BONFIELD – A partnership that lasted over 30 years and involved three generations came to a sad end last month with the death of Nomad, an Arabian-Welsh Pony cross who was a much-loved member of the Bonfield equine community.
“He was a horse that just seemed to be able to do anything,” said Neil Simpson who bought the yearling in Powassan 34 years ago. “He really was part of our family.”
Nomad’s impact on the Simpson family was immediate.
“Back in the 1970s when I bought him, my daughter Laurel was taking about hitchhiking to Vancouver, like a lot of other teenagers. That was a big fad back then. That’s when I saw the colt advertised for sale, and as soon as a I saw him out in the field I knew I was going to buy him. As soon as I did, Laurel forgot all about the hitchhiking.
Nomad’s bloodline was half Anglo Arabian, his sire having been imported from Britain. “I think his mother might have been a large Welsh Pony,” said Simpson, “but (although not large) he was definitely a horse, not a pony and stood about 15 hands. Originally his colouring was grey, like a blue roan, but when he turned eight, his coat started to lighten and he turned pure white.”
Nomad and Laurel started training together when the horse was three years old, “mostly in horsemanship shows,” said Simpson. “In 1978 I started working him in Western competitions. Although he was not terribly fast, he was good at everything, poles, barrels, flag races and combos. He was even named Bonfield's Horse of the Year for winning the most points during the fall fair.”
Soon Simpson and Nomad were regular features of other fairs and horse shows in the area. When they weren’t in competition, they spent hours together just riding and enjoying each other’s company.
“I’ve ridden that horse hundreds of miles,” Simpson said. “We used to ride across the county to Algonquin Park and then my wife would bring the trailer as far as she could and pick us up on the way back. We’d ride about 15 miles on those treks.”
Simpson and Nomad were also members of the Rockin’ Horse Riding Club and club member Denise Chaput says she’ll always have a special place in her heart for the talented equine.
“Because he was so good at everything from trail rides, poker runs, parades, even English shows and equine games. Nomad was a teacher to the young and old,” she said. “We were proud to have one of the oldest horse and rider combos in our club.”
Chaput feels that Simpson himself was one of the reasons for the team’s success. “I know that Mr. Simpson is 86 years of age and Nomad was 36, but to see them together, even just a few years ago, you'd think they were much younger. It's not too often that you see a person and a horse at that age still doing barrels. It was awesome,” she said.
While the horse and rider team hadn’t attended as many shows in the past year or so, Chaput said, “when they did, they came to have fun. Let me tell you when they went in the ring everyone watched and cheered. They were our mentors, and we all hope we will be lucky enough to still ride at that age.”
Nomad, it appears, showed no preference for the age of his riders.
“I stopped riding him a year ago,” said Simpson. “He was getting old and I’m a fairly big man and felt I was just too heavy for him, but the grandchildren were still riding him. Nomad had three generations of Simpson’s on his back. All of our eight children rode him, and 11 of our 12 grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter even rode him in English competition for a while.”
Simpson says that his best friend Nomad “sure had a lot of experiences. He was a quiet horse, but he sure had spirit. I never really felt that I owned him, he sort of owned me. He could be impatient at times. If I was leading him and stopped to talk to someone, he’d put his nose in my back and give me a push so we get going again.”
The equine partnership that spanned over 30 years came to a sad end on Feb. 28 when Nomad slipped on the ice, caught his leg in a fence and dislocated his hip in the fall. “The vet said he’d never be able to stand on his own again, so it was time to say goodbye,” said Simpson.
As he looks forward to his 87th birthday this summer, Simpson’s passing on the equine skills he and Nomad honed, to Kissimmee, a black and white Pinto of yet undetermined breed.
“He’s a good looking horse, very quiet, and while some horses don’t care who owns them, this one does. He’s definitely my horse,” Simpson said. “He was previously training as a jumper, but that’s out of my line, so we’re about to start training on the barrels.”
Though Kissimmee brings Simpson new challenges, the little Arabian-Welsh cross will always be his favourite. Nomad was buried on property that used to be part of the Simpson’s Bonfield farm.
“He’s in a place where he can see the farm house and look across the lake,” he said. “That field always grew the best grass and it was one of Nomad’s favourite pastures.”
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