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 Letters About Kelley
I was working a horse at my place in Chugwater, Wyoming when I saw a pickup pull up to the little tack shop we had on the ranch. So I trotted up from the barn not knowing that the lady getting out of the pickup would change my life forever... The plates on the customer’s pickup were from Alabama and this beautiful blond woman and two of her lovely friends said they had heard about my little shop and decided to stop on the way to their ranch at LaGrange. When Kelley introduced herself and her friends I knew immediately who she was as everyone in Chugwater had heard of the wealthy family that bought the Kaufman place. My past history with wealthy individuals hadn’t left a great impression but there was something so real and warm about Kelley and her dear friends that I was instantly drawn to them. Kelley was so kind and flattering regarding my little tack shop and after that first visit she would make a point to stop by every time she made it to her Wyoming ranch. We would visit about her projects at the ranch, horses, and all her conservation efforts with the trees and wildlife. I made several trips to her ranch to see progress on the Patriotic House, watch the colt starting clinics, and watch Kelley ride her wonderful cutting horses. Kelley’s friend Mae had called me to ask about something in the store the same day my dear old stallion died. Mae could tell there was something wrong and when she asked, I fell apart. That old horse had meant the world to me. Mae “wiped” my tears and gave me a hug over the phone and I thought that was that. But next thing I knew Kelley was calling. She said she had this two year old stallion I should come take a look at. I told her while I appreciated the thought “I don’t want another stallion, it’s too soon and besides NO horse could every replace “Mr”. Well, Kelley can be quite convincing so my husband and I went out to her ranch the next morning to take a look at this colt. She took me in a corral with this not so impressive looking gray 2 year old, told me a little about him, and that I should take him home and try him out. Again, I tried to say I really didn’t nor could I afford to replace my old stallion but AGAIN Kelley talked me into just “try him out and if you don’t like him bring him back”. One of the 7 day clinics I teach started that next week so I thought I would put this colt in the colt starting section of the clinic as a “demo”. The first day with “Chappo” was pretty western! He bucked and hollered around the round pen a few laps, but my husband said “you can ride that, no problem”! I wasn’t so sure but when I walked up to him and rubbed his face he just melted in my hands, I knew then and there he had a heart of gold, just as big as Kelley’s. Everyday I rode that horse he got better and better. Kelley and Woody said I could lease him, use him on my mares and if things didn’t work out to just bring him back. No paper work, no insurance to buy in case something happened to this horse, just a hand shake and a hug, and a “sure hope you enjoy him”. That last part has been an understatement. Dynamites Last Blast or “Chappo” as we affectionately call him is the best horse I have ever had the privilege of riding. And it wasn’t a couple of months later, after I would call and brag about how Chappo was doing, that his registration papers were sent to me as his new owner. I have never been on the receiving end of such generosity and was so overwhelmed. And that there were absolutely no strings attached with this gift was something that I had to get used to. After many conversations of, “I can’t accept such a generous offer,” again I was convinced by Kelley that, “yes you can”. When I heard of her cancer my heart just dropped to my stomach, and as I write this tribute to her the tears flow. Kelley Bartlett was real. She was a true friend. She was beautiful inside and out and I miss my friend terribly. But her love of life, horses, and generosity lives on in this beautiful gray stallion that I hug for her every day. Kindly submitted by, Next Letter >> 
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