Peggy O’Neal and Luna (MA)
Team #986: Peggy O’Neal and Luna
From: Worthington, Massachusetts
Ages: 71 & 29
Combined Age: 100
Test: Training Level Test 1
Lunar Eclipse (Luna or Lu to friends) is a Percheron/ Irish Thoroughbred Cross who entered our lives in 2003. We purchased her from a woman who had acquired her as an investment. They competed in dressage and eventing. Lu received her American Warmblood Sporthorse certification. She was a beautiful dapple gray with black stockings and a lush white tail that was, and still is, glorious. At that time, Luna was seven, my daughter Merle was 11, and I was 40. Luna is now pure white.
Merle and Luna forged a mutually dramatic and athletic partnership. They were young, fearless, and beautiful. They learned natural horsemanship with a John Lyons trainer, joined Pony Club, and spent a couple of weeks every summer at Shirley Winer’s Pony Club camp in Chester, Massachusetts, where they experienced galloping fields, cross-country eventing competitions, and swimming on horseback. Throughout their teenage years, they enjoyed competing in local dressage and eventing shows. Merle learned the value of a mutually respectful relationship based on the required ingredients of care, consideration, honesty, and time. Lu kept Merle out of the mall and in the saddle.
When Merle went away to college, Luna became my partner. She is a patient schoolmaster, has magnificent ground manners, and is sensible and willing. In the past decade, I have had surgery for a fractured hip (not related to riding), two hip replacements, and my right foot reconstructed. Thanks to our shared sense of trust, I have been able to confidently get back in the saddle after each procedure.
At this writing, Luna is 29, Merle is 33, and I am 71. Lu and I are a couple of gray mares who can continue to move, work, and spend time together, a feat that is beneficial to both.
Luna is a blessing…she is the gift that keeps on giving, a shared treasure.
I am so grateful for her presence and impact on our lives.
