Royal DC Stables

09/18/2026

Dottie is a stunning 15-year-old National Show Horse mare with a difficult history, and she is now taking her first big steps into a much brighter future. At a solid 15 hands tall, this Arabian / Saddlebred cross is an incredibly kind soul who is currently in training with our team.

Dottie's road to our ranch started with heartbreak. She was saved from a local auction by our rescue after being brought there by her breeder and owner, Donna Knight. The auction environment was overwhelming and frightening for her, and she arrived at Love This Horse Equine Rescue feeling very shut down and traumatized. With patience, consistency, and the quiet of her own paddock, she has slowly begun to let her guard down and learn to trust people again.

When it comes to her training, Dottie is what we would consider very green broke. She will accept a saddle and a rider without any issue, but she hasn't had much formal education past that point. She has the basic foundation, but is still lacking a lot of the fundamentals. Our trainers are now working with her consistently, gradually expanding her riding vocabulary, building her self-confidence, and helping her learn to carry herself in a soft, balanced way under saddle.

What makes Dottie so special is her temperament. On the ground she is a complete sweetheart, and she does wonderfully in a herd with other horses. We are confident that with more time, miles, and education, she will become an amazing partner for the right person.

We are giving her all the time, care, and hard work she needs to heal from her past and complete her education. Day by day, she is showing us how life-changing a second chance can truly be.

Want to follow her progress? Tap her unique hashtag right here to see her full journey!

09/18/2026

09/18/2026

Don’t stay down! 🐴

09/18/2026

Don’t give up! ❤️

09/18/2026

Come on… one more time. ❤️

09/17/2026

Come on, warrior! 🐎

09/17/2026

Come on, sweetheart! ❤️🐎

09/17/2026

One year after his passing, we remember Robert Redford — an actor, director, filmmaker, environmentalist, and lifelong horseman whose legacy reached far beyond the screen.

For millions, Redford will always be one of the great faces of American cinema. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Way We Were, All the President’s Men, Out of Africa, and The Natural are just part of an extraordinary career spanning more than six decades.

But away from Hollywood, there was another side to Robert Redford.

He loved the American West. He loved its mountains and open spaces, and horses were a genuine part of his life rather than simply something he encountered in films. He rode for decades, kept horses, and brought that experience naturally to the screen.

Nowhere was that connection more apparent than in The Horse Whisperer.

Redford directed and starred in the 1998 film as Tom Booker, a Montana horseman who attempts to help the traumatised horse Pilgrim and his young rider Grace recover following a terrible accident. His quiet, patient performance resonated deeply with horse lovers because the story treated the relationship between humans and horses as something built upon trust rather than domination.

His concern for the natural world extended much further. Redford became a prominent environmental advocate, campaigning for the protection of wilderness and landscapes he believed should remain for generations to come.

And through the Sundance Institute, he transformed independent filmmaking, giving emerging filmmakers opportunities outside the traditional Hollywood system.

There were many Robert Redfords: the movie star, the Oscar-winning director, the independent-film champion, the conservationist, and the horseman.

One year after we lost him, all of those legacies remain.

Remembering Robert Redford — August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025. ❤️🐴

A lasting legacy, on and off the screen.

09/17/2026

HER FINAL WISH WAS TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE HORSE SHE'D LOVED FOR 25 YEARS — SHE DIED JUST HOURS LATER
In November 2014, as 77-year-old Sheila Marsh reached the final hours of her life, there was one very special friend she desperately wanted to see again.
Her horse, Bronwen.
Sheila, from Bickershaw near Wigan, was terminally ill with cancer and being cared for at Wigan Royal Infirmary. A lifelong animal lover who had previously worked at Haydock Park racecourse, she had six horses as well as dogs, cats and other animals.
But her relationship with Bronwen was particularly special.
Sheila had raised the horse from a foal and cared for her for around 25 years.
As Sheila's condition deteriorated, her daughter Tina asked hospital staff whether there was any way her mother could see Bronwen one final time.
They agreed.
Nurses wheeled Sheila outside in her hospital bed while Bronwen was brought to the hospital entrance.
Then came the moment nobody there would forget.
As Sheila softly called to her, Bronwen calmly approached the bed, lowered her head towards the woman who had loved her for so many years and gently touched her face.
According to the nurse who witnessed it, it was as though Bronwen was giving Sheila a final kiss goodbye.
Her daughter remembered nurses crying alongside the family, but said the meeting had brought her mother comfort.
Just hours later, Sheila passed away.
More than a decade later, the photograph of their final meeting remains an extraordinary reminder of just how profound the relationship between a person and a horse can become.
For 25 years Sheila had cared for Bronwen.
And when the time came to say goodbye, Bronwen was there for her too.