Equestrian Seniors Poster Boy

5.7K Responses and Counting

Kurt Herrmann

At 71 here I am with a very green 3 year old Andalusian mare. Fortunately she’s got a willingness to learn and sensible nature. Continuing to live the dream, one day at a time with a heart radiating gratitude.

5.7KYou, Tam Warner, Cherie River Maitland and 5.7K others

Equestrian Senior Poster Boy: 57K Responses and Counting

What is this platform, and who is this man? My brother sent me a text early this morning that said, “It’s unbelievable, my post has 57000 responses.” The platform is Facebook’s group “Equestrian Seniors.” It has a huge international following. It is a place where older horse-folk share images and stories of sorrow and joy, all of us celebrating the fact we are still horse people enjoying our horses in the later part of life. I have shared posts in the group a few times. Equestrian Seniors truly is a gift for horse people of all nationalities, religions, genders, and cultural points of view, and we all come together in a loving and caring relationship with horses.

 So who is this man? He is my brother, four and a half years my junior, which automatically sets up the Little Brother—Big Sister syndrome. It is a lot of years that we have shared this life and this horse passion. And of course, if you know anything about siblings, you know that the relationship can be wrought with great challenges in ideology as to who is right and who is wrong, emotionally charged, with seemingly mountains of murky mess to navigate in order to find some level of communication. Gratefully, we have matured, and we can now share each other’s joys and sorrows with a full heart, not tainted by embedded triggers that come from growing up together. You can’t know how honored I am to call this man, this horseman, my brother.

Why does  one posting generate tens of thousands of responses out of all of the posts that are entered daily, weekly, and monthly on the Equestrian Seniors platform? Certainly what Kurt had to say was very simple, so is it the image? A beautiful, golden dappled Andalusian mare standing so regally next to a humble man, honoring that space of still being in the presence of Horse. Is it the idea that at our age we take on the challenge and reward of a young horse?

To say the least, Kurt was not born with the  proverbial “silver spoon.” He bought his first horse with his own money diligently saved at the age of 13. Horses were in his blood as they were in mine. We did not have an easy family life. More than me, Kurt dealt with childhood physical and emotional abuse. On the flip side of that, we were embraced by a loving and nurturing mother. The love of animals came through her. As he matured, Kurt faced gender prejudice. Hard work and a passionate nature gave him a fulfilling career. He dealt with the addictions of alcohol and drugs. He was caregiver to both our mother and father in their last years and days. He now is caregiver to his husband of thirty years. My brother-in-law, Michael, was diagnosed with acute myeloma leukemia three and a half years ago.

Kurt carried a big, big load of life “baggage.” While our father was at the end of his life in my brother’s care, Kurt kicked his addictions on his own. The vibrant passion of his nature once again glowed in the sunlight. The gleam of his dream of riding a beautiful horse with grace beckoned. He returned to living fully in his life. I had my brother back.