Jessie and Chrome - Christina Rae’s Story

Every little girl deserves to be loved by a horse at least once in their life, and if you are lucky like me you get to feel that love more than once...

A lot of you have been on my page long enough to know that I have my own "Dear Rodeo" story , but before that story ever took place.

I had two pretty special boys who shaped my story..

Jessie and Chrome

My boys...

Before Jessie there was "little Joe" and he taught me a lot, but the lessons that Jessie and Chrome taught me. Those are the two who held my secrets.

Jessie taught me the thrill of winning for the first time, he was a special boy with only half a tongue and a special flat bar bit, he was my brothers first before he was mine.. he taught us both so much, he was an old man when we got him in Jena, La. But he didn't let his age stop him. He would give us his heart and soul every time I pointed him down the alley or he was backed into the corner in the roping box. He gave it his all, and he was the best baby sitter he knew who was on him and he would give you exactly what speed you could handle.

He knew his job and he did it well. Not only did he teach me the thrill of winning. He put up with the "pretty" things I put him thru during my 4H days. Halter and Showmanship classes at 4H shows.. when I was in the 7th grade we decided that it was time to let Jessie Retire full time to be a beloved pasture pony, Jessie however didn't like that idea to much, he still tried to load on the trailer when ever we'd load the others to go to the next rodeo.... the day we made the hard decision to let Jessie go to greener pasture is one I'll never forget...

In the 7th grade Chrome came along, ironically from someone just up the Road in Florien. (Who knew 15 years later id have a special place in my heart for that little town). My registered boy "Country Chrome", my tall sorrel boy, with his blaze face and his strip up his back leg that made him so unique. He was stubborn, man was he stubborn... but I've been told sometimes they share personalities with their owners and if you knew me back then, you'd agree with that statement. If you were around back then, you know that's when the world I'd known all my life got flipped upside down... #iykyk

I cried more tears than I care to admit into that short sorrel mane that never would grow. I'd spend hours on him riding out in the woods. He was my first real competitive horse. I never was super competitive but he was the perfect horse for me at that time in my life.

He wasn't a rodeo winning horse but he was the perfect horse for me. He was with me thru my first Year of Rodeo queen and he was not a fan of the parade. For a dead head that didn't let a thing spook him in the woods or at the arena. He HATED going to town for the parade, some of yall might remember the great big sorrel horse and the blonde queens contestant that spent more time in the air than on the pavement during lions club rodeo parade yea that was Chrome and so out of character for him... I was so upset, not because of the parade but because I had no idea why my calm boy was acting so out of character, still to this day, no idea what got into him that day..

Chrome Colic'd on me my sophomore year of High School and died in the trailer on the way to the vets office.

I lost both of my boys when I was in jr high/high school. After I lost Chrome I didn't ride for a year.. I tried several horses and none of them felt like Jessie or Chrome. And I just couldn't make myself pull the trigger on buying another one... I rode lots of different horses for the things that I wanted to compete in. And to those friends that mounted me during those years.... THANK YOU will never be enough, you helped keep me sane, you helped me to be able to continue to participate in the sport I love!

But when I lost my boys, I remembered one very important thing " only the best horses in Heaven have no tails". So of course, we saved Jessie and Chromes tails, and Beverly Clark kept their tails safe for me for almost 20 years now...

I've always wanted to do something special with my boys tails, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Until this January, I scrolled upon Milk & Moon Keepsakes on Facebook... a local business based in Pitkin La that makes keepsake jewelry out of different things and she was running a special on rings.

I had always wanted a piece of jewelry with my boys tails but I was MORTIFIED about mailing off their tails to a stranger to have something made. Because what if it got lost in the mail or got damaged. Then I wouldn't have my boys with me ... so when she was local I thought why not send her a message and see if she could do something and how much she'd need.

Surprisingly enough she needed less than two inches of their tails, she'd meet me in town and pick it up from me. So I decided why not try it. So we carefully selected a setting and I talked about what my vision was and how special my boys were to me. After two months of patiently waiting for the side stones to come in, because y'all know me and know I HAD to have turquoise with my boys..

My boys are finally home and I get to have them with me EVERY SINGLE DAY again...

Thank you Milk and Moon Keepsakes for helping me create a piece to keep them close to my heart forever.

I hope y'all enjoy the trip down memory lane and at the end you'll see the beautiful ring that was created with my Boys!

Every Piece Has a Story…

Part of what makes this work so special for me, is getting to know the people I am working with and helping to create memories for. Whether it is a fertility and pregnancy journey, celebrating a breastfeeding journey, or commemorating a lost loved one, knowing what each piece means to each of my new friends is such an honor to me. It takes a great deal of trust to tell our most important stories, and I love that I am able to create a safe space for that.

The blogs and stories to come here on Milk & Moon Keepsakes will be those told by the wonderful people I have met along the way on this incredible journey. There will be stories of success, joy, perseverance, and loss and grieving.

I want to thank everyone from the very bottom of my heart for not only including me in their process of memory-making, but for sharing their stories and a small snippet of their hearts with me. I am forever grateful for all of you! Milk & Moon would not be a possibility without you all!

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.