Turning a Memory into a Legacy
In January of 2022, I found myself searching through Facebook sale pages when a white face stopped me in my tracks. It was a coming 2-year-old gelding dubbed “Archie,” and he was almost everything I had ever dreamed of: red, lots of chrome, and kind eyes.
At 1 AM on a Sunday in February, this little QH X PH cross tripped off the transport trailer and right into my heart. He was instantly the balm that my soul so desperately needed. After turning him out the next morning, I ran through a series of name ideas. I know, I know it’s bad luck to change their names, but I couldn’t abide Archie for a horse that already meant so much. After running through a few options, I quietly spoke, “What about Legend?”
Legend came to us not yet broke to ride, so I learned how to do all of “baby horse” things right alongside him with the help of our trainer. We tagged along to our first show in March of that year, a massive 5-day event in NC where we both learned a lot and came home exhausted (and hungry). A few months later, I got to get on him for the first time. By November, we showed in a singular walk/jog class, and the rest is an epic partnership that had us reaching for the stars (or the buckles).
Over the next two years, Legend and I continued to grow both in and out of the show pen. Our bond deepened, and he proved to be one of the best-minded horses I had ever known; followed around by my dog in Showmanship practice, brushed by my toddler nieces and nephew, hugged and rested on in the stall, and able to be turned out with pretty much anyone. He was … Legendary.
In the summer of 2024, we noticed Legend having some issues with one of his knees. He would be slightly off on occasion when we pushed him into an extended (English) trot. By November, he was off pretty consistently, so we moved on to a series of X-rays; they weren’t good. He would most likely need to have surgery, and his showing days were over. While this wasn’t the news we wanted to hear, I was content with the idea of letting Legend live out the rest of his days exactly where he was.
On a Friday afternoon in December, I arrived at the barn to the news that Legend was struggling to walk in from the pasture. After he took about three steps, I made three calls: one to my trainer, one to my vet, and one to another vet in the area that was much closer than mine. He was on stall rest for two days with little to no improvement. My vet came out on Monday, and we called the surgeon; he could see us on Friday.
The next Friday, we loaded Legend onto a trailer and headed to see the surgeon. The news here was no better; conformationally, Legend’s legs just weren’t put together all that great. While we could put him through surgery to attempt to fix some of the developments, we weren’t going to be able to fix that, and the probable outcome was one more year that he would likely spend in a stall. No horse deserved that, especially not this one, who had healed parts of me I didn’t even know needed healing.
When I first started this business under the name No Doubt Design, I had a plan that quickly fell to pieces as all the things not truly meant for us do. A lot of things changed, but I kept the name, playing off of Legend’s show name No Doubtin Moonlite and paying tribute to the amazing horse that I lost.
Over the last year, as this business has really morphed into what I want it to be, I realized that it has also outgrown its name. This business wasn’t built on a false face, a name you only hear a few times a year; it is built around the daily grind, the early mornings and late nights, the mud, the sweat, and the tears that come from getting back in the barn after a monumental loss. It is gritty, and it is authentic, and it is Legendary.
Legendary Print Works isn’t a brag or a boast; it is a reminder that when you trust us with your brand, you are getting that same uncompromising, perfectionist care, attention to detail, and heart that was inspired by a horse who gave his all.
Every piece of apparel, every custom design, and every brand we touch is
Built Legendary.
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