Sadly, Old Friends at Cabin Creek lost one of our herd last Friday when Valiant Crusader passed away at the age of 25. Cru came to us in 2024, a son of Crusader Sword. The latter occupied the same paddock as his son when he too spent his retirement at Cabin Creek. The younger Cru immediately captured the hearts of volunteers and visitors alike with his calm and gentle demeanor. Indeed he was still an intact horse, but you wouldn’t suspect it after interacting with him. He was one of the gentlest horses on the farm, and one that us tour guides encouraged children to interact with, especially those who had trepidation around the other horses. Although Cru never won a race, and banked only $365, he won many fans during his tenure at the farm. He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him and we at Cabin Creek are all so lucky to have known him in his final years. I will share my favorite photos of Cru in this post.
Old Friends at Cabin Creek farm owner JoAnn Pepper leads Cru out of the barn and up to his paddock for the first time following his arrival at the farm.
Cru is all dirty following a roll in his paddock.
Cru gets to know his new digs.
Cru takes another roll in the dirt.
Cru takes it all in.
My dad feeds Cru a carrot after meeting him for the first time.
Cru enjoys a snack in the beautiful late afternoon light.
Cru sports his signature messy face after enjoying his dinner.
Cru relaxes on a cool winter evening alongside his buddy A Shin Forward.
Cru and Shin enjoy a cool winter evening.
JoAnn leads Cru to a new paddock where he spent a brief stint with graded stakes winner Watchem Smokey.
JoAnn and volunteer Dan introduce Cru and Smokey to each other.
Cru and Smokey take some time to bond.
Cru sows his oats in his new digs.
NYRA analyst Acacia Clément introduces her nephew Hugo to Cru.
Cru kindly poses for a photo this past fall.
Cru enjoys a snowy afternoon at the farm.
Sadly, this ended up being the last photo I took of Cru, with his signature dinner face. This is how I’ll remember him.
I made this video comprised of the photos from this post and several others, as well as some video footage I took of Cru during his tenure at the farm. Click here to watch the video.
Rest easy Cru. Your friends, human and equine, at Old Friends at Cabin Creek, miss you so much.
All photos and videos in this post are © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.
One thought on “Remembering Valiant Crusader”
Comments are closed.
That is a beautiful tribute.