In the room of junior Lico Chan, located in the Hermes dormitory, you can find some of his most precious mementos.
Tacked onto the white wall of his room, is a tuft of his beloved horse Windsor’s mane and tucked beneath the sleeve of his wallet is his gold bridle coin.
Windsor, to Lico, was more than just a horse; he was a friend who he had shared many unforgettable memories with and went to relax with at the end of the day.
“I was really thankful for all those times when I was riding him and just spending time with him,” said Lico. “I know there’s not much to do, and sometimes when I found time to talk to him, he might not have given me a response or anything but he had been good company and I really thank him for that.”
However, on February 6, Lico was alerted by Equestrian Director Stephanie Gustafson with the news that Windsor was to be euthanized. Windsor’s euthanization was due to cancer that had spread all over his body.
This sorrowful news prompted Lico and his dad on February 15 to travel more than three hours from San Diego to the school to allow Lico to be with Windsor in his last moments.
The car ride was solemn with thousands of questions rushing through Lico’s head, which lead Lico to confide in one of his good friends, sophomore Aaron Wolf.
“Throughout the entire ride he was confiding to me about how he wasn’t, under any circumstances, ready to say goodbye to his friend who he had spent so little time with,” said Aaron. “He knew he needed to make some kind of gesture, just because he knew closure would be so hard to find, so he wanted to do anything to get even close to that. But, throughout all of his pain, he was also concerned about the well being of the other people who were apart of his life as well.”
When Lico and his dad arrived to the barn there was a dismal mood lingering in the air. The staff were lagging, and everyone’s hearts were hurting.
“I was happy to be there for his last hours, and I’m pretty sure he was happy as well,” Lico said.
Also at the barn were Annie Wang and Cecilia Bao, who were friends of Windsor during their time at Ojai Valley School. They did not share the same connection as Lico did, but they felt they needed to be there for his last hours.
“I wanted to say farewell to him,” explained Annie. “He was in pain and when someone is suffering like that it is their time to go.”
Her goodbye was sweet with a hug, a kiss, a few carrots, and an “I love you.”
For Lico, his goodbye was not as short. As tears filled up his bifocal covered eyes, he saw the white mane of the horse, the flea-bitten, sweet face and thought of all the memories they had together, galloping around the arena and sharing sweet treats after a day well done.
Windor’s brown eyes, the ones that Lico first looked into the first day they met, remained the same until their last day together.
Lico did cry while Windsor was being euthanized, he could see him struggling, and taking his final breaths.
“Watching him struggle like that eventually broke me and made me tear up,” said Lico.
Parting with such a dear friend was one of the hardest things Lico has ever had to do. But he has bounced back, finding a new horse that he is slowly developing a bond with. He tries his hardest to keep his spirit alive and well, by taking routine trips to his stall, and thinking of him every time he mounts up onto his new furry friend.
He is beyond grateful for their time together and for prompting his immense love for the sport.
“I definitely think about him when I am riding and I still think about him, but it doesn’t change my love for riding, because I believe that he is still here, his spirit is still here,” Lico said.