The farm was a very busy place. There was always something to do at a breeding and training farm. All the horses needed care, and there was lots of business to be done. But somehow, Angie found time to spend with all the horses. There was one colt in training that was not doing that well. Everybody thought of him as "that ugly colt!" Angie's parents regretted saving him, because they should have just sent him to the auction. At the time, he had seemed like a really good colt, but he became fierce, wild, and uncontrollable. He didn't like anyone, and he didn't even try to run. All he was good for was probably a rodeo horse.
One day, as Angie was walking down the aisle, she saw this colt in his stall. She wondered why he hadn't been put out in his paddock, so she grabbed a halter and went to get him. When she went into his stall, he was standing in the back of his stall with his head hanging low. His eyes looked sad and hurt, and he looked as if no one had touched him his whole life. He didn't look very happy at all. He just looked, well, lonesome.
Angie moved towards him, and he looked up. But he didn't move an inch. He kept his head low while she put the halter on him, and dragged his feet as Angie led him out. When he was let out in his paddock, he didn't run around as other colts and fillies would have done. Instead, he just dragged his feet slowly to a corner, and stood with his head hung low.
Angie felt sad for this colt. He wasn't happy, because he didn't have anyone who loved him. His usually beautiful black coat was now rough and scraggly from not being brushed. Angie decided that she would care for this colt. He couldn't just be ignored like this. Maybe, if someone loved him enough, he could become a great racing champion.
That night at dinner, Angie talked to her parents about him. When she said that she wanted to care for him, her brother burst out laughing.
"That ugly thing! You want to care for that runt! You're crazy."
"Am not. If you took a look at him, you might understand. He
doesn't want to try. He
won't because he thinks he'll get punished for it. He doesn't want to
do anything because he's
lonesome!"
"Maybe you've got an idea there," said her mother," Maybe he just needs some friends. He's been a problem colt for a long time. I'll make you a deal. If you want to care for him you can. You can get him to trust you, and if he improves, then we can put him back in training. Then you can help with his training. That way, he'll feel like he's loved, and he will try. I've heard of situations where a horse will try for one person. They'll put in heart and courage they never even show for another person. How does this idea sound to you?"
"Great Mom. But can I change his name? I don't like the name
Wildy. It doesn't fit him."
"Go ahead. Call him whatever you want."
So the next day. Angie spent some time with the colt. First, she brushed his coat until it shone. As she was doing it, she got the perfect name for him. Lonesome. It fit him well. The colt seemed to like it as well.
After she brushed him, she took him on a walk. She went up on the trails. Her mind wandered. She thought about riding Lonesome through these exact trails. As she was thinking this, she didn't hear the rider coming from the other direction. His horse was out of control. As Angie walked along with Lonesome, she wasn't prepared for the bolt from the scared colt. He sensed the other horse, and was now rearing, and trying to get away from Angie. Then, the other rider and horse appeared, and Lonesome ran. Angie had no choice. She couldn't drop the lead rope and let him run away. Some of the other trails weren't fenced in. He'd run away. So her mind quickly blanked, and as she got pulled, she grabbed a bunch of Lonesome’s mane and hopped on his back. This made Lonesome even more scared, and he ran even faster. He wasn't far enough in his training. He had been so wild and uncontrollable, that all anyone had taught him to do was proper signals. This had taken extra long. He was strong enough to hold Angie's weight, but he hadn't learned it gradually.
Angie held on to Lonesome's mane, and tried to slow him down. Running so fast over this rough terrain was bad for his feet. Only once did she look back, and she saw the other rider gradually getting control of his horse.
Angie saw the barns ahead, and yelled at Lonesome to slow down. Slowly, he went into a canter, and then a walk. Angie quickly got off of him, and went around to his face. His black coat was drenched with sweat, and he still had the whites in his eyes. But slowly, he began to calm him down.
After walking him for a while, Angie took him back to the barn, and washed his coat. The dried sweat eventually came off. Angie dried him off, and put him back in his stall. She decided he didn't need to be outside, because he had had enough excitement for one day. Hopefully, he hadn't lost any trust in Angie that he had just gained.
The next day Angie woke up early. She wanted to spend a lot of time with Lonesome, because then he would get to know her better. She would also find out if their wild ride the day before had affected Lonesome a whole lot. She hadn't told anyone about it. She knew she should, but then she might not be able to take care of Lonesome anymore, so she was just going to keep it to herself.
Lonesome was looking out his stall door when Angie entered the barn. This was an improvement from the last two days. He still looked sad and lonely, but his eyes were a little brighter, and his coat shone a little brighter. Angie brushed him for a long time. As he did this, she realized that the ride yesterday hadn't affected him that much. Angie knew that he would probably spook a lot on the trails in the future, but what can you expect from a future racehorse like Lonesome?
