So, like every day of my life, I type in the Facebook address and press Enter.

Nothing really good comes up on the newsfeed. Yet, a few posts from friends of mine, stopped me in my tracks, shocked, frozen. While I sat their reading their posts over and over, my hand was wet from my teardrops.

"Did you hear about Alfons?"

"I'm so saddened about Alfons"

"I can't believe it, not him, not Alfons"

That name didn't leave my head and has not since....


With heavy hearts we have laid to rest our beloved Alfons. A gelding of the
greatest loyalty, forgiveness, and devotion to all who worked with him. He was the very first horse Bob ever trained to drive, the horse that taught Ben how to drive, a beginner lesson horse who took care of any rider who was ever on his back, and a three time world champion driving horse with his partner Diederik, he was loved by everybody he came in contact with and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. We miss you Alfons and you will never be forgotten because you have touched so many in your short life and yet you achieved so much. Thank you all for your support, thoughts, and prayers as we heal from our sudden loss of such an amazing horse and our dear friend.
-Bob, Laurie, Ben

I immediantly called my parents to inform them. It took a while because I could not control myself. The words then came out, "Mom, Alfon's died"

It wasn't until later that I learned his fate. He suffered from a ruptured esophogas.

10 year old Alfons was not just some horse I knew, he was more than that, he was my buddy. We shared rides together, I overlooked him from the driver's seat, I took him for walks at shows. I was ever jealous when my mom got to ride him. A practice drill ride. The easiest gelding to pick out of the crowd. I handled him the last day of my internship, the last day I'd ever see him again.

His place with Diederik, his driving partner, has since been replaced with another horse. They performed at Equine Affaire and it was hard to watch the new horse, try to filld Alfons' shoes.

When my school went to Equine Affaire, my friends and I toured the barn where an aisle of FOM horses would be. I had bad anxiety going through each aisle, just waiting for the red and black colors to appear. We got close, and I couldn't move forward. I broke down repeating "I can't do it, I can't do it."

I left the barn never to return to that aisle again. It was a hard decision. It wasn't just hard on me, but it was hard on the owner, Bob. My parents had gone there earlier i nthe week to help the farm set up for the expo. When they were all together it was hard to keep the eyes dry. My mom told me this, and I was worried. I asked my parents to be when me when I went to say hello to Bob. I was getting nervous when we saw him, but I was strong and said a"hello" His name was not mentioned ever.

I went through a depressing Equine Affaire and returened to school, still broken hearted. I was depressed for a good week after I heard the news.

We visited in early January and it was another hard trip to take. His name is not meantioned to avoid the obvious depression. I cried every night I was there. I heard the full story on what happened.

Alfons resides on the farm on the side of the trail leading into the woods. Flowers will grow on his grave to signify where he is.

Alfons was always a champion in the driving world. At the Northeast Friesian Horse Club Classic Show, an award will be named in his honor and given to the High Point Driving Champion.

This was an extreamly difficult post to make, so thank you for reading. I will always remember this very special horse, and he will always have a place in my heart. heart

RIP ALFONS - Loved by many, a friend, teacher, and champion. heart