NEON SPARKLES | 14-YEAR-OLD QUARTER HORSE/PAINT CROSS | ELIZABETHTOWN,KY

Neon Sparkles, known as “Pumpkin” around the barn, is a 14-year-old Paint/Quarter Horse cross bred in Virginia. She is by Neon Jez out of Dancin on Thin Ice. Pumpkin lives at Wild Rose Equestrian Center in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and is loved by his person, Jessica.

Jessica and Pumpkin ride Western and take lessons in English tack at Wild Rose. They’ve come a long way together in the six years they’ve known each other. Jessica first met Pumpkin while volunteering at an animal rescue in Virginia Beach. The horses there needed to be evacuated due to a hurricane.

“The other employees at the ranch called her the crazy horse and she was the only one they didn’t ride or use for anything,” Jessica remembers. “My favorite thing about riding her is just knowing how far we’ve come and how many obstacles we’ve overcome in the past six years.”

Now, after a lot of work, the formerly-feral Pumpkin and Jessica have come a long way together. “This mare started with not even standing still to be groomed,” Jessica remembers. “I barely rode her for the first four years I owned her because I was in the Navy and gone a lot. We came to Wild Rose in January 2016 and started lessons that summer. Every ride with her now is better than the last because she is constantly amazing me with her improvement and attitude changes.

“Back in April, all of the family from the farm and the boarders took the horses and went on a huge camping trip for a few days. I was a nervous wreck leading up to it because I had no idea how Pumpkin was going to act on the trailer or in a strange place. I could’ve cried with relief when we got unloaded at our destination and she was as calm as could be and then was a perfect angel for every second of our trip.”

Now, Jessica describes Pumpkin as a “goofball” who can be both snuggly and sassy. Her favorite treat? Granola bars.

Jessica has loved horses her whole life and asked for a pony each Christmas for years. Now, as an adult, she has finally made her dream come true.