for clients from senior centers, who grew up riding horses. They knew that big prancing white horse, head high, flagging his tail, was the horse of a lifetime. He was the horse of my lifetime and I am heartbroken.

I want to thank Medicine Horse Program for taking care of Chicho for me while I was in Michigan taking care of my aging parents. Without the love and grooming and special feed he received at Medicine Horse, he would never have made it so long. His friends, his old friends, Suzy, Starlight, Rebel and Slick are still at Medicine Horse. I hope that all of you who laughed while Chicho passaged, who drove behind Suzy, whose children rode Starlight or who have cried on Rebel's shoulder will join me in creating a memorial fund for Chicho to help these senior horses retire in peace at Medicine Horse Program, as Chicho did. Just a few dollars goes a long way for buying beet pulp for these ancient treasures, our old friends.
Special thanks to Susan Hallowell, CJ Johnson, Grace Baker, Elizabeth Baker, Nyle Biondi and especially our great vet Charlotte Obermeier, who stayed with Chicho to the end and helped him cross over with the dignity he deserved.

Stop by with a bag of Senior feed or donate to the Chicho Memorial Fund online to support our other aging horses!

Thank you, Kathy, for sharing your dear friend Chicho with us.

Oh my, I'm crying rivers of tears. One horse blessing so many people, young and old with heart, empathy and wisdom.