Nimitz was a lesson horse when Shannon first met him. She took a few lessons and had to have him. Shannon bought Nimitz when she was a Junior in High School in Houston, Texas. She and Nimitz did some crazy things. One time Shannon rode Nimitz to school to pick up a friend. She and her friend rode their horses through the McDonald’s drive-through. They were also spotted riding across Champions Golf Course in Houston and were chased off the course by staff in golf carts.
Shannon enrolled at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, the only town in large, mostly empty Brewster County. Brewster County is 6,192 square miles with about 10,000 people, most of which (over 6,000) live in Alpine. When she left for school, she took Nimitz with her, having no car at the time. She got into the work program there so she could board him at school. To pay his board, she fed horses in the program for training and breeding. She helped breed the stallions, occasionally all by herself. The school kept one Quarter Horse stallion and one Thoroughbred stallion for their breeding program at that time.
When Shannon first arrived in Brewster County, Texas, she was a standout. She rode English and bareback on an Arabian. Shannon took a lot of guff from the local cowboys and girls over that. She was in Quarter Horse country. They rode Western by tradition and by occupation. There were more cattle around than people in that section of the state. As her education continued, she got the opportunity to teach a class in English riding to some of the young cowboys at school. Shannon’s stature gained a lot as the young men struggled with English riding and came to realize it isn’t as easy as it looked to them.
Sul Ross Mountain sits behind the college campus she attended. According to Shannon, Sul Ross Mountain is a pile of rocks and a big one at that. Someone from the school hauled an old desk and chair to the top of the mountain. Visitors are encouraged to sign the visitor log if they make it that far. Nimitz ran up the mountain barefoot with Shannon bareback, holding onto his mane. They signed the visitor log several times, amazing those Texas cowboys even more. Shannon had an opportunity to ride Nimitz on top of the Twin Peaks Mountains all day as they brought the cattle down to the road at the bottom of the mountain. Nimitz was still full of energy and wanted to run. The other riders’ quarter horses were dragging their toes by then. That also impressed the local cowboys. By the time Shannon graduated and was ready to move away, several long-time ranchers expressed their regret that Nimitz was gelded. They would have bred some mares to him to increase their horse babies’ endurance in the future.
When Shannon first got to Alpine, Texas, she rode Nimitz to class a few times and tied him to an old hitching post behind one of the buildings. After that, she let Nimitz out to graze while she was in class. He was free to wander around. People were caught off-guard by the loose horse but eventually got used to seeing him. He never went very far and always came when Shannon called him. Sometimes, she would sit in the grass, doing her homework as he grazed. There was an outside dance one weekend at the school, Shannon didn’t know how to dance, but she rode Nimitz right onto the dance floor, and he danced for her.
Shannon began giving lessons on Nimitz while still at college. She met and married her husband before they graduated. They were so poor her husband hunted for their meat supply, so Shannon didn’t have to sell her horse. She decided he was a “keeper” then and there. They rented an old trailer on acreage. Her husband built a fence to contain Nimitz until they graduated and moved to Arkansas for his new job. Shannon got a job at Stonebridge Farms, where they had all Quarter Horse reining and cutting horses. They allowed Nimitz to stay at their facility for a few years. Shannon taught them about the versatility of Arabians too.
One day someone asked if Shannon would give their young daughter riding lessons on Nimitz. Shannon did, and they told their friends, who told more friends. She began teaching and has never stopped. With Nimitz, she started Cedar Springs Equestrian Center. Over the years, Shannon schooled Nimitz in Hunter, Western, Jumping, Endurance, Dressage, Costume, Barrels, and Poles. Nimitz was the first horse many kids rode, including Shannon’s sons.
When Shannon talked about Nimitz, she told me, “We were so close I felt like we could read each other’s minds. There was total trust and bonding both ways. He taught me so much, from being the shoulder to cry on as an only-child teenaged girl to proving his and my worth in a strange environment. I think we were both out of place in that rough West Texas town. It took me a long time to bond with another horse after he died.”
One day Nimitz got into some persimmons. Shannon called the vet out, and he thought the horse was about to die because he threw up. He told her only one in a million could actually throw up. Usually, it meant their stomach has burst. Nimitz recovered but was never quite the same after that. He died about a year later. Shannon and Mike buried him in the pasture closest to their home.
Thirty years later, Shannon has 14 horses and about 30 students. Her two daughters showed at the Arabian Youth Nationals shows, and one still has two years left. Shannon has taken students to local, Class A, and Regional shows as well. She is so thankful she had the perfect first horse who got it all started. She is looking forward to seeing him again at Rainbow Bridge someday.
