Editor’s Note: Cory Mathia is a 22-year old student from Atwater, Ohio. He has shown on the APHA and PtHA show circuit for several years. Unfortunately, he recently suffered the loss of his World Champion gelding, Sign Of A Heathen. Mathia wrote a moving tribute about his beloved gelding that we wanted to share with our readers.
It has been said that love can build a bridge… for those of us who have a love of horses, we understand this to be true. The love of horses changes lives; it builds unique bridges – bridges for family and bridges for progress.
Born April 8, 2009, Sign of A Heathen came into this world unique from the start – the resulting foal by two loud colored bay parents, he was a sorrel overo and with a distinct letter “S” on his left cheek; hence his breeders Dick and Nancy Bredemeier of Atwater, OH called him “S”.
I was introduced to this yearling colt in the beginning of 2010. I immediately fell in love with and bought him. It didn’t take long for me to discover his bold, quirky, yet loving personality didn’t fit his letter of the alphabet name. Most people would give me a questioning look when I would tell them him his name was “S”, so I affectionately and quite appropriately changed his name to Spanky.
Spanky’s loving personality is what led him to building his first bridge – the bridge of family. My mom, although appreciative of horses and supportive of my passion, fully admits horses are not in her blood. Spanky however, quickly won her over as when she would venture out to the barn he would always greet her at his stall door with a nicker and his nose pushed through the bars to be petted. She would watch me practice from the kitchen window and in her own words Spanky was a “ROCK STAR”. She saw him as big, beautiful, graceful, and sure footed. Her visits to the barn became more frequent, and usually bearing an apple as a treat.
The second person Spanky won over was my Granny. Self-described as not particularly an animal lover, Spanky found his way into her heart. Granny was one of our biggest fans and even made the 15 hour trek from Ohio to Tulsa, OK to watch us compete at the Pinto Association World Show. She would routinely ask how things were in the barn, but I knew she really meant – how’s Spanky?
The second bridge Spanky built was that of progress. Due to his quiet and willing nature I was able to do the vast majority of training Spanky myself. Different from other horses prior to him, I was encouraged by his talent and how quickly he would catch on to what I was teaching him. Spanky was a true all-around horse with his talents excelling in pattern events.
Through our practice sessions together I learned to focus on his strong suits and perfect them, rather than dwelling on a weakness. We were a team – as I was teaching him, he was teaching me. This gave both of us confidence to achieve greater things and branch out from 4-H shows to larger shows including the All American Youth Horse Show and Pinto Horse Association shows; ultimately setting our sights on the Pinto Horse Association World Show.
In 2013 we earned our first World Championship, followed up in 2014 where we earned an additional two Reserve World Championship titles. In 2015 we branched out further to American Paint Horse Association shows where we achieved Amateur High Point awards at every show and finished the year as the Amateur All-Around High Point in the state of Ohio, High Point Amateur in Zone 8, and #16 on the national Top 20 Amateur list.
In 2016 we competed at four APHA shows and were able to complete multiple Superiors, our Amateur Championship, and Amateur Versatility. We are again ranked in the Amateur Top 20, and are currently leading Amateur Zone 8. This was to be only the beginning of our progress, there was more progress to be had and I began to plan for 2017 with new goals.
On Friday November 25th Spanky developed complications as a result of colic. We rushed him to Ohio State University for emergency surgery. I watched in agony through the operating room window while my partner fought for his life. Upon entering the recovery room as I watched him, I in that moment 
accepted all that he had given me, and all that I had given to him; for I had given him every opportunity within my power. The prognosis was bleak. A few hours later my faithful friend lost his battle. He did so with strength, dignity, and love.
Spanky – Thank you for the ride, it has been amazing. You have been the absolute horse of my dreams, you carried me to goals I barely thought were possible. If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever. I will miss you here each day, but I know I will cherish the memories for eternity. So now while you have built these bridges here for me, run free on the other side of the proverbial bridge… but watch for me, for we will see each other once again.
Sign Of A Heathen – “Spanky”
World Champion, 3x Reserve World Champion
You truly were my once in a lifetime.