Angie let Lonesome graze outside in the yard. Since it was a really nice, hot summer day, she decided to give Lonesome a bath. Lonesome got a little scared about the water, but by the end of the bath, both horse and human were having fun, and soaking wet. When he was dry, he looked spectacular. He really looked like a racehorse.
Lonesome had begun to trust Angie, and Angie enjoyed every minute she spent with him. He didn't get scared when they went on the trails, fortunately, and he no longer hung his head. There was happiness in his eyes, and he wasn't so wild when other people did things for him. When he was out in the pasture, he ran and played with the other yearlings, too.
One night, when Angie and her family were eating dinner, her parents made an announcement about Lonesome.
"Since Lonesome is doing so much better," Angie's father began, " he will start his training again tomorrow. Angie was very happy, and she couldn't wait to help Lonesome become a racehorse.
The next morning Angie got up nice and early so she could get Lonesome ready for his first day back in training. When she took him over to the training barn, he broke out in a sweat. He must have bad memories of this place, from when he was in training before, because he wasn't happy at all. With Angie's assistance, though, he calmed down.
The trainers said that Angie could try lunging him, since he knew Angie so well. Angie went on out with a lunge line and asked Lonesome to do some work. He was listening to Angie very carefully, and concentrating very hard on doing what she wanted. The trainers were stunned at what Angie had accomplished. Lonesome was cantering at the end of the lunge line like a perfect little angel. He stopped at command, and never made a wrong move.
Later that day, Angie showed Lonesome his tack. She was going to get him used to wearing a saddle and bridle. Angie started with the saddle, and let Lonesome take a good look at it. He didn't seem to be afraid of it, so she slowly brought it around to the side of him and gently placed it on his back. He looked at the strange thing sitting on his back, but he didn't seem to mind. Next, Angie showed him the bridle, and let him play with it. He seemed to think it was a toy, because he was trying to attack the dangling leather. Angie worked the bit into Lonesome's mouth and put the rest of the bridle on quickly. Lonesome had a surprised look on his face, and was trying to get the bit out of his mouth. After he got used to having the bridle on, Angie went back to the saddle. She pulled the girth around Lonesome's belly, and was very careful not to catch tighten it when he wasn't paying attention to it. She started to tighten it, and then buckled it loosely. Lonesome didn't seem to mind having leather under his belly, so Angie tightened the girth another two notches. She tightened it a little each time, and only when she was getting it really tight, did Lonesome start to fidget and get worried. Soon he calmed down, and Angie tightened it all the way. She then told Lonesome to move forward, but he didn't think he could with this tight thing around his belly. He hesitated, and then he walked forward and discovered that he could walk freely with the girth on.
Angie thought she was going a little too fast, but she decided she would ride him. After all, she had already ridden him bareback, so she could do it with tack. Lonesome was way behind on his training, so if she wanted him to be a good racehorse, she had better hurry up and get him to the track.
Angie put a little weight on his back first, and kept adding weight slowly until Lonesome was completely used to having some weight up on his back. Then Angie swung herself up into the saddle, and she was sitting on Lonesome's back. Lonesome quickly cantered off, wondering what Angie was doing on his back. But Angie had control and slowed him down. She spent all afternoon teaching Lonesome what to do. Lonesome loved learning, and Angie was having fun teaching him. Lonesome was going to be a great racehorse.
That night, Angie's parents asked her if she would like to have Lonesome. He would be all hers, and she could do whatever she wanted with him. She said yes, and was mentally making plans for racing Lonesome. Her parents had said she could do whatever she wanted to do with him, they just didn't know that she wanted to race him.
A couple weeks later, after riding Lonesome a lot, and getting him used to things, Angie rode Lonesome onto the training track. She told the trainer to tell her what to run, and clock it.
"Go ahead and see what he wants to do," said the trainer, "and if he wants to run work him eight furlongs. He needs it."
After walking and trotting Lonesome around the track a few times, Angie asked Lonesome to gallop. At first he didn't want' to, but when he realized he was being asked to do it and not told to, he ran. He ran o fast Angie couldn't see the poles going by. They were just a blur, and she especially couldn't see the eight furlong marker. Black mane was whipping in her face, and all she could hear was the pounding of Lonesome's feet as they raced around the track. When Angie knew she had worked Lonesome much more than the eight furlongs, she began to slow him down. She hadn't meant to disobey that trainers orders, but she hadn't been able to slow Lonesome down at only eight furlongs.
As Angie walked Lonesome over to the gate, she could see the surprised faces on the trainers.
"Angie! He just worked at the time he would be running a race! You got him to do a mile and a half at a mile and three quarters speed!"
"I didn't get him to," Angie replied, "I asked him to."
