March 15, 2016 
After reading the article “The 8 Lesson Horses Every Kid Grows Up Knowing” about the horses a kid might have ridden throughout their equestrian careers, I decided to respond with the story of the most special competition partner I’ve ever had.
Jazz and I helping Momma work cows (courtesy of the author).
My mom has trained performance horses for the majority of her life, so just as you might think, I’ve been riding competitively my entire life too. My first show was the 1997 Arabian Region 8 Championships in Denver when I was about two weeks old. The first horse I ever rode and showed was a very big, Polish purebred Arabian gelding named Myster Jazz (Jazz for short). Jazz was his own miracle to start. My Grandpa had traded a bunch of old ranch horses for this little pure Arab for my mom. He was only a yearling, but a hardheaded little sucker too. Well, Jazz and my mom ended up with multi-regional champions in show hack and country English pleasure. I rode Jazz in hunter pleasure throughout a couple of my walk/trot years.
Next, I ended up with a little chestnut half-Arabian mare. Her name was Glor-Eze Amber Wave (Glory). Glory was tiny, maybe 14.1 hands, with a blaze and four white socks. We ended up with her almost by accident, but we turned her into a legend. I rode her also in some walk/trot hunter pleasure classes until I got an itch to do western pleasure and stock seat equitation. Glory and I transitioned to walk/trot/lope classes together. I also trained her in showmanship. We both carried out five years of Arabian Youth National Championships, and held numerous titles in western pleasure, horsemanship, and showmanship. She’s an amazing little thing. Glory came out of a pasture as a 12-year-old and then we took her to many national wins. But she’s not limited to the show ring; you can rope off of her, you can drag calves up from the pasture, you can jump on her, and you can let her loose with a beginner.
Glor-Eze Amber Wave, “Glory” (courtesy of the author).
My next horse was the love of my life and a once-in-a-lifetime animal, SS Chocolate Meyers (Chaz) by SS Painted Intimidator (by Color Of Fame). Half-Arab, half-Saddlebred. A bay pinto gelding, right around 16.2 hands. I had seen an ad offering him for sale online. It was a private treaty listing when I wasn’t even supposed to be horse shopping. Well, something in me just knew that I had to have this horse. I called his trainer, made a deal with the owners, and he was shipped to me from Iowa the next week. The best part? My mom didn’t know he was coming.
When he arrived and got off the trailer, my life was just indescribably complete. I was in love; I was absolutely in love. He was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen in my life. He had huge brown eyes that he would blink oh-so slowly; they were soft eyes. He had the traditional Arabian dishy head that I absolutely adore, but since he was half Saddlebred, it was the biggest head I’d ever seen. Chaz became my best friend that day. He didn’t know much when I got him, but I took the initiative, as Chaz was going to be the first ever performance horse trained by Kaylee Bussell. We went on to win 10 National titles and more than 18 World Championships in western pleasure, horsemanship, ladies western sidesaddle, and showmanship. We were a team. And we were the team that everyone knew.
Chaz and I competing in ladies western sidesaddle (courtesy of the author).
Every single show we attended, Chaz was loved by everyone. And while he tolerated everyone, he loved me most. Now there is much debate on whether or not an animal can feel love. After I had known Chaz, I knew that he had all the ability in the world to love. And he changed the minds of many people on that fact as well. I loved him and he loved me. It was unworldly. It was…it was something that I will never experience again in my lifetime.
One day, I was out of town for a volleyball tournament, and we stayed the night at a hotel. That evening, I had the most awful dream about my poor Chaz, that he was stolen and killed. I woke up in tears thinking it was real, and I called everyone I knew still at home and at the barn to find someone who could check on him. They all got back to me with the same answer, “He’s fine.”
Two weeks later, I woke up one morning to my mom coming through my bedroom door. “Where’s Chaz?” she asked me. My heart dropped. I knew something was wrong.
We found Chaz five hours later, but it felt like a lifetime. His hind legs were cut open, and his tail—which at horse shows dragged the ground by four feet—was chopped off at the end of his tail bone. One of my nicer work saddles was stolen, too, but overall and most importantly, I had my precious baby back with me. The cops were no help, and to this day three years later, I never found out who stole him.
Chaz (courtesy of the author).
The 2014 show season was rough for us. Arabians show with their real tails (extensions are illegal) and poor Chaz’s tail looked like it had been bobbed. He was a pleasure horse, so placing at Nationals was a long shot. We didn’t make any of the cuts in pleasure or showmanship, but we went top ten in half-Arabian western ladies sidesaddle. That was also the last show Chaz ever attended.
Chaz passed away on December 11, 2015 very early in the morning, before I woke up. My mom found him when she went out to feed and she very carefully broke the news to me around 6:00 a.m. I had spent almost the entire night before with him. I’d brushed him and braided up his tail, which was finally growing out and long enough to keep wrapped. I gave him lots of treats and we went on a walk…and the next morning he was gone.
From tedious conversations with the vet over the phone, we all came to the conclusion that he had had a heart attack. I still don’t really feel fully functioning. I don’t feel like me anymore since he’s gone and I miss him so very dearly. His birthday was February 21st, and he would’ve only been 13 years old. Chaz was my best friend in the whole world. He was the absolute love of my life, I am positive. Chaz deserved, more than anything, to be adored by everyone. Everybody should know who SS Chocolate Meyers was.
