Shala Bar is my little baby. We got her at the same time we did Danny, back around August 2001. We bought her "green broke." She was always the nervous one of the two, but I always said she would turn out the better horse. Of course, I knew as much about horses then as I do engineering a rocket and blasting it into space now.

Well, around October 2001 she was boarded and we had someone work with her for a month. The trainer said she was bucked off of her and things went downhill from there. I rode her a few times, but then had a bad accident with her and she ended up getting hurt (not bad, she recovered in a few days). So, she went to another facility for training and was ruled untrainable after about four months. So I finally got on her again and started to work with her again, this time knowing what a horse really was, other than a big furry animal that can carry you around on its back.

We had her at JR and Cathy Sparks (Show-N Quarter Horses in Bridgeport, WV) where they worked with me for about 6 months with her over the winter months. As a result, she got some excellent training and I became more confident as I worked with her. Miss Shala Bar is doing well to date. I ride her on the rails for trails that runs through Salem, WV, for about 5 miles each time.

Miss Shala Bar has taught me that nothing is impossible. She has shown me what true friendship is. She has taught me how to trust, how to gain respect, and how to build character and keep it. Many times I lay on the ground just watching her munch grass, enjoying her company, as much as she enjoys mine. She comes up to me every now and then to sniff my hair, search for hidden treats, and then walks over me to another pile of grass.