She had a calm, quizzical eye that seemed to ask - Well, what do you want? - but you can stay if you have some butterscotch candy.

I admired how muscular she was as Lyn saddled her. Soon my 12 yr. old brother, who'd never been on a horse, was trotting her around the ring, erasing any doubts about her being flighty or unreliable.

She was definitely a cool cat and a pleasure to watch and ride. And she certainly knew how to pose for pictures! Her ears would flick up at just the right moment, and she would stare off into the distance as if she was spotting a band of wild horses across the valley.

Twinks was from Wyoming and she had the toughness of those mountains in her character and spirit.

Lyn's accomplishment in bringing Twinks along from a scared, unhandled 3 yr. old to a seasoned endurance horse was very impressive to me.

Lyn and I worked on an article about gentling wild horses, and this in turn led directly to my book. So, without Lyn and Twinks and Robin Rivello and her wild horse, Reno, there would not have been a book. Their success in training their Mustangs to be good, solid riding horses and excellent competitive trail horses has inspired many others to try these incredible horses.

I've read that wild animals have heavier brains than their domestic counterparts due to the mental activity needed to survive in nature. After observing Twinks, and working with my own Mustang, I don't doubt it a bit. They're always one step ahead of you, for they read your mind.

The wild herds communicate by telepathy, and naturally these horses continue to do so in the new herd. They take patience to gently, but once you earn their affection, there's nothing like it.

And Lyn certainly earned Twinks' love for when you saw them together, you could see immmediately they were one of those rare combinations of woman and horse that are like 2 beats of the heart.

And so to Lyn and Twinkles go my utmost admiration and gratitude. I'd like to offer the following words in memory of Twinks.

Twinks and Lyn at the Biltmore Estate
Asheville, NC (1993)

Lynn writes: "This is one of the last photos that was taken of Twinkles and me, at the WNC 100 (West N. Carolina 3-day 100 mi. CTR) held on the beautiful Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC. It's without a doubt my favorite 3 day 100 mi. CTR of the ones that I do each year. It's hosted by the folks that own Biltmore, William and Mimi Cecil and the rider photos are taken each year on the 1st day. That's the Biltmore house in the background.

The ride is held the 3rd week of Oct. each year, the height of the Fall color season, and is wonderful! This particular year, there was a wedding party at the lagoon taking pics when Mimi came along with the ride photographer. So, she shooed the entire wedding party off to one side while the photographer set up and took photos of each horse and rider. It was rather humerous to see the whole wedding party, it was a big one with about 4 or 5 bridesmaids, ushers, maid of honor, best man, groom, and bride in long white dress all standing off to one side while we trotted up and posed for our pictures. The bride looked disgruntled to say the least, but what can you do when the owner of the place comes up and tells you to move? It's actually a pretty good pic of me too, back before I burned my face off. Of course, I was younger too, but those were happier days.

(Before you all start disecting your horses and weighing their brains, I believe Nancy's comment regarding brain weights to be more rhetorical in nature than a scientific offering. However, these guys really do seem to know how to use their brains!)