November 11, 2022 
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO—A New Mexico woman has legally divorced her husband in order to take the next spiritual step with…
Her horse. Aesthetician and lifelong rider Trisha Thomas recently filed a petition and initial divorce paperwork with the Santa Fe County District Court, according to sources, ending her 11-year-long marriage with her husband, Christopher Thomas.
“It’s been a difficult two years for our partnership, and I’ve spent the last six months really soul-searching,” Thomas said. “I went to a monastery in Bhutan for two weeks. I participated in a vision quest here in Santa Fe. I’ve been looked for my chi everywhere. I even considered an introductory membership with the local Scientology branch, until I saw the annual dues…. And they say horse ladies are nuts!
“But what I finally discovered is that, while I do care about him, the real love of my life wasn’t Chris, it was Rooke,” Thomas says of her 11-year-old paint gelding. “In fact, I remember the first day I locked eyes on him, showing as a two-year-old at the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) Western Championships. For me, there was no one else in that arena.
“Ever since, Rooke has really been there for me in a way no one else has,” Thomas continues. “Both of us enjoy the same things. We’re both fiercely competitive, we both love warm Guinness from the can, and powdered donut holes from 7 Eleven. We’re both into trail rides on the beach at sunset. You can’t help who you fall in love with,” Thomas continues.
“Spiritually speaking, Rooke is my soulmate.”
But the rider says she has no intention of kicking her husband to the curb quite yet. “Chris and I have always maintained a good relationship. I’m not sure he fully understands my feelings for Rooke, but he doesn’t have to,” she says.
“Chris knows I can never be there for him spiritually in the same way I am for Rooke, but he also needs a place to sleep at night, and a warm meal at the end of the day. I need someone who will remember to take the trash out on Sundays and look the part when I’m on his arm at weddings.
“Not that Rooke couldn’t behave in company,” Thomas adds, “But, you know, people can be so judgmental.”
According to Thomas, she and Rooke are currently planning a springtime commitment ceremony on a hilltop meadow in the nearby Pecos Wilderness reserve.
“I can’t wait to look into his one blue eye and say those words, ‘With this horseshoe, I thee wed,’” she said, adding that husband Chris, a trained blacksmith, has been invited to attend as ‘shoe-bearer.’
“Everyone is important to this family. I just want my sister-husband to be clear where he stands,” Thomas explains. “Behind our horse.”
