A wise friend once told me that you don’t really know how a relationship will look until a full calendar year passes. The idea is that if you’re still together at that point, you’ve weathered each season and seen all that comes with it (good and bad). I think this generality can apply to many things in life, from settling into a new house, for instance, and seeing how it holds up to weather extremes, to managing a new horse in a new career.

Through every season, Happy has been … well, happy, and generally as dirty as possible. Photo: Courtesy Stephanie L. Church/TheHorse.com

I’ve been keeping you updated on adventures with my retired Thoroughbred racehorse, It Happened Again (Happy), whom I bought a year ago Sunday, and who’s been with me here in Kentucky since the turn of the year. After making nice progress with our riding and training, we took our first trip off the farm in September to participate in a Thoroughbred show at the nearby Kentucky Horse Park.

Happy during his ear-trimming session before the horse show. Photo: Courtesy Courtney Heeney/TheHorse