Angie knew that his time had been great, and she knew that Lonesome would be great at the races. She couldn't wait to race him. And she would be able to ride Lonesome because she had her jockey's license
That night, Angie asked her parents if she could enter Lonesome in a maiden race, with the purse being a small 5,000 dollars. Her parents thought about it for a long time, and finally they agreed to let Angie do it. In one week, Lonesome would be on the track.
When the day came for Lonesome to run in his first race, Angie and her parents trailered Lonesome to Horserace Track. Angie had prepared Lonesome to run the 3/4 mile 5,000 dollar maiden race for colts three and up. Lonesome wasn't a bit nervous, and he seemed to be enjoying his day at the races.
When the riders were called to the gate, Angie mounted and walked Lonesome to his number 3 spot starting position. As they waited for the other horses to load, Angie talked to Lonesome quietly. Then the bell rang, the doors opened, and the race was off.
Lonesome leaped from the gate and settled into stride. He was running second, eating the dust from the number one horse, and not liking it at all. After the first turn, Angie took Lonesome out away from the rail so they could go around the leader. Once Lonesome saw his running room, he ran faster and was soon running by himself, and going under the wire, ahead by 16 lengths.
In the winners circle, Angie sat upon Lonesome proudly, with her parents on the ground by Lonesome's head. They were going to enter Lonesome in a lot more races. Unfortunately, he had missed his chance at the Kentucky Derby and the Triple, but there were still other races waiting for him to win.
Lonesome was rewarded a well earned rest. He had come out of the race just fine, and never looked better. Angie and her parents were busy making racing plans. Hopefully he would be a good racing prospect, and when retired, pass his speed down to his colts and fillies.
Lonesome’s next race was three weeks later. People who had seen or heard about his first race showed up, and his odds were 5-1. They weren't that bad.
Lonesome never moved a muscle in the starting gate, and Angie worried that he was going to sleep on her, but when the doors flew open, and the bell rang, he leaped out, and ran right to the front.
You wouldn't know Lonesome's speed unless you saw him run. His fast, short, strides brought him around the turns easily. The cheers from the crowd brought him on to greater speed with his rider just a lump on his back. Lonesome loved running, and racing, and anything to do with it. He ran as fast as he could, even though Angie would try to slow him down when he was way in front. Angie knew Lonesome was destined to become a great racehorse.
After four small races, all Lonesome got was really a workout in front of the stands than a race. So Lonesome was entered in a semi-larger race where he was racing against some tougher colts.
Lonesome made his now regular mighty leap from the gate, and surged to the front. Strangely, one by one, each of the horses took turns challenging him, but always dropping back. Lonesome went under the wire ten lengths ahead.
Lonesomes next race was an even bigger race, and many people were there to see one of "Lonesomes famous workouts" as the newspapers put it. No other horse could beat him it seemed. But no one could put it that way, not yet. As Lonesome kept winning his races, he earned more fans. And as he earned more fans, the more he became unbeatable. Most people couldn't decide which horse was faster. On the other side of the country was a colt bred to be one of the finest racehorses. He was a dark bay named Power Surge. He too, had been winning all his races and earning more fans. Many people wanted to see Lonesome and Power Surge race each other.
So a special race was put together so the two could race. Everyone called it the Lonesome Power Surge race. Both horses were being trained carefully, getting prepared for this big race.
When the day of the race came, the stands filled with many fans. All were waiting to see which horse was the fastest.
At post time, Power Surge and Lonesome were ridden out, and the crowds went wild. Then, everyone was quiet while the two horses stood in the starting gate, waiting for the bell.......
The doors clanged open, and the horses jumped out. But as Lonesome made his mighty leap out, he tripped. He almost fell down, but he stumbled along and quickly regained his stride. He ran faster than ever, not standing the fact that another horse was on front of him.
As Lonesome moved up on Power Surge, the crowds went crazy. Soon, the horses were racing neck and neck, neither giving way. They stayed this way through the far turn, and the final turn, and then they were streaming down the backstretch. Neck and neck, neck and neck. The finish wire inched closer with every powerful stride, and hearts took over bodies. As the horses ran, Angie laid down on Lonesome's black, sweat drenched neck, and softly told him, “I Love You, Lonesome."
The final seconds of the race came too quickly. With a final burst of speed, Lonesome leapt out in front. But it was too close to tell. It was a photo finish.
The crowd watched as the horses slowed down. They watched as Angie Davis suddenly jumped off her horse. They watched as Lonesome limped slowly. They watched as Lonesome collapsed to the ground. They watched, in the last few minutes of his life, Lonesome's name called as the official winner. They watched, as the famous black horse died.
Lonesome died very much loved by Angie Davis and his many fans in those stands. Lonesome had proved that love overcomes anything.