Bing Bang---- The Flying Horse and a Prayer Answered

Our third installment is by Maggie House- Sauque and the prayers sent, and answered regarding a race horse named Bing Bang:

Bing Bang came into my life by accident. He was just a horse I played with while my dad was looking at another horse to buy. His name made me laugh and his pretty head drew me to him. He looked like a Breyer horse with a tiny, gorgeous head and a perfectly balanced body. He had won a big handicap in France and was brought (to the States) with the intentions of being sold by our bloodstock agent. Though I pushed my dad to look at him, he wasn't interested, but I couldn't stop talking about him.

I told everyone at the barn about him and prayed my dad would change his mind. God must have been listening because my prayer was answered and my dad surprised me a couple months later, he had been purchased to race for our stable.
It wasn't meant for Bing Bang to run for us as he was constantly sidelined with little problems. It was so long (his ongoing nagging injuries), that I forgot about him until I got a phone call from my Dad. He said that Bing Bang had bowed a tenon and had returned to training but wasn't doing well so they decided to retire him and make him a trail horse and so he was sent to a western trainer. Not a good idea! Bing Bang scared them so badly that they didn't want to ride him. So naturally my Dad thought I could have him for a show horse.

I agreed to take Bing Bang, after my trainer saw him and he came to live with me. It was a big gamble he was five and had been racing a long time, which makes re-training very difficult. However I figured I needed a challenge in my life and went for it. Bing Bang was by far the biggest challenge I have ever experienced! He had no trust and spooked at everything! It was awful, but slowly, very slowly it got better. Being in the ring with Bing Bang with other horses was a challenge. He didn't like them behind him and scared everybody so badly no one dared get to close to me. I learned quickly that talking to him calmed him down.
Jumping was a different story, he did it effortlessly-- like he had done it his entire life, nothing scared him! It was freaky! As Bing Bang became more confident, he moved so well we started him in the hunter ring and we did okay, but with little blow ups he would never make a top hunter, no matter how well he jumped. We returned to jumpers and it was there that he found his calling. He has been a successful jumper ever since, winning many championships.

Out of all the horses I have ever owned, he has taught me the most about patience and understanding. Even though I have a history of doing well in the show ring, he has taught me to play by his rules. There were many times I wanted to give up, gotten sick of his quirks, but I learned to love him and not change him. When we are in the ring, we are a team and he gives me everything he's got. Bing Bang has proven that the heart he showed as a racehorse transferred over to the show ring, and I am so lucky God put "Bing" into my life.