This page is a tribute to Erka's Gay Sheba,
a horse who was loved and is dearly missed by all who knew her. Sheba crossed the Rainbow Bridge on
October 20, 1997 at the age of 26. She was the first horse I ever rode and was a kind
hearted mare who always gave her best. Sheba will never be forgotten and is known as a
true Champion Of Hearts!
Champion Of Hearts
Scrawny little legs and a face only a mother could love, but poor Sheba. Even her mother rejected
her. Bottle fed from birth, the dapple gray filly did not seem to have much going for her.
However, looks are decieving and Sheba blossomed into a champion. No, Erka's Gay Sheba was not the winner of
a grand prix medal or was a top Olympic horse, she was a champion in everyone's heart. Her breed was not that of the sleek,
swift Thoroughbred or of the muscled yet graceful Hanoverian. She was a small, mixed breed mare who competed at several
local shows. Sheba was the one who helped Erin to a 3rd place victory in her first dressage show before she got her own horse.
She was the one who substituted for Rebecca's school horse when he had girth galls. Despite her advancing years, she was game to
explore the many hills surrounding our barn. Even the surprise encounter with a black bear cub did not fluster her.
Calm enough for the newest rider, yet still fun for those of us more advanced, Sheba did it all. She might have even
surprised you by given a good natured buck on the first stride of her rocking canter-but not anymore.
After a routine shoeing, we heard the news. The farrier noticed a bruised hoof
and applied special pads to the defective area. No luck. It just didn't do the trick. As the vet made his rounds, Louise
asked him to check our beloved companion. That was when it was clear that she was the victim
of laminitis. The disorder started to get dreadfully bad, to the point where Sheba could barley walk. We figured the end was coming
soon, but Sheba slowly seemed to improve. We waited and prayed for the best. The best though, did not come. The laminitis started to
slowly take over once again.
This time it was to the point where we had to give her a shot of medicine just to get her out of the pasture to her
stall. On her final night, Sheba was given the best stall in the barn filled with soft bedding.
At school the next day, we kept wondering and hoping, even though the chances were slim, that she would peek out of her
wooden stall with those warm, caring black eyes and fuzzy white ears when she heard us enter the barn that afternoon.
Our worst fears were confirmed when we reached her now empty stall. The simple wooden nameplate and her worn out black
and red halter were both gone. Looking over at Dutchess who stood eagerly waiting to be turned out to pasture, we both felt our eyes
fill with tears, knowing her pasture mate was gone forever.
Taking a few stray flowers, we laid the arrangement on the turned up soil where she was humanely put down. It was
nestled in a small corner of the grassy trail looking over the frost covered pasture where she spent her last days. That mournful
day will never be forgotten. It was the day when our furry white companion took her last breath and the day when a piece of our hearts
were buried with her.
Sheba will never be forgotten by those who knew her. She will be remembered for her kindness and how she was always
willing to please her riders. She was truly a champion of hearts!
Poems
We've had so many happy years,
you and I we've been as one,
but now it is time I must go,
I'll be waiting above for you to come.
Please don't weep upon my grave,
or wish that I was kept,
If you could only see the place I've gone,
You'd wonder why you ever wept.
Although we now are far apart,
we'll always have a bond,
Freinds forever, companions together,
Despite that I have gone.
-Erin Shaw
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glint on the snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autums rain.
When you awaken in the mornings rush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.
My journey through life has been long
it is time for me to go
Please don't try and keep me back
this is something that must be
Our time together, will not be forgotten
you are my friend forever
Together we will be as one
even though we are now apart
My journey through life has been long
it is time for me to go
Please don't try and keep me back
this is a battle which can't be won
Also in memory of my mothers old horse, Irish Arrow,
who was put down at the age of 22, over 8 yrs ago; Lavendel who had to be put down at the age of 13; Hollywood who was
put down after a tragic accident; and all other horses who have passed
away and left there beloved owners and friends behind. If anyone would like me
to post their horse on this page, just email me.
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