Oh Brother (Luke to his family) was born in October of 1986. He was by top Australian stallion Brother Dier and out of a Prince's Tyson mare.

Luke arrived at his new home in August of 1988, then not quite two years old. Not long after, he began his training to become a National Champion Western Pleasure Horse. A title he won several times.

Even though he was still a young colt, Luke was one of the quietest horses in my stable. He just wanted attention and cuddles and hardly ever put a hoof out of line. 

Everyone who came in contact with Luke loved him instantly. Not only was he a very pretty Appaloosa, but people couldn't get over how quiet he was. They couldn't believe he was a stallion. And Luke loved being in the spotlight. We travelled the show circuit all around the east coast of Australia. Luke was fast becoming a very popular horse and was winning awards at every show. He was always very glad to be home in his own paddock though. Luke was very intuitive to people's moods. If you were having a bad day he would act the clown until you couldn't help but laugh. He would try small things at first, like curling his lip up into a big smile. If that didn't work it was time for more drastic measures. Luke would make sure he was in front of me where I couldn't miss seeing him and then he would shake his head up and down repeatedly until his lips actually flapped! No matter what sort of a day I had had, I could never keep a straight face after he did that. He'd always let out a big whinney when I started to laugh; no doubt scolding me for my previous frowns! 

In October of 1989 (October 3rd to be exact!) the first foal by Luke was born. Twisters Gold, or T.G for short. She proved to have her father's placid, yet outgoing nature and delighted many people in the crowd the day of her first show when she was awarded Grand Champion of the show. T.G was only 5 months old and we were very pleased with her. (For those of you who know me, yes I did cry a little bit. But I was very proud of my little girl!!!) 

 

Just like her father, T.G went on to win a National Champion title. She was (and is) very special and she knew it! There were some moments that she would act like a prima donna, but if you didn't pay any attention to that she'd soon be over it and back to sweet self again. Again, just like Luke she liked to act the clown. One of T.G's favourite things to do was to stand with her front feet just barely inside the house, but far enough so that she could stretch her neck inside to see what was going on. She wouldn't venture any further than that unless invited. (It was only once or twice, really!)

I bred several more foals by Luke, but T.G was the only one I kept. Despite the many attempts at shows to get me to sell her. (T.G had a lot of fans of her own.) At present T.G is being leased out while I am living over here in Texas and will be bred for the first time this year.
 
 

In January of 1993 Luke became very ill. Part of his intestine had become herniated. He had major surgery soon after diagnosis. I couldn't have asked for better Veterinarians. Peter Hill and I go way back to when I bought my very first horse. I trusted his judgement as not only a Vet, but also a friend. He stayed with Luke for over 24 hours and we kept constantly monitoring him and trying to hydrate him with saline intraveinously. Despite our efforts, the intestine had been too damaged and the blood supply to it had been cut off for too long. Luke died in the early hours of the next morning.

I still miss him terribly today, even though it has been over five years. He was so young and it just broke my heart to lose him. He was an incredibly special horse.
 
 

The true gold at the end of the rainbow.