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Mardi Gras
November 30, 2001

Mardi Gras & Jennifer Hoffmann
Mardi extends the trot in his Intermediaire Freestyle.

Mardi Gras was humanely euthanized on November 30, when, after 2 months of valiantly fighting founder, it became clear that the future held only severe pain with no hope of recovery. While I owned him on paper, it must be said that Jennifer Hoffmann owned his heart, and we are both deeply saddened by his loss.

I first met Jürgen Hoffmann when I enlisted his help to find me a schoolmaster, and Mardi was the end result of that search. Mardi was a fine teacher for me, and possessed a heart of gold. When Jennifer and Jürgen arrived at our ranch last February without an FEI horse for Jennifer to compete, I willingly offered Mardi. We had hoped that Mardi would be presentable at Prix St. Georges, the highest level at which he had competed in Germany before being deemed non-competitive and listed for sale as a schoolmaster. Mardi was more than presentable, though. After less than a month together, Jennifer and Mardi competed in the CDI at the Del Mar National Horse Show, with very respectable scores. After the big show in May at DG Bar, Mardi was ranked among the top horses in the nation, and only narrowly missed competing for a spot on the United States Equestrian Team at Prix St. Georges/Intermediaire I. (He finished the year ranked 13th, with the top 12 going on to the Festival of Champions).

All this past summer, Mardi and Jennifer showed steady improvement in their scores, with mostly blue ribbon finishes and several FEI High Point awards. They were schooling Grand Prix, and Mardi was doing well; Mardi was in the prime of his life and had not yet reached his peak. Mardi loved his job, loved the show ring, and loved Jennifer. He was the epitome of consistency and hard work, and could always be counted upon to give everything he had in the ring, whether schooling or showing.

There will be other FEI horses in my life, but none the likes of Mardi Gras. His character and work ethic made him one in a million, and allowed him to compete with horses far more athletic (and far more expensive) than he was. I have been asked what we have learned from Mardi's illness. My answer is that as much as we would like to have had something to blame other than bad luck, Mardi's illness could not have been anticipated nor prevented. We need to remember that every day that we have with these magnificent beasts is precious and cannot be taken for granted. We cannot know the future. The best we can do is to love them and enjoy them now in such a way that our hearts are filled with happy memories, and that we can look back without regret.

Gay Walker

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